In this post i will go over upgrading my 8.x vRLI appliance to Aria Operations for Logs 8.14 using VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle. As a pre requirement we do need to have VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle upgraded to 8.14. Instructions can be found here. The upgrade already includes the latest Product Support Pack so an update to the Product Support Pack is not required.

To get started we can go to VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> Binary Mapping. (If you haven’t added your My VMware credentials you will need to do that first by going to vRealize Lifecycle Manager -> Lifecycle Operations -> Settings -> My VMware)

Settings page with options for system administration and servers/accounts, including Binary Mapping.

Click on Add Binaries under Product Binaries

Binary Mapping page shows options to add and delete unsupported binaries in vRealize Suite Lifecycle.

Select My VMware and click on Discover

Add Product Binary step; select My VMware, then click Discover.

We can see a list of binaries that have been discovered. Make sure we select the upgrade package not the install package. We can select what we need and click on Add

The screenshot shows the “Add Product Binary” step, listing VMware Aria binaries with version numbers and types.

This will create a request and start downloading the package. To view the progress we can click on the Click Here hyperlink

Binary Mapping page shows successful product binary mapping request submission.

Click on the in Progress button to view the details

UI shows upgrade request for VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.14.0, status: In Progress.

We now have to wait for the download to complete

Request details show download in progress for VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle.

After the download is complete we can go to Environments -> View Details on the environment that includes Logs

The image shows VMware Aria Environments with Corp Local details, including datacenter, health status, and products.

Click on Upgrade

The image shows the VMware Aria Operations for Logs upgrade screen with a version 8.12.0, upgrade option, and a note about inventory sync.

An Inventory sync is recommended if the environment has changed since LCM performed the last sync. We trigger the sync from the UI or click on Proceed to continue

Upgrade wizard step: “Proceed to Upgrade” with options to sync inventory or cancel.

Select product Version 8.14 and click Next. We can also review the compatibility matrix to make sure the environment is compatible.

Upgrade step for VMware Aria Operations for Logs to 8.14, showing version selection and repository URL.

A new feature that was added was the capability to automatically create a snapshot prior to the upgrade and remove it after the upgrade. On this screen we also have the ability to chose if we want to keep the snapshots post upgrade for validation testing for example. Click next

Upgrade wizard step for taking and retaining product snapshots.

Run the Precheck to make sure there are no errors or issues.

Precheck step: Click RUN PRECHECK to validate data.

Once the check is complete we can review the checks that were performed and we can continue by clicking Next.

The precheck step confirms no issues, allowing continuation to the next upgrade step.

Review the upgrade details and click on Next then Finish. We are taken to the progress screen where we can follow the progress.

Progress screen shows stages 1-3: shutting down Guest OS, creating Node Snapshot, Power On VM.

The system will get rebooted and once its back up we will be on 8.14

Since we are doing a major upgrade i strongly recommend to clean the cache before using the new Aria Operations for Logs version.