5.4 Appliance Host (ESX) Upgrade

NOTE:To upgrade the Appliance Host (ESX) you need the VMware ESX ISO.

  1. Make sure all protections are paused and all VMs are shut down, including the Forge Management VM.

  2. Back up the Forge Management VM. See Managing Forge Snapshots on the Appliance Host

  3. If your Forge appliance is equipped with DRAC, proceed to Preparing to Upgrade DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts. If your Forge appliance does not have DRAC, skip to Preparing to Upgrade Appliance Hosts without DRAC.

5.4.1 Preparing to Upgrade DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts

  1. Connect to the DRAC by opening Internet Explorer and entering the DRAC IP Address in the form https://DRAC_IP.

  2. Log in using the username root and the password calvin.

  3. Click the Media tab at the top of the page, then click Configuration under the tabs.

  4. Click the Attach Virtual Media check box, then click Apply Changes.

  5. Click Virtual Media under the tabs.

  6. Under CD/DVD-ROM Drive, select ISO Image File.

  7. Click Browse and locate the upgrade ISO.

  8. Select the ISO image and click Connect at the bottom of the page.

    Skip to Performing the Appliance Host Upgrade.

5.4.2 Preparing to Upgrade Appliance Hosts without DRAC

  1. Burn the VMware ESX ISO to a CD.

  2. Insert the Upgrade CD you just created into the Forge Appliance CD-ROM drive and open the console.

    Proceed to Performing the Appliance Host Upgrade.

5.4.3 Performing the Appliance Host Upgrade

  1. Click the Console tab at the top of the page and then click Connect at the bottom of the page.

    The Forge getty is displayed.

  2. Press Alt+F2 to switch to an ESX login prompt and log in as root.

  3. Type the reboot command and press Enter.

    The ESX server performs a soft restart and switches back to the Forge configuration prompt.

  4. When the Forge appliance reboots, press F11.

    For DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts, proceed to Step 5. For Appliance Hosts without DRAC, skip to Step 6.

  5. At the Boot Device Menu, select VIRTUAL CDROM.

    This boots the Forge appliance from the ISO you attached in Preparing to Upgrade DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts.

  6. At the Boot Device Menu, select IDE CD ROM device.

    This will boot the Forge appliance from the CD you burned and inserted in the Forge appliance in Preparing to Upgrade Appliance Hosts without DRAC.

  7. When the ESX installation screen is displayed, press Enter.

    The graphical interface is displayed.

  8. When prompted, skip the CD Media Test.

  9. When the ESX Installer screen is displayed, click Next.

  10. Select the appropriate keyboard type and click Next.

  11. Click Next at the mouse selection screen.

  12. Select Upgrade when prompted for the installation type.

  13. Accept the license agreement.

  14. In the Advanced Option screen, click Next.

    IMPORTANT:Do not change the bootloader configuration.

  15. In the About to Upgrade screen, click Next.

  16. When the upgrade is complete, click Finish.

    The Forge appliance will reboot. Do not touch the keyboard until the reboot is complete.

  17. For Appliance Hosts without DRAC, remove the CD from the Forge appliance CD-ROM drive. For DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts, proceed to DRAC-Equipped Appliance Host Upgrade Cleanup.

5.4.4 DRAC-Equipped Appliance Host Upgrade Cleanup

  1. Close the DRAC console window.

  2. Switch back to the Internet Explorer window displaying the DRAC page you connected to in Preparing to Upgrade DRAC-equipped Appliance Hosts and click the Console tab at the top of the page. Verify that the window has timed out.

  3. Log in using the username root and the password calvin.

  4. Click the Media tab, then click Disconnect at the bottom of the page to disconnect the ISO from the DRAC.

  5. Click Configuration under the tabs.

  6. Deselect the Attach Virtual Media check box and click Apply Changes at the bottom of the page.

  7. Click Log Out at the top right corner of the window and close the Internet Explorer window.