VMworld 2015: Managing vSphere 6 Deployments and Upgrades

Managing vSphere 6.0Deployments and Upgrades, Part 2

Brian Graf, VMware, IncSalil Suri, VMware, Inc

INF5123

#INF5123

CONFIDENTIAL 2

Disclaimer• This presentation may contain product features that are currently under development.

• This overview of new technology represents no commitment from VMware to deliver these features in any generally available product.

• Features are subject to change, and must not be included in contracts, purchase orders, or sales agreements of any kind.

• Technical feasibility and market demand will affect final delivery.

• Pricing and packaging for any new technologies or features discussed or presented have not been determined.

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Introductions!

Brian Graf Senior Technical Marketing Manager

PowerCLI, ESXi Lifecycle, ROBO

@vBrianGraf

VMware Blog: http://blogs.vmware.com/vSphere/

Personal Blog: http://www.vtagion.com

Salil SuriProduct Line Manager

Core ESXi and vSphere Lifecycle

@SalilSuri

Agenda

1 vSphere Upgrade Overview

2 Upgrading vSphere ESXi

3 Upgrading Virtual Machines

4 Post Upgrade Considerations

5 What’s new in Tech Preview

6 Technical Resources

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VMware released vSphere 6 …

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And an important date is fast approaching…

End of General Support for ESXi 5.0 and 5.1

Source: http://tinyurl.com/pyvv6v7

2016 / 08/ 24

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Which often leads to conversations such as ....

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“We are currently upgrading our vSphere environment to the latest

version and are finding the upgrade process complex & time consuming!”

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Our Goal: vSphere upgrade should make you feel like…

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vSphere Upgrade Overview

Phase 1

UpgradingvCenter Server

Phase 2Upgrading

ESXi

Phase 3Upgrading

Virtual Machines

Phase 4Post Upgrade

Considerations

INF4944: Managing vSphere Deployments & Upgrades – Part 1 see also

Upgrading ESXi

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Planning for ESXi Deployment & Upgrade

• How many hosts?

• Sensitivity to downtime?

• Maintenance window duration?

• Choice of upgrade method?

• DRS / Host Profiles in use?

• VMs on shared storage?

Questions Considerations

ESXi Install versus ESXi Upgrade • Traditional “OS” upgrade concerns do not apply!

– Boot disk is not repartitioned– Overwrites Boot Bank contents– Configuration and VMFS volume preserved

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scratchMB storecoreBank 1 Bank 2

1GB

VMFS

Remainder4GB

5.5

6.0Step 1: Save the Config (state.tgz)Step 2: Replace VIBs (overwrite)Step 3: RebootStep 4: Config re-applied on reboot

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ESXi Deployment methods: You have choices! ESXi ISO VUM Auto Deploy Scripted esxcli

Install Upgrade

Patch

UI & DRS integrationSupportsRollbackOptimized @ scale

Rolling Upgrades with VUM

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5.1

vCenter 6 + VUM 5.5 5.0 5.5

vSphere Cluster

6.0 6.0

6.0

vMotion vMotionvMotion

Upgrades with no VM downtime!

vMotion / Storage vMotion

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Introducing AutoDeploy & Host Profiles

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Bare-Metal Host

Out – of – Date Host (5.x)

Misconfigured Host

Roll-back Host (6.x)

What are my ESXi Install options?

What are my ESXi upgrade options?

How can I keep ESXi Configuration consistent across my ESXi inventory?

Oops, I applied a faulty patch. Can I roll-back?

• Single workflow for various ESXi deployment, patch, & upgrade scenarios.

• “Zero-Touch” & highly automatable workflow

• Centralized Image & Configuration Management across your Data Center

Benefits!

INF5800: ‘Zero Touch’ ESXi Deployment, Configurations and Upgrades with

AutoDeploy & Host Profilessee also

Upgrading Virtual Machines

VMware Tools consumption workflowVMware Tools Team

Linux community

Linux kernel main

MyVMware or packages.vmware.com

Up streaming Tools

Downloadable

Tools* or OSP Packages

Tools ISO*or OSP.

Linux distro w/ OVT

Distro’s

ESXi w/ Pre-installed tools can be upgraded using VUM or API

VM Compatibility Upgrade!

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Can also upgrade using default VUM baselines!

Virtual Hardware is now called VM Compatibility

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Extended Support Matrix

vSphere 5.0 vHW 4

vHW 7

vHW 8

vSphere 5.1

Tools 5.1

Tools 4.x

Tools 5.0

vHW 9

Virtual HardwareSupported ToolsvSphere Release

upgrade

vSphere 5.5

Tools 5.5

vHW 10

upgrade

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vSphere 6.0Tools 6.0

vHW 11

ESX 3.5 and later

ESX 4.x and later

ESX 5.0 and later

ESX 5.1 and later

ESX 5.5 and later

VM Compatibility

ESX 6.0 and later

upgrade

Best Practices & Recommendations!• VMware Tools

– Upgrade recommended!

– Use open-vm-tools wherever possible.

– Cross Compatibility (see VMware Interoperability Matrix)• VMware Tools 4.x is supported on ESXi 6.x.• VMware Tools 6.x is supported on ESX/ESXi 4.x.

• Hardware Version or Compatibility– Upgrade Optional

• Upgrade VMware Tools first• Compatibility is not Backwards Compatible

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Q: Okay, but how do I know when to upgrade?

A: Release Notes for VMware Tools & common versioning Coming Soon…!

This is the Future and is available today!

You can skip versions and save your self some effort!

Announcing VMware Tools 10.0!

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Roadmap

The information on the roadmap is intended to outline ourgeneral product direction and it should not be relied on in

making a purchasing decision. It is for informational purposesonly and may not be incorporated into any contract.

Post Upgrade Considerations

VMFS Upgrade

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VMFS Upgrade Considerations

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Feature Upgraded VMFS-5 New VMFS-5

Maximum files 30720 130689

File Block Size 1, 2, 4 or 8MB 1MB (Unified)

Sub-Blocks 64KB 8KB

Partition FormatMBR

(seamless switch to GPT if VMFS grows > 2TB)

GPT

Starting sector 128 2048

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VMFS Upgrade Considerations• Upgrade all hosts to 5.x before upgrading VMFS-5.

– Upgrade not allowed if 4.x hosts are accessing VMFS

• There is no “undo” (one-way operation)

• To fully benefit from latest VMFS 5 features:1. Creating new VMFS 5 volume2. Use Storage vMotion to migrate VMs3. Schedule data migrations for non-peak hours4. It can take a while to migrate large data files

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New VMFS version coming. Upgrade tovmfs version 5 first!

vSphere Distributed Switch

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vSphere Upgrade Overview: Summary

Key Points:1. Order is important!2. Check Hardware Compatibility & Solution Interoperability before starting!3. Choose an ESXi method which works for your environment!4. Understand Virtual Machine upgrade requirements and choose what works for you!5. Don’t forget about plug-ins, add-ons, VMFS, VDS, etc.!

Approach upgrades with a holistic view of your virtual Infrastructure

So #What’sNext?

“Customer Feedback”

• ESXi Upgrades take too long to execute!

• Why is VUM is not integrated with the Web Client?

• VUM is Windows only application! It is 2015!

Pain Points

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Steep reduction in ESXi upgrade time!

vSphere 5.5 vSphere 6 vSphere 6.0 U1 *

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500Host Evacuation time (s)Host Evacuation Mixed Load (s)

• Host evacuation is ~ 50% of Time to upgrade!

• Average reduction is 4-7x!• select cases 27-30x!

Dramatic Time savings!

vSphere 6.0 U1 & 5.5U3 **

"I just saw the VM's zip by so fast. This used to take hours. This is such a time

saver, and will help everyone! …"  - VMware IT

teamTime (s)

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Introducing Full support for VUM in the web Client!

vSphere 6.0 U1** Demo @vSphere w/ Operations Mgmt. BoothSee also

NEW

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VUM Today!2015 +

ESX Server

Cluster

Host Server

ESX Server ESX Server

vCenter Server w/o Update Manager

• Windows Only. • Separate DB to install, maintain and upgrade! • Separate Install, Upgrade & Patch for VUM!

Pain Points

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VUM with fully embedded in vCSA!2015 +

ESX Server

Cluster

Host Server

ESX Server ESX Server

Tech Preview

w/ Update Manager

• NO Windows.

• NO Separate DB

• NO Separate Install, Upgrade & Patch for VUM!

Customer Benefits!

Technical Resources

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Getting Started with vSphere Upgradehttp://vmware.com/go/vsphere-upgrade

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Feature Walkthroughshttp://vmware.com/go/vsphere-upgrade-walkthrough

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Other vSphere Upgrade Resources:• vSphere Documentation Center

https://www.vmware.com/go/docs • VMware Compatibility Guide

http://www.vmware.com/go/vcg • Product Interoperability Matrix

http://www.vmware.com/go/interop

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In Closing:• There has never been a better time to upgrade to vSphere 6. Start planning for it now and take

a holistic approach to planning it out! It’s easy.

• VCSA deserves serious consideration. This will help future proof your investments.

• Several ESXi lifecycle and VUM enhancements rolling out in 6.0 U1 and more to follow!

• We would love to chat and get your feedback. Let’s talk @SalilSuri & @vBrianGraf

Managing vSphere 6.0Deployments and Upgrades, Part 2

Brian Graf, VMware, IncSalil Suri, VMware, Inc

INF5123

#INF5123