Goal
Upgrade an existing VMware Aria Automation 8.xx.xx to 8.17.0
Pre-Requisites
VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.16.0 Product Support Pack 3 binary
VMware Aria Automation 8.17.0 Upgrade Repo iso
Healthy VMware Aria Automation and VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
Download Product Support Pack
Direct Download Link : https://support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/solutiondetails?patchId=5338
or
Login to the Broadcom Support Portal.
Select "VMware Cloud Foundation" as the product line.
Click on "My Downloads" and choose "VMware Aria Universal" or "VMware Aria Suite"
Navigate to Solutions, expand the options, and click on Subscription.
A list of patches and Product Support Packs will be displayed. Filter to find the appropriate one and click on it to open the download page for that specific Product Support Pack.
The syntax to search for a Product Support Pack is always in the format vrslcm-8.16.0-PSPACKx, where x is the Product Support Pack number
Based on the above information, the file we need is vrlcm-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak
Download VMware Aria Automation Binary
In the same Broadcom Support Portal, click on My Downloads
Click on the product VMware Aria Automation
Select the version you would like to download
The file you would need to download in order to upgrade VMware Aria Automation from older version to 8.17.0 is VMware Aria Automation 8.17.0 Update Repository
Prelude_VA-8.17.0.35214-23831516-updaterepo.iso which is around 12.91 GBUpload and Install Product Support Pack
I have an existing VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.16.0 GA where there are no Product Support Packs Installed
Click on upload to select the product support pack downloaded previously.
Then click on IMPORT
Once the import process completes , refresh the page and you should now see 8.16.0 Product Support Pack 3 available for installation
Before heading towards installation ensure a snapshot is taken
Click on APPLY VERSION to start the process of installing the product support pack
As you can see the product specifically asks for snapshot conscent whether you have taken it or not. So take it for sure.
Submit the request to begin the installation
During PSPACK installation, the important logs to monitor are
/var/log/vrlcm/patchcli.log
2024-05-14 10:30:36,859 - __main__ - INFO - Metadata: {"patchInfo":{"name":"VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle, version 8.16.0 Pspack 3","summary":"Cumulative pspack bundle for vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager","description":"This cumulative pspack bundle provides fixes to issues observed with various VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle components. Refer the associated docUrl for more details.","kbUrl":"https:\/\/docs.vmware.com\/en\/VMware-vRealize-Lifecycle-Manager\/8.16.0\/rn\/vRealize-Lifecycle-Manager-816-Pspack-3.html","eulaFile":"","category":"bugfix","urgency":"critical","releaseType":"pspack","releaseDate":1715332131000,"additionaInfo":{}},"metadataId":"vrlcm-8.16.0-PSPACK3","metadataVersion":"1","patchId":"8fe69f85-5fad-421a-864c-c0e134b557a3","patchBundleCreationDate":1715332131,"selfPatch":true,"product":{"productId":"vrlcm","productName":"VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle","productVersion":"8.16.0","supportedVersions":["8.16.0"],"productBuild":"10689094","productPatchBuild":"","additionaInfo":{"patchInstructions":"mkdir -p \/data\/tmp-pspack-81603\/10318114; cp -r /tmp/10318114/VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak \/data\/tmp-pspack-81603\/10318114; cd \/data\/tmp-pspack-81603\/10318114; unzip VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak; unzip lcm_PSPACK_artifacts.zip; cp -r \/tmp\/10318114\/lcm_pspack_metadata.json \/data\/tmp-pspack-81603\/10318114; sh pre_pspack_instructions.sh; sh pspack_instructions.sh \/data\/tmp-pspack-81603\/10318114 8fe69f85-5fad-421a-864c-c0e134b557a3;"},"patchAlreadyApplied":false},"payload":{"productPatchLevel":"PSPACK3","patchPayloadFilename":"VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak","patchPayloadUri":"","patchPayloadSize":398608505,"sha256sum":"67ab99e5a1cf5f93f111865331d46cc6726bdf34a14fdc19608200b4a2cf4215","productMinorLevel":null},"patchFileName":"vrlcm-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak","patchSize":0,"patchSha256sum":"","patchRunningCounter":1,"patchStatus":"ACTIVE","patchDownloadStatus":null,"extract":false,"patchCounter":null}
2024-05-14 10:30:36,859 - __main__ - INFO - Patch File: /tmp/10318114//VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak
2024-05-14 10:30:36,859 - __main__ - INFO - metadata after parsing :
2024-05-14 10:30:36,860 - __main__ - INFO - patch instructions:mkdir -p /data/tmp-pspack-81603/10318114; cp -r /tmp/10318114/VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak /data/tmp-pspack-81603/10318114; cd /data/tmp-pspack-81603/10318114; unzip VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak; unzip lcm_PSPACK_artifacts.zip; cp -r /tmp/10318114/lcm_pspack_metadata.json /data/tmp-pspack-81603/10318114; sh pre_pspack_instructions.sh; sh pspack_instructions.sh /data/tmp-pspack-81603/10318114 8fe69f85-5fad-421a-864c-c0e134b557a3;
2024-05-14 10:30:36,860 - __main__ - INFO - installing patch ...
Archive: VMware-vLCM-Appliance-8.16.0-PSPACK3.pspak
extracting: lcm_PSPACK_artifacts.zip
Archive: lcm_PSPACK_artifacts.zip
creating: os/
inflating: vmlcm-service-gui-8.16.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
inflating: vmlcm-service-8.16.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
inflating: vmware-service-configuration.jar
extracting: blackstone.zip
inflating: APUAT-8.5.0.18176777.pak
inflating: pre_pspack_instructions.sh
inflating: pspack_instructions.sh
inflating: policy.json
inflating: post_patch_instructions.sh
inflating: dev-build-upgrade.sh
inflating: patchcli.py
inflating: patchcliproxy
inflating: vlcm-support
inflating: vrlcm-server.service
2024-05-14_10:30:42 Pre Product Support Pack vRSLCM
2024-05-14_10:30:42 Cleaning backups from old location...
2024-05-14_10:30:42 Cleaning previous backups...
2024-05-14_10:30:42 Creating new backup file...
2024-05-14_10:30:43 Backup done.
2024-05-14_10:30:43 Copy script to /var/lib/vrlcm
2024-05-14 10:30:49,933 - __main__ - INFO - patch installation process ended.
2024-05-14 10:30:49,933 - __main__ - INFO - patch installation completed.
/var/log/vrlcm/bootstrap.log
2024-05-14 10:31:55,251 __main__ - INFO:/var/lib/vrlcm
2024-05-14 10:31:55,251 __main__ - INFO:file removed /var/lib/vrlcm/final/dlfRepo/dlfRepo.zip
2024-05-14 10:31:55,251 __main__ - INFO:zipdir operation
2024-05-14 10:31:55,251 __main__ - INFO:abs_src /var/lib/vrlcm/final/dlfRepo
2024-05-14 10:31:55,252 __main__ - INFO:Adding file to Zip dlfRepo/vssc/8.16.0/dlf/license-vac-80-e9-suite-vrealizeflex-c3-201907.dlf
2024-05-14 10:31:55,252 __main__ - INFO:Adding file to Zip dlfRepo/vssc/8.16.0/dlf/license-vac-80-e5-suite-vrealize-c2-201807.dlf
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2024-05-14 10:35:35,402 __main__ - INFO:delete call is success:http://localhost:8080/lcm/dbservice/api/ischema/properties/webPassword
2024-05-14 10:35:35,415 __main__ - INFO:delete call is success:http://localhost:8080/lcm/dbservice/api/ischema/properties/monitorvRNIWithvROps
2024-05-14 10:35:35,427 __main__ - INFO:delete call is success:http://localhost:8080/lcm/dbservice/api/ischema/properties/monitorvRAWithvROps
2024-05-14 10:35:35,427 __main__ - INFO:file removed /var/lib/vrlcm/final/dlfRepo/dlfRepo.zip
2024-05-14 10:35:35,428 __main__ - INFO:Bootstrap is exit witout any error
2024-05-14 10:35:35,428 __main__ - INFO:schedular api is called /lcm/bootstrap/api/initialize
2024-05-14 10:35:35,515 __main__ - INFO:Response: <Response [200]>
2024-05-14 10:35:35,515 __main__ - INFO:Post call is sucessfull url: http://localhost:8080/lcm/bootstrap/api/initialize
2024-05-14 10:35:35,515 __main__ - INFO:lcm schedular started
2024-05-14 10:35:35,515 __main__ - INFO:Error: /tmp/dlfRepo - No such file or directory.
2024-05-14 10:35:35,515 __main__ - INFO:Update Association State Machine is Invoked
2024-05-14 10:35:35,560 __main__ - INFO:Response: <Response [200]>
2024-05-14 10:35:35,560 __main__ - INFO:Post call is sucessfull url: http://localhost:8080/lcm/request/api/requests
2024-05-14 10:35:35,560 __main__ - INFO:vmid: eda05d69-967d-4af0-8b80-dd229e720aee
2024-05-14 10:35:35,560 __main__ - INFO:Update License Request:: http://localhost:8080/lcm/request/api/requests/eda05d69-967d-4af0-8b80-dd229e720aee
2024-05-14 10:35:35,586 __main__ - INFO:Response: <Response [200]>
2024-05-14 10:35:35,586 __main__ - INFO:Get call is successful url: http://localhost:8080/lcm/request/api/requests/eda05d69-967d-4af0-8b80-dd229e720aee
2024-05-14 10:35:35,587 __main__ - INFO:Update License association request is INPROGRESS
2024-05-14 10:35:35,587 __main__ - INFO:retrying--- Wait for 10 seconds. count: 1
2024-05-14 10:35:45,818 __main__ - INFO:Response: <Response [200]>
2024-05-14 10:35:45,818 __main__ - INFO:Get call is successful url: http://localhost:8080/lcm/request/api/requests/eda05d69-967d-4af0-8b80-dd229e720aee
2024-05-14 10:35:45,818 __main__ - INFO:Update License association request COMPLETED
2024-05-14 10:35:45,818 __main__ - INFO:Request either FAILED or is SUCCESS.
2024-05-14 10:35:45,819 __main__ - INFO:file removed /etc/triggerLicenseUpdate
2024-05-14 10:35:45,819 __main__ - INFO:file removed /var/lib/vrlcm/INPROGRESS
2024-05-14 10:35:45,819 __main__ - INFO:Creating SUCCESS file...
2024-05-14 10:35:45,819 __main__ - INFO:SUCCESS file already created...
2024-05-14 10:35:45,819 __main__ - INFO:sucess api count: 3245
failed api count: 0
Above snippets are a success indicators and wait for the services to come back
During this process there would be restart of services
Once the service is back online, you can see that the product support pack is already installed and we can now map the product binary and we are good to go
If you see the policy 8.17.0 version if Automation is present which means either i can install new automation deployment of this version or upgrade an existing old version to automation to this version
VMware Aria Automation Upgrade Binary Mapping
Downloaded VMware Aria Automation 8.17.0 Upgrade Binary should be mapped in VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
Go to VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle , click on Lifecycle Operations, then browse to SETTINGS and click on Binary Mapping
Click on Add Binaries
Select Local as i have uploaded to the Suite Lifecycle VA. To upload it to VA, use WINSCP or a FILEZILLA and then copy it to /data folder
Select the Binary after it's discovered
Then click on ADD
The Product Binary Mapping would begin
To understand what happens when a product binary is mapped, review this blog post
Once the task is completed. Now we are all set to upgrade our existing VMware Aria Automation to 8.17.0
VMware Aria Automation Upgrade Flow ( WORK IN PROGRESS)
Ensure Upgrade Binary is mapped
You may now see that the upgrade is available on my Automation instance
Once you click on upgrade, click on "TRIGGER INVENTORY SYNC"
Ensure this completes successfully
Inventory Sync is now complete
Let's now begin the upgrade. Click on "PROCEED" to start the upgrade flow
The repository is already populated
Click on NEXT to select Snapshot related options
I have selected to
Retain the Snapshot taken during upgrade
Revert it automatically when a failure occurs , ensuring the application returns to it previous state
A log bundle is always collected before it's reverted
If GS asks this bundle, go ahead and download it
There's a hardware requirement conscent and Run Prechecks
Prechecks Succceed and then go ahead with upgrade submission
Submit the request to trigger the upgrade
Follow the blog which clearly explains what happens in an automation upgrade and what log files to be monitored
It is expected to stay on this step for a while as the rpm's are being staged from lcm to automation appliances
Upgrade is now completed
Just took 1 hour and 8 minutes for a cluster based upgrade