VDR 1.2 and vsphere 4 update 1

[zemotard]

Hi, could tell me if VDR 1.2 is compatible with sphere 4 update 1 ?

Because I downloaded the VDR 1.2 and I'm not able to connect it on my sphere 4 update 1 while the previous release of VDR (1.1) was running on.

Regards

[JimKnopf99]

I do Not Know, but in the Release notes is a describtion that you need update2

frank

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[zemotard]

It's seems to be ok. After a long waiting, I have the VDR interface.

[JimKnopf99]

that is possible, but check the compatibility. There is also a Video where you can See that the New Version is compatible with the U2

frank

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[aharden]

I did the following to convert my development VDR 1.1 appliance to 1.2:

1. Powered off old VDR 1.1 appliance, renamed it, and disconnected data disks.

2. Imported new VDR 1.2 with same name as the old one, added data disks to it, and increased to 4CPU/4GB to match old.

3. Powered on new VDR 1.2 appliance and configured networking.

4. Removed VDR 1.1 plugin from vSphere Client 4 Update 1 (running against vCenter Server 4 Update 1).

5. Installed VDR 1.2 plugin.

6. Connected to new appliance, mounted first data disk, said "yes" to the query about importing configuration from data disk. It worked and the second data disk was mounted automatically.

7. Defined a new backup job with no problem.

8. Ran integrity checks against both disks.

[MKguy]

Well, just because ``it works'' doesn't tell anything about whether this is supported by VMware as well. Unfortunately, neither the VDR release notes nor

the admin guide state anything about the required ESX/vCenter versions

The compatibility matrix doesn't contain any info pertaining VDR either. (http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_compatibility_matrix.pdf)

Some clarification on the actual support here would be appreciated.

[mammer]

Here's is the video link from the vmware blog for support info:

http://blogs.vmware.com/files/vdr-1.2-final-1.mp4

http://blogs.vmware.com/uptime/2010/06/new-vdr-release-out-today.html

It states that u2 is compatible.

[MKguy]

>It states that u2 is compatible.

That was never being questioned. Obviously, it would be compatible with ESX4 U2 and vCenter4 U2.

The question is if it is exclusively supported on these updates or whether it is supported to run vDR 1.2 on ESX4 U1 and vCenter4 U1 as well.

[mammer]

I believe the video also states compatibility with U 1 as well.

[MKguy]

Maybe I'm just blind or something, but where does it state that?

There are only 2 slides (at the end and at around 00:45) that discuss compatibility. Both merely state that vSphere U2 is supported for vDR 1.2, which is no surprise, but it doesn't emphasize whether really only U2 is supported.

[MKguy]

Ok, I ended up logging a case with VMware support.

They told me that, in order to be supported by VMware, it is required to update to ESX4 U2 and vCenter U2 first before upgrading to vDR 1.2.

[aharden]

Thanks for the info. This sounds like a complete cop-out on VMware's part, driven by either a desire not to do effective regression testing or to coerce customers to apply updates ahead of what the customer's schedule would be otherwise to gain new features.

[MKguy]

I don't see your problem here, as all updates were released at the same time as part of one general vSphere update, so it's well possible and plausible to support only those combinations or rather update sequences. (The same way you should always update vCenter before your ESX hosts.)

What my problem was -and what I criticize VMware for- is that they didn't clearly enough state that vDR 1.2 is only supported on ESX4/vCenter4 U2.

An enhancement of the compatibility matrix pertaining vDR would certainly be appreciated.