Upgrading to vRealize Automation 8.4.2: What You Need to Know

VMware has recently released vRealize Automation 8.4.2, a second minor update to the vRealize Automation 8.4 platform. This release includes several updates and bug fixes, but there is also a known issue that you should be aware of before upgrading. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the new features and the known issue, as well as provide some guidance on how to resolve it.

New Features in vRealize Automation 8.4.2

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vRealize Automation 8.4.2 introduces several new features, including:

* Installation/upgrades to vRealize Automation 8.4.2 require that you first deploy or upgrade vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager to vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager 8.4.1 Patch 1.

* This update to vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager includes the following features and fixes:

+ API changes with apiVersion=2021-06-22.

+ Support for using a custom certificate for the vRealize Automation server.

+ Improved support for managing large numbers of virtual machines.

+ Several bug fixes and other improvements.

Known Issue in vRealize Automation 8.4.2

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There is a known issue with upgrading to vRealize Automation 8.4.2. In the previous vRealize Automation 8.4.1 release, VMware made a change to the user permissions within vRealize Automation regarding the Migration Assistant service. Previously, Migration Assistant had its own service permissions, but in 8.4.1 these permissions were migrated into the Cloud Assembly service permissions. After upgrading to 8.4.1, a user would receive a “403 Forbidden” message when attempting to access the migration assistant. While the Migration Assistant service was still listed as a service that could be assigned to a user, assigning these service permissions had no effect.

To resolve the “403 Forbidden” error, the user’s permissions needed to be updated to include the permissions listed under the Cloud Assembly Service. However, in vRealize Automation 8.4.2, the Migration Assistant service was removed from the available services to be assigned to a user under Identity & Access Management. VMware did not take this change into account during the upgrade process to 8.4.2, which can result in an “403 Forbidden” error when attempting to access the migration assistant.

Workaround for the Known Issue

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To avoid the known issue with upgrading to vRealize Automation 8.4.2, you should ensure that no user is assigned these legacy Migration Assistant service permissions prior to starting the vRealize Automation 8.4.2 upgrade. If a user is still assigned these legacy permissions, the upgrade process will fail to initialize the pods after the virtual appliances reboot.

To resolve the issue, you can follow these steps:

1. Before upgrading to vRealize Automation 8.4.2, ensure that no user is assigned the legacy Migration Assistant service permissions.

2. If any users are still assigned these permissions, remove them prior to starting the upgrade process.

3. Once all users have been updated, you can begin the vRealize Automation 8.4.2 upgrade process.

Conclusion

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vRealize Automation 8.4.2 includes several new features and bug fixes, but there is also a known issue that you should be aware of before upgrading. To avoid this issue, ensure that no user is assigned legacy Migration Assistant service permissions prior to starting the upgrade process. By following these steps, you can successfully upgrade to vRealize Automation 8.4.2 and take advantage of the new features and improvements it offers.