Use Cluster Host_Upgrade to Automatically install VMware Patches on Nutanix

Many Nutanix customers running VMware today use VMware Update Manager (VUM) to apply patches.  Unfortunately VUM does not understand the process of shutting down one CVM at a time and rolling through the cluster.  With this process you can use leverage the back end of the One Click Hypervisor Upgrade feature, sit back, and grab a sandwich while your patch is applied.

Step 1: Nutanix Hypervisor Upgrade Requirements

Disable hypervisor lockdown mode on the hypervisor host

Enable vSphere HA and the following settings:

  • Enable Host Monitoring
  • Disable Admission Control > Select: Do not reserve failover capacity. Allow VM power on operations that violate availability constraints
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Enable vSphere DRS and these settings:

  • Power Management > Off

vCenter Server Settings > Advanced Settings

  • config.migrate.test.CompatibleNetworks.VMOnVirtualIntranet value of false

 

Step 2: Download Patch from myVMware

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Click on the Build Number KB and copy the md5sum of the patch.

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Step 3: Upload Patch to a CVM

In this example I put the patch in /home/nutanix/tmp

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Step 4: Run the cluster host_upgrade command

On the CVM that you uploaded the patch to run:

cluster –md5sum=[md5sum of patch] –bundle=[file path to patch] host_upgrade

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Step 5: Sandwich run!

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