VMware Aria Operation 8.17.2 upgrade has been released, the Aria Operations 8.17.2 release notes can be reviewed here, and the patch can be downloaded here.

As far as upgrading using Aria Suite Lifecycle Manager (ASLCM), since May 6th the link and authentication from ASLCM out to vmware.com, which automagically would pull down the update and install binaries from the public repository, has been broken. This is a known issue, and there’s a workaround/alternative, which entails manually downloading the new files from the new Broadcom Support Portal download area and importing into ASLCM.

Not a big deal…it’s time to upgrade my lab, so let’s walk though how upgraded my Aria Ops environment with ASLCM using this manual process.

Note, this is a two step upgrade process: step one, upgrade the PSP. Step two, upgrade Aria Ops.

First let’s go gather up the required files – I’ll log into the Broadcom Support Portal.

I found the PSPack in the support portal by going to My Downloads -> VMware Aria Suite -> Solutions TAB -> VMware Aria Suite [your version] -> 2019 -> vrslcm-8.16.0-PSPACK4 (direct link) and store this on my local machine.

Now I’ll go grab the Aria Ops upgrade binary file and store it in the same spot.

Since I’m updating my Aria Ops to 8.17.2 (build 24026428) using ASLCM, I will need the .pak file, names “VMware Aria Operations -Virtual Appliance upgrade pak“.

This one I was able to find in the support portal…My Downloads -> VMware Aria Suite -> Solutions TAB -> VMware Aria Suite [your version] -> 2019 -> VMware Aria Operations, then click View Group (on the right).

PRO TIP: if there appears to be no products listed, on the right there is a little chevron “>” where you can then expand the group!

In the top right, I selected 8.17.2 from the dropdown…and the checked the box for the terms and conditions for the download “cloud” button to become active.

Then I’m going to download the upgrade PAK file by clicking the cute little cloud icon…

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Now that all files are downloaded, I can now apply the upgrade using ASLCM.

First, let’s upgrade to the most current PSPack, I just downloaded. Login to ASLCM, go to Settings -> Product Support Pack.

I can see this PSPack v2 only supports up to Aria Ops 8.17.1…so I for sure need to upgrade to PSPack v4.

That’s cool, I already downloaded it…click Upload.

Select the .pspack file, then click import.

The file then uploaded and I followed the request progress…

A few minutes after the file uploaded, the process completed.

I first created a snapshot (per VMware best practices) before the upgrade just in case.

Note, the snapshot can be done manually or simply click the Create Snapshot button in ASLCM.

After that snapshot completed, I clicked Apply Version to apply and run the upgrade to the PSP pack.

Checked the box and verified the snapshot has been taken, then I hit Submit.

And the upgrade started…now I’ll wait for LCM services to restart.

One that completed, I logged back into Ops and I see that the PSP is now version 4 and Supports 8.17.2 (plus other newer product versions, like Automation and Logs).

Also, something to note…this PSPack update has removed the My VMware tile:

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Now I need to work on upgrading Aria Operations to 8.17.2.

I used WinSCP to transfer the binary file over to the ASLCM box, and I put it in the /data directory.

Once it’s there I need to discover the file by going to Settings -> Binary Mapping.

Click on Add Binaries…

Since the binary file is already on the ASLCM box I need to select the Local radio button, and then type in the base location…/data, then click Discover.

ASLCM will then found the file and it displayed it in the mapped product version list. Selected the box next to the 8.17.2 PAK file, then clicked Add.

A new source mapping request ran…

When that completed the upgrade binary showed up in the list of available products.

Now I can go into my Aria Ops environment and start the upgrade – Environments -> and clicked on my MW-vROPS environment tile.

In my Aria Ops environment details I can see the current version of 8.17.2, and since I now have the PSPack and the binary uploaded, the Upgrade button is available to select

Once I clicked the update button, I was presented with an option to trigger an inventory sync, which is advisable, then I proceeded with the update.

After clicking Proceed, this opened a new window where I verifyed the version and the repository URL, which points to the previously uploaded .pak binary file. It’s always advised to check the compatibility matrix as well just to be sure this version upgrade will be compatible with other installed products – click the View Compatibility Matrix button (as of June 28th 2024, this seems to be broken), verify all is good, then then…Next.

Next up is the APUAT assessment which spit out a report letting me know what components and metrics will be impacted…this passed validation…Next.

Next I have an option to take a snapshot, which is always a good idea, this option will remove after upgrade is complete. Interestingly, there’s an option to retain the snapshot after if it’s something that’s desired…Next.

One last precheck to go…this is good to check and validate all services, disk space, node health node sizing and reachability, NTP, and version compatibility…all of which passed…Next.

One last upgrade summary panel…now I hit the SUBMIT button.

This will take some time, and progress can be monitored by watching the stage diagram in the request details. This upgrade has 10 stages…so I’ll grab some coffee (a nice Americano maybe?) and stand by for the stages to roll by.

Still running, on stage 8 after about 10 minutes…

Note that Stage 9 deleted the node Snapshot, nice!

When that completed, Aria Ops had already rebooted and I was able to login and verify Aria Ops was now upgraded to 8.17.2!

Oh and I also made a note to myself…don’t forget to delete that ASLCM snapshot! 🙂

And that’s it, it this helped you, throw a comment down below and thanks for following along!