{"id":23306,"date":"2018-01-30T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T08:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/?p=23306"},"modified":"2023-07-16T11:27:57","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T09:27:57","slug":"patching-vcenter-server-ha-cluster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/patching-vcenter-server-ha-cluster\/","title":{"rendered":"Patching a vCenter Server HA cluster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23311 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-01\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-01.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-01\" width=\"602\" height=\"202\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once the HA cluster has been configured, the procedure for patching a <a href=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/vmware-vcenter-high-availability-setup-pt-1\/\">vCenter Server HA<\/a> cluster must follow <strong>specific steps<\/strong> to avoid services disruption.<\/p>\n<p>The patching procedure is composed by <strong>three stages<\/strong>:<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Patching the Witness node<\/li>\n<li>Patching the Passive node<\/li>\n<li>Patching the Active node<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23315 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-02\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-02.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-02\" width=\"400\" height=\"229\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Download latest patch<\/h2>\n<p>From the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vmware.com\/patchmgr\/findPatchByReleaseName.portal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VMware website<\/a>, download the patch to apply.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23316 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-03\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-03-600x315.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-03\" width=\"600\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Upload the downloaded\u00a0<strong>.ISO file<\/strong> to a datastore accessible by the vCenter Server.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23317 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-04\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-04-600x285.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-04\" width=\"600\" height=\"285\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once the file upload has been completed, the patching procedure begins by putting the <strong>HA cluster in Maintenance Mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23318 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-05\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-05-600x365.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-05\" width=\"600\" height=\"365\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Put the HA cluster in Maintenance Mode<\/h2>\n<p>Open the vSphere Web Client and right click the vCenter Server to patch. Select <strong>vCenter HA Settings<\/strong> option to access the settings area of the HA cluster.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23319 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-06\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-06.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-06\" width=\"575\" height=\"442\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The vCenter HA status is now reported as <strong>Enabled<\/strong>. Click on\u00a0<strong>Edit<\/strong> button.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23320 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-07\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-07-600x305.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-07\" width=\"600\" height=\"305\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select <strong>Maintenance Mode<\/strong> then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23321 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-08\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-08.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-08\" width=\"507\" height=\"372\" \/><\/p>\n<p>vCenter HA is now in Maintenance Mode, replication still works but automatic failover is disabled. Note which VM currently <strong>holds the Active and Passive node role<\/strong> since this information is required later on when the Active node will be processed.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23322 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-09\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-09-600x305.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-09\" width=\"600\" height=\"305\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Patching the Witness node<\/h2>\n<p>To proceed with Witness node patching, we need to <strong>mount the .ISO file<\/strong> to the processed node.<\/p>\n<p>Right click the Witness node and select <strong>Edit Settings<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23323 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-10\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-10-600x508.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-10\" width=\"600\" height=\"508\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Expand <strong>CD\/DVD drive 1<\/strong> item and select <strong>Datastore ISO File<\/strong> from the drop-down menu.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23324 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-11\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-11-600x624.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-11\" width=\"600\" height=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select the <strong>patch .ISO file<\/strong> from the correct datastore then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23325 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-12\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-12-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-12\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>OK<\/strong> to save the configuration of the Witness node.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23326 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-13\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-13-600x624.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-13\" width=\"600\" height=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now <strong>SSH the Active node<\/strong> as root using a tool like PuTTY and launch the <strong>Bash shell<\/strong>\u00a0with the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"># shell<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23327 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-14\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-14-600x283.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-14\" width=\"600\" height=\"283\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From the SSH console of the Active node, connect the Witness node via SSH running the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"># ssh root@ip_address_witness<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23486 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-15\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-15-600x274.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-15\" width=\"600\" height=\"274\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To <strong>install the patch<\/strong> on the Witness node, from the <strong>Appliance shell<\/strong> run the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"># software-packages install --iso --acceptEulas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23329 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-16\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-16-600x323.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-16\" width=\"600\" height=\"323\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The update may require several minutes depending on the patch size. When the patch has been installed successfully, <strong>disconnect the .ISO<\/strong> from the Witness node.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23330 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-17\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-17-600x624.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-17\" width=\"600\" height=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Reboot the appliance<\/strong> to apply the patch with the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"># shutdown reboot -r \u201cVCHA Witness patch\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23331 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-18\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-18-600x63.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-18\" width=\"600\" height=\"63\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Patching the Passive node<\/h2>\n<p>To install the patch on the Passive node, <strong>repeat same steps<\/strong> performed for the Witness node.\u00a0Mount the .ISO file to the Passive node.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23332 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-19\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-19-600x624.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-19\" width=\"600\" height=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From the Active node, connect the Passive node via SSH running the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0ssh root@ip_address_passive<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Install the patch on the Passive node running the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0software-packages install --iso --acceptEulas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23333 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-20\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-20-600x322.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-20\" width=\"600\" height=\"322\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When the update has been installed, disconnect the .ISO from the Passive node and <strong>reboot the Passive node<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0shutdown reboot -r \u201cVCHA Passive patch\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23334 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-21\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-21-600x64.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-21\" width=\"600\" height=\"64\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Patching the Last node<\/h2>\n<p>Since it is no possible to patch the Active node without service disruption, the patch installation procedure for the Active node is pretty the same but it requires an additional step first: <strong>performing a failover<\/strong> to switch Active and Passive nodes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Perform failover<\/h4>\n<p>From vSphere Web Client, right click the vCenter Server to process and select <strong>vCenter HA Settings<\/strong> option. Click on\u00a0<strong>Initiate Failover<\/strong>\u00a0button. Although vCenter HA is in Maintenance Mode, the manual failover still works.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23335 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-22\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-22-600x261.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-22\" width=\"600\" height=\"261\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>Yes<\/strong> to proceed with failover.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23336 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-23\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-23.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-23\" width=\"398\" height=\"222\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Wait some minutes until the failover process completes and make sure Active and Passive <strong>nodes have been switched<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23337 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-24\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-24-600x245.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-24\" width=\"600\" height=\"245\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Install the patch<\/h4>\n<p>After the failover took place, the Active node become the Passive node and vice versa. To install the patch follow <strong>same procedure<\/strong> used for both Witness and Passive nodes.<\/p>\n<p>Mount the <strong>.ISO file<\/strong> to the Last node.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23338 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-25\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-25-600x624.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-25\" width=\"600\" height=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Connect the <strong>Last node via SSH<\/strong> and run the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0ssh root@ip_address_passive<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23339 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-26\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-26-600x276.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-26\" width=\"600\" height=\"276\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Install the patch<\/strong> on the Last node with the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0software-packages install --iso --acceptEulas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23340 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-27\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-27-600x325.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-27\" width=\"600\" height=\"325\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When the installation has completed, <strong>disconnect the .ISO<\/strong>\u00a0and <strong>reboot the Last node<\/strong> with the command:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">#\u00a0shutdown reboot -r \u201cVCHA Active patch\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23341 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-28\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-28-600x63.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-28\" width=\"600\" height=\"63\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When the Last node has been rebooted, you can <strong>perform the failback<\/strong> to restore Active and Passive nodes. From <strong>vCenter HA<\/strong> section, click <strong>Initiate Failover<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23342 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-29\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-29-600x250.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-29\" width=\"600\" height=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When failback process has completed, exit the HA cluster from Maintenance Mode to <strong>restore the normal functionality<\/strong>. From <strong>vCenter HA<\/strong> section, click <strong>Edit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23343 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-30\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-30-600x250.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-30\" width=\"600\" height=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select <strong>Enable vCenter HA<\/strong> option then click <strong>OK<\/strong>. Replication between Active and Passive nodes is enabled and automatic failover feature is restored.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23344 size-full\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-31\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-31.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-31\" width=\"507\" height=\"372\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The HA cluster is now operating in a normal status.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-23345 size-large\" title=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-32\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/patching-vc-ha-cluster-32-600x250.jpg\" alt=\"patching-vc-ha-cluster-32\" width=\"600\" height=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Keep the vCenter Server <strong>always up-to-date<\/strong> for having an healthy, secure and fully working environment.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"signature\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/firma.jpg\" alt=\"signature\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once the HA cluster has been configured, the procedure for patching a vCenter Server HA cluster must follow specific steps to avoid services disruption. The patching procedure is composed by three stages:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"linkedin_93tdZWzMZc_93tdZWzMZc":"","facebook_2879994398731222_17841400390232720":"","twitter_113568041_113568041":"","mastodon_115463926174894442_115463926174894442":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[903,2701],"tags":[1805,1582,583],"class_list":["post-23306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vmware-en","category-vsphere-en","tag-high-availability","tag-patching","tag-vcenter-en","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}