VMware Cloud Community
dkvello2
Contributor
Contributor

vSphere 6.5 support on 3.5 ? + vmxnet3 and pvscsi

The OVA can't be deployed on vSphere 6.5.

I first fails with an "Unsupported Guest OS" because it's a version 4 VM

When I upgrade to any version higher it fails with a "password property not set"

Also, It's about time this VM was uppgraded to use vmxnet3 and pvsci instead of the E1000 and LSI Parallell.

Tags (1)
14 Replies
parispy
Contributor
Contributor

Did you ever get this resolved? We are having the same issue trying to deploy UM 3.5 on vSphere 6.5. We are on an old UM and really need to update to the new version.

All that the support said when we contacted them in december was that UM 3.5 didn't support vSphere 6.5...

Reply
0 Kudos
HEROITCOM
Contributor
Contributor

Hi,

I think, I got this fixed.

Same environment, vcsa 6.5 and usage meter 3.5

Upgraded hardware to 6.5 - although the VM shows an exclamation mark for the network adapter, it works.

If you go to VM-properties - vApp-Options - Properties (just below "Product"), you will find the value "key(password), name(Password), Category(Application), Type(String)"

So I thought it might be a case sensitivity problem and changed "Password" to "password".

Click OK.

Go to VM-props again, same location - voilà, there's another "Password" property with a key named "usgmtr_password" - change that to the desired value and click OK.

Now you should be able to start the VM.

Best winds,

Robert

cristofski
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi Folks,

I work for the GSS team supporting Usage Meter and I wanted to chime in here. There are a couple different issues in play and I want to separate each and provide some direction around them.

1) "The OVA can't be deployed on vSphere 6.5. I first fails with an "Unsupported Guest OS" because it's a version 4 VM".

     -this is technically two issues. First off, you will get the "Unsupported Guest OS" or "Unknown Linux OS" when deploying with the vSphere Thick Client as suggested in the product instructions. This has been occurring for a few versions now and is more of an alert than an error. If using the thick client, you can continue to click through these and you will eventually be able to complete. However, all product documentation should be referencing the vCenter Web Client, and Web Client only. If the Web Client is used you will not receive the warning. Please use the web client to deploy this OVA

2) "All that the support said when we contacted them in december was that UM 3.5 didn't support vSphere 6.5"

     - Unfortunately, UM 3.5 does not currently support vSphere 6.5. As suggested in the thread, this is because of VMX 4 being used. This is indeed true. The reason why VMX-4 needs to stick around is because there are many service providers running instances that require VMX-4 operability. Obviously, the latest and greatest also needs to be supported. That said, there are a few fixes currently in the works. One of those should have an updated VMX version to get around this. For now, UM 3.5 will have to run on an ESXi 5.5 or 6.0 host. Do not move UM to an ESXi 6.5 host at this time

3) "I think, I got this fixed.Same environment, vcsa 6.5 and usage meter 3.5 Upgraded hardware to 6.5 - although the VM shows an exclamation mark for the network adapter, it works."

     - I need to express some cautious concern here. First off, what is said here is true, upgrading the virtual machine hardware (VMX) will get around this. However, please be very careful as there are two issues that can cause problems. First off, whenever you upgrade the Virtual Machine hardware you need to first upgrade the VMware tools version. Missing this step has been known to cause issues. I have linked a public facing KB below that documents the steps to upgrade the VMX. As a former member of the VMware SysOps team, I cannot state enough to be sure not to miss the VMware tools step. Currently, the appliance is built with VMX 4, per the article, this is the oldest version on that list and developed for ESX 3. That said, a lot has changed between the initial DEV of ESX 3 (VMX 4) and ESXi 6.5 (VMX-13). I for one am very concerned that missing the VMware tools piece of this solution will start to cause UM corruption. Again, please do not overlook this step!!!!

Upgrading a virtual machine to the latest hardware version (multiple versions) (1010675) | VMware KB

     -Also be careful not to upgrade to VMX-13. This will also cause another level of "unsupported". If you have vCenter 6.5 and Usage Meter 3.5, you will also need at least one ESXi 5.5 or 6.0 host in that environment to support Usage Meter. From there be sure to have the UM appliance running on 1 of those two ESXi builds and run the upgrades from there. Be sure to upgrade only to VMX-11 at this time. Again, VMX-13 will put Usage Meter in an unsupported state and require redeployment.

Hope that helps!!

Chris

paluszekd
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Thanks, Chris!

Reply
0 Kudos
SolidParkMagnus
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

cristofski​ are you saying that we can upgrade to vCenter 6.5 with full support and correct metering as long as at least one ESXi host is <6.5? When checking the matrix, UM 3.5 does only support vCenter up to 6.0 U3.

VMware Product Interoperability Matrices

//M

Reply
0 Kudos
cristofski
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi,

I'm adding a few other internal resources to add some clarity to my previous statement, but according to our DEV resources vCenter 6.5 can be metered by Usage Meter 3.5 as long as the hosts in the environment are either ESXi 5.5, or 6.0.

Astardjiev​, Anupam

Chris

Reply
0 Kudos
safurniss
Contributor
Contributor

This is just crazy.... We have upgraded all but one of our ESXi hosts to the latest 6.5 build but now have to keep back one of our 5.5 boxes as VMware does not yet have a compatible vCloud Usage Meter that can be run in a pure 6.5 environment.....

Added to that we are now getting our VSPP Agregator (Arrow ECS) advising us that we must upgrade to 3.5 from 3.3.3 urgently.

When can we expect a compatible usage meter that can be run in a vSphere 6.5 only environment?

Reply
0 Kudos
cristofski
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

AstardjievAnupam

FYI....

Reply
0 Kudos
astardjiev
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi safurniss,

The capability to deploy Usage Meter on vCenter Server 6.5 is on the Usage Meter road map.

To receive product development updates, please follow the instructions below to subscribe for partner communications from VMware.

Best,

Hristo


*****************

Kindly check your Partner Central profile to ensure the following settings are in place:

- Select 'My Communication Preferences'

- Select 'Yes, I would like to receive partner email communications'

- Contact Preference: select 'Via Email'

- Click 'Save'

Please note that an active Partner Central account is required for those who would like to receive our communications. If you don't have an account, sign up now!

*****************

Reply
0 Kudos
tjurgens
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

astardjiev

This is incredibly frustrating.  We are in the process of deploying a net new Cloud Environment based on vCD 8.20, NSX 6.3.1 and vCenter/ESXi 6.5, only to find out the *only* way VMware supports using UM is on an older host because some service providers may be still using ESXi 3.x (VMX version 4)?  ESXi 3.5 has been out of extended support since 2013 according to: http://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/support/product-lifecycle-matrix.pd... ).

We have zero desire to go deploy an old(er) ESXi server, just to solely house this one VM.  I feel like I should point out that nothing on this VM is critical to making the product suite work and is entirely for VMware's benefit to ensure we are paying you appropriately for our consumption of your products.

I'm honestly a little baffled that a product that is 100% based around VMware getting paid appropriately is not supported on their newest flagship product, and not only that, its not supported because of the desire to maintain compatibility for a product VMware no longer supports.  I fully understand that UM 3.5 predates ESXi 6.5, but it does not seem the compatibility issue is hard to overcome.

Edit: Here's what I did to get this running.  I'm not impressed that this is necessary and seems entirely avoidable..

Deploy the OVA

Upgrade the hardware version to VMX 11 (Upgrade compatibility to ESXi 6)

Power on the VM.  Get an error about the password (mentioned above)

Edit the VM (steps were mentioned above by HEROITCOM but I'll reiterate it here):

vApp-Options > Properties (just below "Product"), you will find the value "key(password), name(Password), Category(Application), Type(String)"

Change "Password" to "password".

Power on the VM again.  Once again it will error.  This may be an erroneous step, but its what I did.

Edit the VM again and go back to the same vApp Options. There's another "Password" property with a key named "usgmtr_password".  Edit that field and enter the password you wish to use for the VM.

Once again, power on the VM and it should allow you to go into the console and continue the Usage Meter setup.

nicholas1982
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

I just finished provisioning a vSphere Private Cloud based on VC 6.5.0d, ESXi 6.5.0d, VSAN 6.6, NSX 6.3.1... I'm completely baffled that I can't deploy UM3.5 on this environment.. Whats worse was I was having difficulty doing this several days ago ans place support ticket. VMware support tech advised to deploy the OVF directly on the host instead of the VC, it deploys but none of my configuration like passwords and network gets applied

Nicholas
Reply
0 Kudos
SolidParkMagnus
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Actually i am not surprised. Up till September 2016 vCAN users where not allowed to upgrade to vSphere 6.0 since UM 3.3.3 (v3.3.4 was withdrawn) did not support vSphere 6.0

vSphere 6.0 was released February 2015... We (vCAN partners) had to wait almost two years to be allowed to upgrade to 6.0!

In our case the vCenter migration tool from vanilla 5.5 to 6.0 failed and shortly after that when 6.5 was announced i put the upgrade to 6.0 on ice. So still waiting to lift Production from vSphere 5.5 to 6.5...

Reply
0 Kudos
amorison
Contributor
Contributor

Hi all,

I've just run into this problem unknowingly.

Luckily, I haven't updated my Hosts from 6.x as yet, but have upgraded to VCSA 6.5 (Appliance). There is no going back to the old version.

I'm having a problem where there is the occasional missed collection because of a failed username and password.

Support has said there is nothing we can do.

What I'm unsure of is why a new version hasn't been released to support the newest product and simply leaving the old version there for those who are still running ESX 3.

Surely it is that simple?

Is there a new version in Beta? Is it actually being worked on?

This sounds like a critical issue to the vCAN community, and it sounds like VMWare aren't listening.

Andrew.

Reply
0 Kudos
roeschuxxx
Contributor
Contributor

>Is there a new version in Beta? Is it actually being worked on?

It's a mystery. Nobody knows. Welcome to the Club

Reply
0 Kudos