VMware, Inc.
Virtual appliance upgrades in high-availability (HA) computing clusters

Abstract:

Various examples are disclosed for performing a software upgrade in high-availability (HA) and similar computing clusters while experiencing minimal or no downtime. One or more computing devices can oversee operation of a data center and determine that a software update is unable to be performed on a first virtual appliance based on the first virtual appliance being incompatible with the software update. The one or more computing devices can provision a second virtual appliance in the HA computing cluster, as well as a load balancer, where the second virtual appliance comprises up-to-date software. The one or more computing devices can form a software cluster that includes the first virtual appliance and the second virtual appliance, causing data to be synchronized between the first virtual appliance and the second virtual appliance, and, thereafter, can decommission the first virtual appliance from the HA computing cluster.