What is the impact on VMM integration if APIC and/or vCenter is upgraded?

[raugusti]

Is there any best practice doc explaining how to upgrade ACI that is integrated with vsphere environment? What are dependencies? In particular, if both components should be upgraded (ACI from 1.x to 2.x and vCenter from 5.5 to 6.0), which piece should be done first? 

[russhe]

Which exact versions of ACI are you upgrading from/to? If the ACI code you are on supports 6.0 integration, it does not matter which piece you upgrade first. If it does not, you would need to upgrade the ACI component first.

I would recommend looking up the virtualization guide for your ACI version to verify. I have included some examples below:

ACI 2.1(1x): http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/aci/apic/sw/1-x/virtualization/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_2_1_1/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_2_1_1_chapter_011.html#d36575e4084a1635

ACI 1.3(x): http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/aci/apic/sw/1-x/virtualization/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_1_3_x/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_1_3_x_chapter_011.html

ACI 1.2(1x): http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/aci/apic/sw/1-x/virtualization/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_1_2_1x/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_chapter_1_2_1x_0300.html

ACI 1.1(1j): http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/aci/apic/sw/1-x/virtualization/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide/b_ACI_Virtualization_Guide_chapter_1_1_1x_200.html

In the above examples, 1.1(1j) does not support 6.0 so you would need to upgrade ACI first. In the other scenarios, you could upgrade in either order.

The other item to consider is whether or not you are using AVS. If you are, you would also need to check upgrade guides for AVS.

[raugusti]

Thanks,

we are currently using 1.1(2h). i.e. the very first ACI version that supports vShere 6.0. Is there anything special we have to do during the vCenter upgrade so we don't lose DVS that was injected by APIC controllers?

To reach APIC version 2.0 or 2.1 it seems like we'll have to do intermediate jump first. Two options are available, 1.2(3) or 1.3(2), and I'm not sure if one of these is preferred. Any suggestions from your side?