Zerto Virtual Replication release regular updates. In addition, VMware also releases new versions of their products which can impact on Zerto Virtual Replication. This chapter describes the different options for different upgrade scenarios.
You can only upgrade to the next version of Zerto Virtual Replication or any update within the version. All releases prior to version 3.0 are considered versions and not updates: 2.0, 2.0U1, 2.0U2, etc. As of version 3.0, update versions, 3.0U1, 3.0U2, etc., are considered, for upgrade purposes, as the same version. Thus, Zerto Virtual Replication 2.0U4 and 2.0U5 are different versions while Zerto Virtual Replication update versions 3.0U3, 3.0U4 are considered one version.
For example, upgrading directly from 2.0U5 to 3.1 is not possible, since 2.0U5 can only be directly upgraded to 3.0Ux, but upgrading directly from 3.1 to 3.1U2 is possible.
The following topics are described in this chapter:
■ “Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication”, below.
■ “Upgrading VRAs”, on page 47
■ “Upgrading or Reinstalling VMware Components”, on page 49.
A Zerto Virtual Manager can be used with a different version on another site, either one version higher or lower than the version installed on this site. Thus, for example, version 3.0U5 of Zerto Virtual Replication can be used with Zerto Virtual Replication versions 2.0U5, 3.0 (including all the upgrades, 3.0U1, etc.) and 3.1 (including all the upgrades, 3.1U1, etc.).
Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication
Note: Zerto Virtual Replication features aimed at cloud service providers, such as Zerto Cloud Connectors and masking, were moved to the Zerto Cloud Manager as of Zerto Virtual Replication version 3.0. If Zerto Cloud Connectors and masking were not implemented at the site, you can upgrade, as described below. If a Zerto Cloud Connector or masking was implemented, refer to Zerto Virtual Replication Zerto Cloud Manager Installation for upgrade details after upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication, described below.
Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication
Before Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication
Before upgrading to a new version, either by installing the new version over the existing version or by uninstalling the existing version and then installing the new version, it is recommended to do the following:
■ Clear the Microsoft Internet Explorer cache of temporary internet files. Not clearing the cache of temporary files can result in problems when accessing the Zerto Virtual Manager via the vSphere Client console.
■ Make sure that all VPGs are in Protecting state and not in a sync state, such as Delta Sync, or an error state, such as Missing Configuration.
The installation checks for an existing installation and if an existing installation is identified, that is one version lower than the new version or the same version, you can upgrade, reinstall or uninstall the existing version.
Upgrading the Current Installation
The defined Virtual Replication Appliances and protected virtual machines, along with all other information, such as checkpoints, journals, site and pairing information, are kept. The upgrade is performed without disrupting the protection, but no new checkpoints are written to the journal, resulting in alerts, even if only one of the sites was affected. Zerto Virtual Replication alerts might be issued stating that the journal history and RPO do not meet the specified targets.
When the upgrade has completed, the VPG definitions are upgraded to the new version. Also, any customization of Zerto Virtual Replication alarms is maintained during an upgrade except for the Send a notification email action which is removed. Email notifications for alarms
configured in the Zerto GUI, in the Advanced Settings dialog, are maintained during an upgrade.
When upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication, the VRAs that were installed in the previous version are not upgraded. Zerto Virtual Replication enables VRAs installed with the previous version of Zerto Virtual Replication to work with VRAs installed with the current version of Zerto Virtual
Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication Replication in any combination of VRAs (all from one version or a mix of VRA versions) as long as the VRAs are only one version higher or lower than the version of Zerto Virtual Replication installed on this site. It is recommended to upgrade the VRAs to be consistent with the latest version and this can be done in the Manage VRAs dialog as described in “Upgrading VRAs”, on page 47.
If the vSphere Client console was open during the upgrade, close it and reopen it to ensure you have the upgraded Zerto GUI.
Note: When using the Zerto Cloud Manager, it is recommended to upgrade the Zerto Cloud Manager to be consistent with the latest version as described in the Zerto Cloud Manager Installation Guide.
Re-installing the Current Installation
If the version is the same as the installed version, you can reinstall or uninstall the version.
When reinstalling the version, all pairing, VRAs and VPGs defined for the site are removed. Use the Zerto Diagnostics utility export and import options, as described in “Upgrading To More Than One Version Higher”, below to save the settings.
If the vSphere Client console was open during the reinstallation, close it and reopen it to ensure you have the upgraded Zerto GUI.
Upgrading To More Than One Version Higher
If you need to upgrade more than one version higher:
■ Either upgrade to the next version, as described above, and repeat this until you upgrade to the required version,
■ Or, use the Zerto Diagnostics utility import option to save the VPG definitions that have been defined, before uninstalling the old version of Zerto Virtual Replication. After the upgrade of
Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication Zerto Virtual Replication, use the Zerto Diagnostics utility import option to re-implement these VPGs.
Note: Make sure that all VPGs are in Protecting state and not in a sync state, such as Delta Sync, or an error state, such as Missing Configuration.
To upgrade Zerto Virtual Replication using the Zerto Diagnostics utility:
1. Click Start > Programs > Zerto Virtual Replication > Zerto Diagnostics. The Zerto Virtual Replication Diagnostics menu dialog is displayed.
2. Select the Export Protection Group Settings option and click Next. Note: Zerto Virtual Replication regularly exports settings to the
Zerto_Installation_Folder\Zerto Virtual Replication\ExportedSettings folder. You can use the last exported file. The default Zerto_Installation_Folder is C:\Program Files\Zerto.
3. Select the destination for the file to contain exported settings and specify the Zerto Virtual Manager IP address and port where the VPGs are protecting virtual machines.
4. Click Next.
The list of exported VPGs is displayed.
5. Click Done.
6. In the Zerto GUI delete the VPGs, keeping their target disks.
Upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication Note: If you did not export the settings, Zerto Virtual Replication regularly exports settings to the Zerto_Installation_Folder\Zerto Virtual Replication\ExportedSettings folder. You can use the last exported file as input to recreate the VPGs to this point in time.
The default Zerto_Installation_Folder is C:\Program Files\Zerto.
7. Uninstall the existing Zerto Virtual Replication version.
8. Install the new Zerto Virtual Replication version.
9. Click Start > Programs > Zerto Virtual Replication > Zerto Diagnostics. The Zerto Virtual Replication Diagnostics menu dialog is displayed.
10. Select the Import Protection Group Settings option.
11. Click Next.
12. Select the file previously exported and enter the Zerto Virtual Manager IP address and port specified when exporting the VPGs.
13. Click Next.
The list of exported VPGs is displayed.
14. Select the VPGs to import. Only VPGs with names that are not already defined can be imported. VPGs in the import files with the same name as an existing VPG are displayed in the list disabled.
Upgrading VRAs 15. Click Next.
The list of imported VPGs is displayed. If the VPG could not be imported the reason for the failure is specified.
16. Click Done.
Upgrading VRAs
When upgrading Zerto Virtual Replication, the VRAs that were installed in the previous version are not upgraded automatically. If a newer version of the installed VRAs exists, you can continue to use the current VRAs with the new version of Zerto Virtual Replication or upgrade these VRAs from within the Zerto GUI.
VRAs installed with the previous version of Zerto Virtual Replication can work with VRAs installed with the current version of Zerto Virtual Replication in any combination of VRAs (all from one version or a mix of VRA versions) as long as the VRAs are only one update higher or lower than the version of Zerto Virtual Replication installed on this site.
Zerto recommends that you always upgrade the VRAs to be consistent with the latest version.
Not all new installations of Zerto Virtual Replication requires upgrading VRAs. You can see if an upgrade is available in the VRAs tab, in the VRA Version column. An alert is also issued both on the site with the old VRA installed and on any paired site with this site.
Move the mouse over the Outdated value to display the VRA version as a tooltip.
Considerations when upgrading VRAs:
■ VRAs managing protected virtual machines: Either vMotion the protected virtual machines and datastores managed by the VRA to another host with a VRA, or upgrade the VRA without vMotioning the virtual machines and a Delta Sync is performed following the upgrade.
■ Upgrading a VRA that manages the recovery of virtual machines results in a Bitmap Sync being performed after the upgrade. Note that the time to upgrade a VRA is short so the Bitmap Sync should also be quick.
Upgrading VRAs To upgrade VRAs:
1. For a VRA protecting virtual machines and vMotioning the protected virtual machines:
Remove affinity rules for protected virtual machines on the host with the VRA to be upgraded and vMotion these protected machines from the host to another host with a VRA.
2. In the Zerto GUI, either select the VRAs to upgrade in the VRAs tab or for a single VRA display the VRA details by clicking the VRA Name link in the VRAs tab, and click Actions and then click Upgrade.
The Upgrade VRAs dialog is displayed, listing the selected VRAs and whether an upgrade is available.
3. Review the list and deselect any VRAs that you decide not to upgrade.
4. Click Upgrade Selected VRAs.
The upgrade progress is displayed in the VRAs tab.
A Delta Sync, for VRAs protecting virtual machines, or a Bitmap Sync, for VRAs managing recovery, is performed following the upgrade.
Note: The VRA name does not change, even if the naming convention in the latest version is different.
Upgrading or Reinstalling VMware Components
Upgrading or Reinstalling VMware Components
When changing the version of the vCenter Server, you can either upgrade the vCenter Server or reinstall it.
Upgrading a vCenter Server
When you upgrade a vCenter Server, preserving the vCenter database, the Zerto Virtual
Replication components are not affected and protection continues without you needing to perform any additional procedures. Zerto recommends upgrading a vCenter Server in preference to reinstalling it.
Reinstalling a vCenter Server
If, for whatever reason, you need to reinstall the vCenter Server, including rebuilding the database, contact Zerto for help throughout the reinstallation.
Upgrading or Reinstalling a Host
When upgrading or reinstalling a host with an active VRA, change the recovery host of every virtual machine in every VPG that is recovering to this host, to avoid a Delta Sync after the host has been upgraded and the VRA started up. You can change the host within the Zerto GUI, described below or by using cmdlets as described in Zerto Virtual Replication PowerShell Cmdlets Guide.
Upgrading or Reinstalling VMware Components To change a host VRA:
1. In the Zerto GUI, either select the VRA to change in the VRAs tab or display the VRA details by clicking the VRA Name link in the VRAs tab, and click Actions and then click Change VM Recovery VRA.
The Change Target Host dialog is displayed, listing all the virtual machines that require a change to the recovery host.
2. Review the list and select the virtual machines to change the target host to another specified target host.
Upgrading or Reinstalling VMware Components 3. Select the target host for these virtual machines in the Select the replacement host
drop-down list. You can move some virtual machines to one replacement target host and by repeating the operation, move other virtual machines to a different target host.
Validation is performed to make sure the selected target host can be used, for example the datastores used by both the VRAs are accessible from both hosts.
Any implications of the change, such as whether synchronization might be required after the change is also displayed.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat this procedure from step 2 for all the virtual machines.
The VPG target host definitions are changed and the affected target data transferred to the changed VRAs. During the change procedure you cannot edit the affected VPGs nor attempt a failover, move, failover test or clone operation.
VRAs installed on ESXi 4.x and 5.x hosts require a password to access the host. If the host password changes, for example when he host is upgraded, the VRA has to be updated with the new password, as described in Zerto Virtual Manager Administration Guide.
To change the host password required by a VRA:
1. In the Zerto GUI, either select the VRA to edit in the VRAs tab or display the VRA details by clicking the VRA Name link in the VRAs tab, and click Actions and then click Edit.
The Edit VRA dialog is displayed.
2. Edit the host root password:
Host Root Password – Specify the new password.
3. Click Save.
There is also a procedure to change the passwords for more than one host at one time, described in the Zerto Virtual Manager Administration Guide.