Guide VblockUpgrade

Vblock™ Infrastructure Platforms

Software and Firmware Upgrade Guide

Version 1.4

December 2011

© 2011 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

www.vce.com

2 © 2011 VCE Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Revision history Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Revision history

Date Version Author Revision

June 2011 1.0 Barrie Byron

General Availability Release.

July 2011 1.1 Barrie Byron

Activated hyperlinks.

August 2011 1.2 Barrie Byron

Added Vblock 0, Vblock 1, and Vblock 1U.

Title change to Software and Firmware Upgrade Guide, clarified language throughout document: upgrade is for the software and firmware on components only.

Created general Vblock platform estimating time and upgrade sequence topics.

November 2011

1.3 Barrie Byron

Updated best practices to include a review the release notes statement and created new content with the upgrade sequence for Vblock platforms release 2.5 and later.

December 2011

1.4 Barrie Byron

Corrected sequence for Release 2.5 and earlier upgrades.


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Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4

VCE related documentation .................................................................................................................. 5

Upgrade prerequisites ........................................................................................................................... 6

Assumptions ..................................................................................................................................... 6

Limitations and exclusions ................................................................................................................. 7

References........................................................................................................................................ 7

Planning the upgrade ............................................................................................................................ 8

Upgrade best practices and planning ................................................................................................. 8

Estimating upgrade time .................................................................................................................... 9

Upgrading the Vblock platform components ..................................................................................... 10

Upgrade sequence for Vblock platform releases earlier than 2.5 ...................................................... 10

Upgrade sequence for Vblock platforms Release 2.5 and later ........................................................ 11

Monitoring component upgrades ..................................................................................................... 11


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Introduction Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Introduction

This document describes the best practices for upgrading Vblock™ Infrastructure Platforms to the current

software releases. This document includes a list of the Vblock platforms components and the sequence of the

upgrade procedure.

These upgrade instructions apply to all releases of the following Vblock platforms:

Vblock Series 700 model MX

Vblock Series 300

Vblock 0, Vblock 1, Vblock 1U

This document also provides the approximate time that is required to upgrade each device and outlines

strategies to minimize system downtime.

To suggest documentation changes and provide feedback on this book, send an email message to

[email protected]. Include the name of this book, the topic name where your comment applies, and your

feedback.

mailto:[email protected]


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Upgrade Guide

VCE related documentation

VCE related documentation

Access to VCE technical documentation is role-based. Select the documentation resource that applies to you.

Your role Documentation resources

Customer VCE Customer Support Portal > Documents

support.vce.com

A valid user name and password are required.

VCE Partner VCE Partner Resource Center > Resource Library > Category > Technical

www.vcepartnerportal.com/resourcelib-vce.asp?loc=331

A valid user name and password are required.

Cisco, EMC, VCE, or VMware employee

VCE Portal > Vblock Infrastructure Platforms

www.vceportal.com/solutions/68580567.html

VCE employee VCEview > Products and Solutions > Vblock Platforms

www.vceview.com/solutions/products/

VCE Technical Documentation website

vblockproductdocs.dc.vce.com/vce_docs_1/TechDocsHome/index.htm

http://support.vce.com/

http://www.vcepartnerportal.com/resourcelib-vce.asp?loc=331

http://www.vceportal.com/solutions/68580567.html

http://www.vceview.com/solutions/products/

http://vblockproductdocs.dc.vce.com/vce_docs_1/TechDocsHome/index.htm


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Upgrade prerequisites Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Upgrade prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be met before you upgrade Vblock platforms to the current release.

Review the release notes and complete any required actions.

Ensure that appropriate security policies are applied to Vblock platforms. Upgrades do not modify

Vblock platform security.

Note: Baseline security standards for Vblock platforms are available in Vblock Infrastructure Platforms

Security Hardening. For more information about Vblock platform documentation, see VCE related

documentation.

Assumptions

This manual assumes that the person who is upgrading the Vblock platforms:

Is familiar with Vblock platforms concepts and terminology.

Has Vblock platforms troubleshooting skills.

Has access to the documentation that is referenced in Estimating upgrade time.

Has read and understood this manual, and all referenced documentation, before attempting to

upgrade Vblock platforms.

Is working with a computer with network access to the Vblock platforms and the management

systems.

Is an experienced Microsoft Windows administrator, or Linux system administrator, as required by

your system architecture.

Is familiar with virtual machine technology and datacenter operations.

Is using a computer that has the following utilities and tools or equivalents:

- ping

- traceroute

- ssh

- telnet

Has ensured that all safety checks have been completed.

Has confirmed that all components are in ready state with no alarm.

(For VMAX storage components) Has engaged a CE from EMC to be on site to power up the EMC

storage components.

Make sure that you understand the entire upgrade process before you attempt to upgrade

your Vblock platforms. You must complete all of the planning and preparation requirements

before you begin the upgrade procedure.


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Upgrade Guide

Upgrade prerequisites

Limitations and exclusions

This manual assumes that the following tasks have been completed:

Planning for the upgrade

Calculating upgrade time

Scheduling adequate downtime for system maintenance

References

For certified component download details, see the appropriate Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Release

Certification Matrix document. For information about accessing Vblock platform documentation, refer to VCE

related documentation.


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Planning the upgrade Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Planning the upgrade

Planning the upgrade includes following the upgrade best practices and estimating your upgrade time.

Upgrade best practices and planning

You must plan and prepare for your software and firmware upgrade to ensure minimum impact on the

production traffic.

Perform the upgrade during scheduled maintenance windows only. The best practice is to upgrade one component per maintenance window. Monitor the upgraded component for at least one day before you upgrade the next component.

Confirm the overall status and software version of each component before you upgrade the next

component. Verify that the component is in the ready state with no alarm.

Note: For components in a cluster configuration, complete the upgrade and verify the component

status in the subordinate cluster before you upgrade the primary cluster. After you

successfully upgrade the subordinate and primary clusters, verify the status of the component

again to ensure that there are no new alarms.

Create a configuration backup file for each Vblock platform component before you begin the upgrade.

Do not make changes to your system configuration during the upgrade.

Review this entire upgrade document, and each referenced component upgrade document, before

you begin the upgrade.

Note: If the upgrade component involves virtual machines and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI),

the best practice is to power off virtual machines and VDI, and then migrate to a different

server before proceeding with the upgrade.

Review your system architecture to calculate the estimated upgrade time.

Refer to the referenced documentation and follow the documented upgrade instructions for each

component.


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Upgrade Guide

Planning the upgrade

Estimating upgrade time

Plan your upgrade using the minimum time that it takes to upgrade the software on each component. The

minimum time estimates do not include the time for preparation, configuration, backup, and download.

Review the list of the components and determine the upgrade time for the components that are present in the

system. If a component is not present in the system, do not estimate the upgrade time for that component.

Review your Vblock platforms architecture to calculate the total time to upgrade each component. Record the

total upgrade time in the Total time. For cluster configurations, include both the primary and the subordinate

clusters in the Total time for the component.

Order Component Software and firmware upgrade time Total time

1 Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) Manager 2 hours plus 15 minutes per blade

2 EMC storage array 3 hours

3 Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches 1 hour

4 Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switches 1 hour

5 Cisco MDS switches 1 hour

6 VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi virtualization 1 hour plus 30 minutes per blade

7 Cisco Nexus 1000V Series virtual switches 3 hours

8 AMP: Cisco UCS C200 M2 1 hour

9 Cisco Catalyst switches and routers 1 hour

10 EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM) 2 hours


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Upgrading the Vblock platform components Vblock Infrastructure Platforms Software and Firmware

Upgrade Guide

Upgrading the Vblock platform components

Follow the required upgrade sequence to complete the upgrade.

Upgrade sequence for Vblock platform releases earlier than 2.5

Some of the following Vblock platform components are optional or specific to a customer environment. If the

Vblock platforms that you are upgrading do not have the specific component as noted in the following table,

skip that component and proceed with the software and firmware upgrade of the next component.

For Vblock platform releases earlier than Release 2.5, upgrade the software and firmware on the Vblock

platform components in this order:

Order Component

1 Cisco UCS Manager

Use the appropriate version-specific Cisco upgrade documentation.

2 EMC storage array

Use the documentation on PowerLink.

3 Cisco Nexus 5000 Series switches

Use the appropriate Cisco switch documentation.



5 Cisco MDS switches

Use the appropriate Cisco MDS switch documentation.

6 VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi virtualization

Use the VMware vSphere Upgrade Guide.

7 Cisco Nexus 1000V Series virtual switches

Use the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches Install and Upgrade documentation.

8 AMP: Cisco UCS C200 M2

Use the Install and Upgrade documentation.

Upgrade the other management tools that are installed on the Blade Server.

9 Cisco Catalyst switches and routers

Use the Cisco Catalyst install and upgrade documentation.

10 EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM)

Use the UIM documentation on PowerLink.

When the component is in a cluster configuration, upgrade the component in the subordinate cluster before

you upgrade the component in the primary cluster.

The order of the upgrade sequence can be changed as required. For example, if a component causes a

system outage, then that component can be upgraded first to restore productivity before proceeding with the

recommended upgrade sequence.

If there is an issue with the software and firmware upgrade of a component, then you must follow the

component downgrade instructions and use the backup configuration to restore the component to the last

known working version.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10281/prod_installation_guides_list.html

http://powerlink.emc.com/

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_upgrade_guide.pdf

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9902/tsd_products_support_install_and_upgrade.html




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Upgrade Guide

Upgrading the Vblock platform components

Upgrade sequence for Vblock platforms Release 2.5 and later

Some of the following Vblock platform components are optional or specific to a customer environment. If the

Vblock platforms that you are upgrading do not have the specific component as noted in the following table,

skip that component and proceed with the software and firmware upgrade of the next component.

For Vblock platform releases Release 2.5 and later, upgrade the software and firmware on the Vblock platform

components in this order:

Order Component

1 EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM)

Note: UIM must be upgraded first.

Use the UIM documentation on PowerLink.

2 Cisco UCS Manager

Use the appropriate version-specific Cisco upgrade documentation.

3 EMC storage array

Use the documentation on PowerLink.





6 Cisco MDS switches

Use the appropriate Cisco MDS switch documentation.

7 Cisco Nexus 1000V Series virtual switches

Use the Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches Install and Upgrade documentation.

8 AMP: Cisco UCS C200 M2

Use the Install and Upgrade documentation.

Upgrade the other management tools that are installed on the Blade Server.

9 Cisco Catalyst switches and routers

Use the Cisco Catalyst install and upgrade documentation.

10 VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi virtualization

Use the VMware vSphere Upgrade Guide.

When the component is in a cluster configuration, upgrade the component in the subordinate cluster before

you upgrade the component in the primary cluster.

If you experience an issue with the software and firmware upgrade of a component, follow the component

downgrade instructions and use the backup configuration to restore the component to the last known working

version.

Monitoring component upgrades

After you upgrade the software and firmware on a Vblock platform component, monitor the performance of the

upgraded component before you upgrade the next component.


http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10281/prod_installation_guides_list.html




http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_upgrade_guide.pdf


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Upgrade Guide

About this task

Monitor the system for traffic degradation to ensure that the upgraded component has not caused a negative

performance impact.

Procedure

1 Upgrade the software and firmware on a component. See the component upgrade documentation for

detailed upgrade instructions.

2 Monitor the upgrade logs and the system logs.

3 Verify that the component is upgraded successfully.


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Upgrade Guide

ABOUT VCE

VCE, the Virtual Computing Environment Company formed by Cisco and EMC with investments from VMware and Intel,

accelerates the adoption of converged infrastructure and cloud-based computing models that dramatically reduce the cost of IT

while improving time to market for our customers. VCE, through the Vblock platform, delivers the industry's first completely

integrated IT offering with end-to-end vendor accountability. VCE's prepackaged solutions are available through an extensive

partner network, and cover horizontal applications, vertical industry offerings, and application development environments, allowing

customers to focus on business innovation instead of integrating, validating and managing IT infrastructure.

For more information, go to www.vce.com.

Copyright © 2011 VCE Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Vblock and the VCE logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of VCE Company, LLC. and/or its affiliates in the United States or other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.