VMware Telco Cloud Automation v2.1 to v2.2 upgrade procedure

Pre-requisites for upgrading TCA

• Before starting TCA upgrade, Log-in to the respective vCenter and make sure the TCA-manager / TCA-Control Plane virtual machines are up and running.

• Verify if the services of TCA-manager and Control Plane are running by logging into its respective consoles.

• Verify the status of vCenter connectivity from TCA.

• Verify current version of TCA by logging in to TCA appliance management console.

• Ensure that VMware Telco Cloud Automation is connected to the activation server.

• Back up the Telco Cloud Automation Manager and Telco Cloud Automation Control Plane appliances.

• Download the Telco Cloud Automation 2.2 OVA and Upgrade bundle from the VMware Downloads page.

Uploading the TAR File to TCA Manager Appliance Console

• Log in to the Appliance Management interface.

• Navigate to Administration > Upgrade

• Details of the current installed version, upgrade date, and upgrade state are displayed. Click on upgrade to upload the TAR file

• Click Browse to select the downloaded upgrade bundle file.

• Upload the VMware Telco Cloud Automation 2.2 upgrade bundle file and click Continue.

• Now the TAR files get validated and starts uploading into TCA.

• The file is successfully uploaded and verified.

Initiating TCA-Manager upgrade

• Choose upgrade to initiate the upgrade process.

• During the upgrade process, user will lose access to TCA Manager GUI, however it doesn’t impact any running VNFs/CNFs.

Verifying TCA-manager upgrade

• Once upgraded, the Appliance Management interface shows the upgrade completion status and you can verify the current software version, upgraded date and state.

Preparing the environment for TCA-Control Plane upgrade

• Now that the TCA manager upgrade is completed, the next step is to upgrade the TCA - Control Plane. The steps would be same as the TCA-manager upgrade which we have just completed.

• Log in to the Appliance Management interface with admin privileges.

• Navigate to Administration > Upgrade.

• Details of the current installed version, upgrade date, and upgrade state are displayed. Click on upgrade to initiate the upgrade process.

• Click Browse to select the downloaded upgrade bundle file.

• Upload the VMware Telco Cloud Automation 2.2 upgrade bundle file and click Continue.

• Now the TAR files get validated and starts uploading into TCA and you would get a confirmation prompt once the file is successfully uploaded.

Initiating TCA-Control Plane upgrade

• Choose upgrade to initiate the upgrade process.

• During the upgrade process, user will lose access to TCA control plane, however it doesn’t impact any running VNFs/CNFs.

Verifying TCA-Control Plane upgrade

• Once upgraded, the TCA-control plane Appliance Management interface shows the upgrade completion status and you can verify the current software version, upgraded date and state.

• Now we need to validate the TCA-CP connectivity status from TCA-manage console.

• Login to the TCA-manager and navigate to Virtual Infrastructure Tab. You can verify the TCA-CP’s connection status.

Upgrading Tanzu Kubernetes Clusters

• The next step is to upgrade the TKG clusters in TCA (Please note this option will be enabled only after the successful completion of TCA manager and control planes are upgraded to v2.2)

• VMware Telco Cloud Automation is integrated with VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid. To use the latest version 1.6.1 of Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (supported in TCA 2.2), you must upgrade the Tanzu Kubernetes management clusters first and then the Tanzu Kubernetes workload clusters.

Upgrade Management Kubernetes Cluster Version

• You can upgrade the Kubernetes cluster through VMware Telco Cloud Automation.

• The following table lists the Kubernetes upgrade compatibility for the Management cluster when upgrading from VMware Telco Cloud Automation.

• Before upgrading Kubernetes to the latest version, consider the following constraints and prepare for the upgrade plan:

  1. VMware Telco Cloud Automation preserves the customization performed through previous CNF instantiate / upgrade on the node pools of the cluster. Any manual changes performed directly on the nodes are not preserved.

  2. Applications may face downtime during Kubernetes upgrade and may take some time to be available for operations.

  3. Clusters may take some time to be available for operations.

  4. Check and upgrade the required node pools in the Workload cluster.

  5. The IP addresses of master nodes and the worker nodes change after upgrade.

  6. If the upgrade fails, you can correct the configuration and perform the upgrade again.

Implications of Not Upgrading Management Cluster

• Not upgrading a management cluster can impact various operations.

  1. Ability to edit the management cluster.

  2. Ability to create, upgrade, and modify the workload cluster managed through the management cluster.

  3. Ability to upgrade and instantiate the CNF in the workload cluster managed through the management cluster.

Procedure for updating Kubernetes Version for a Cluster Instance (management)

1. Prerequisites

• Create an upgrade plan for the upgrading the cluster instance, considering the impact of cluster downtime.

• Take backup of any manual customization added to the clusters. You must take the backup manually.

1. The RAN optimized Photon BYOI Template for Kubernetes version 1.23.10 from customer connect portal.

2. Upload the OVA to vCenter and convert it as template.

3. Procedure for upgrading TKG management cluster

• Log in to the VMware Telco Cloud Automation web interface.

• Go to Infrastructure > CaaS Infrastructure. The CaaS Infrastructure page is displayed.

• Select the cluster instance for upgrade.

• Click the Options (⋮) symbol against the Kubernetes cluster that you want to upgrade.

• Select Upgrade Cluster. The Upgrade Cluster window is displayed.

• In the Select Version field, select the Kubernetes version to upgrade from the list.

• In the Virtual Machine Template, click the option to select the VM template applicable for the new version of Kubernetes and don’t skip the pre-validations (this would help us to identify possible upgrade errors)

• Click Upgrade. The upgrade process starts.

• Click > to view the progress of the update.

• Management Kubernetes Cluster would be upgraded successfully and you can see the completion status.

Next steps

• To get the latest IP address details of the node, view the Cluster Instances page.

• To Update the Kubernetes template version (optional):

  • Open the Telco Cloud Automation UI.

  • Select Infrastructure -> CaaS Infrastructure -> Cluster templates.

  • Edit the templates that show compatibility errors.

  • Change the Kubernetes version to the latest one.

Upgrading Workload Kubernetes Cluster Version

• You can upgrade the existing Workload Kubernetes Cluster version to the latest versions of Kubernetes supported in the current version of the VMware Telco Cloud Automation.

• The following table lists the Kubernetes upgrade compatibility for the Workload cluster when upgrading from VMware Telco Cloud Automation.

Implications of Not Upgrading Workload Cluster

• Not upgrading an unsupported Workload cluster can impact various operations.

  1. Ability to edit the workload cluster.

  2. Ability to create, upgrade, and modify the node pools.

  3. Ability to upgrade and instantiate the CNF.

Procedure for upgrading Kubernetes Version for a Cluster Instance (workload v1)

• Prerequisites

  1. Create an upgrade plan for the upgrading the cluster instance, considering the impact of cluster downtime.

  2. Take backup of any manual customization added to the clusters. You must take the backup manually.

• Procedure

Step 1: Log in to the VMware Telco Cloud Automation web interface.

Step 2: Go to Infrastructure > CaaS Infrastructure. The CaaS Infrastructure page is displayed.

Step 3: Select the cluster instance for upgrade.

Step 4: Click the Options (⋮) symbol against the Kubernetes cluster that you want to upgrade.

Step 5: Select Upgrade Cluster. The Upgrade Cluster window is displayed.

Step 6: In the Select Version field, select the Kubernetes version to upgrade from the list.

Step 7: In the Virtual Machine Template, click the option to select the VM template applicable for the new version of Kubernetes.

Step 8: Click Upgrade. The upgrade process starts.

Step 9: Click > to view the progress of the update.

Step 10: Workload v1 Kubernetes Cluster would be upgraded successfully.

Next steps

• To get the latest IP address details of the node, view the Cluster Instances page.

• To Update the Kubernetes template version (optional):

  1. Open the Telco Cloud Automation UI.

  2. Select Infrastructure -> CaaS Infrastructure -> Cluster templates.

  3. Edit the templates that show compatibility errors.

  4. Change the Kubernetes version to the latest one.

Procedure for upgrading Kubernetes Version for a Cluster Instance (workload v2)

1. Upgrade the Control Plane

1.1 Prerequisites

Before upgrading the Workload Cluster, make sure Management cluster has latest K8s version v1.23.10 with respect to TCA 2.2 and the workload cluster is in Provisioned status.

1.2 Procedure

Step 1: Log in to the VMware Telco Cloud Automation web interface.

Step 2: Go to Infrastructure > CaaS Infrastructure > Cluster Instances.

Step 3: Click the Options (⋮) symbol against the Kubernetes cluster that you want to upgrade.

Step 4: Click Edit Cluster Configuration.

Step 5: In the Configuration tab Cluster Info step, select the new TCA BOM Release which you want upgrade to, then click Next.

Step 6: In the Control Plane Info step, click the configuration icon to the right of the control panel row.

Step 7: Select the VM Template from the available template that suite the TCA BOM Release you selected. Then click Apply.

Step 8: After the Control Plane dialog close, click Next jump to Ready to Deploy, Click Deploy.

Step 9: The upgrade process can be monitored below the rows of the Cluster, the upgrade events will be updated in the Events tab.

Step 10: If the upgrade is a failure, click the Retry option to continue upgrade the Control Plane. However, configuration modification is not allowed before Retry.

Step 11: You have successfully upgraded the Workload v2 Kubernetes Cluster instance.

2. Upgrade the Node Pool

2.1 Prerequisites

Before upgrading the Workload Cluster Node Pool, make sure Workload Cluster Control Plane has been upgraded, and the Workload Cluster is in Provisioned status.

2.2 Procedure

Step 1: Log in to the VMware Telco Cloud Automation web interface.

Step 2: Go to Infrastructure > CaaS Infrastructure > Cluster Instances.

Step 3: Click the Kubernetes cluster name that you want to configure.

Step 4: Select the Node Pools tab, click the Options (⋮) symbol against the node pool that you want to upgrade.

Step 5: Click Edit, there will show out Node Pool Details dialog.

Step 6: Select the new TCA BOM Release which you want upgrade to.

Step 7: Select the VM Template from the available template which suite for the TCA BOM Release you selected.

Step 8: Then click Apply.

Step 9: After the Node Pool dialog is closed, click Next jump to Ready to Deploy, Click Deploy.

Step 10: The upgrade process can be monitored below the rows of the Node Pool, the upgrade events will be updated in the Events tab.

Step 11: If the upgrade is failure, click the Retry option to continue upgrade the Node Pool. However, configuration modification is not allowed before Retry.

Step 12: You have successfully upgraded a Node Pool of a Kubernetes cluster instance.

Introduction to Life Cycle Management Operations for TKG clusters

We have shared some reference links to perform LCM operations for TKG clusters.

• Working with Management Clusters - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Telco-Cloud-Automation/2.2/com.vmware.tca.userguide/GUID-EB3D3CB8-8ECC-44C8-8685-6C62155135E4.html

• Working with V1 Workload Clusters - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Telco-Cloud-Automation/2.2/com.vmware.tca.userguide/GUID-977889BD-E069-46EC-8C44-3FB96C467860.html

• Working with V2 Workload Clusters - https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Telco-Cloud-Automation/2.2/com.vmware.tca.userguide/GUID-3816BC15-9377-4AD0-A0FA-959768E85D06.html

Conclusion

Now VMware Telco cloud Automation has been upgraded to v2.2, TKG clusters have been updated with Kubernetes version v1.23.10 successfully and it can continue running on this version. Hope this document helps.