21st  May, 2024  

VMware HCX 4.9 Release Notes Update

Improved Failover Detection for Network Extension HA

1. Heartbeat Mechanism: HCX uses Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) UDP packets as a heartbeat mechanism to monitor the availability between the active and standby NE appliance at the same local site. By sending and receiving heartbeat packets at regular intervals, HCX detects unresponsive services and triggers failover procedures to maintain service continuity.

2. Increased Heartbeat Frequency: In HCX 4.9.1, the heartbeat frequency has been reduced from 500 ms to 250 ms. This change allows faster detection of potential failure scenarios, leading to quicker failover initiation and minimizing downtime during disruptions. This will also help to avoid false positives where the NE appliance is not truly down.

Reference Broadcom KB#367619

Important Notice: Upcoming Deprecation of External Connections

It's important to be aware that upcoming HCX releases will see the deprecation of connections to hybridity-depot.vmware.com and connect.hcx.vmware.com. These endpoints are currently used for licensing, activation, and updates. Systems with active connections will transition to local licensing mode when available for their deployment in a future release.

 To ensure a smooth transition, it's crucial to keep your HCX systems up to date with the latest releases, including HCX 4.9.1. This will prepare your environment for the upcoming changes in licensing and update mechanisms.

For more details on resolved issues and product support notice review  VMware HCX 4.9.1 Release Notes