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Manual Chapter : BIG-IP Software Upgrades

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 6.0.1
Manual Chapter

BIG-IP Software Upgrades

How do I manage software for BIG-IP devices?

A key feature of BIG-IQ® is the ability to manage software images for multiple remote devices from one location. You can deploy software without having to log in to each individual BIG-IP® device.
There are three steps to managing software images for devices:
  1. Download the software image from F5 Networks.
  2. Upload the software image to BIG-IQ.
  3. Install the software image on a device in the BIG-IP Device inventory in one of the following two ways:
    • Managed Device Upgrade - use this process for installing a software image on managed BIG-IP devices running version 11.5.0 or later.
    • Legacy Device Upgrade - use this process for installing a software image on BIG-IP devices running versions 10.2.4 to 11.4.1.
Before you can manage a legacy device running versions 10.2.0 - 11.4.1, you must upgrade the device to version 11.5.0 or later.

Downloading a software image from F5 Networks

Downloading a software image from F5 Networks is the first step to making it available to install on a managed device.
  1. Log in to the F5 Downloads site,
    https://downloads.f5.com
    , and click the
    Find a Download
     button.
  2. Click the name of the product line.
  3. Click the version of the product you want to download.
  4. Read the End User License Agreement, and click the
    I Accept
     button if you agree with the terms.
  5. Click the name of the file you want to download.
  6. Click the name of the closest geographical location to you.
    The screen refreshes to display the progress of your download.
After you download the software image, you can upload it to BIG-IQ.

Upload BIG-IP software

Before you can upload a software image to BIG-IQ, you must download it from the 
https://downloads.f5.com
 site.
You upload a software image to make it available to deploy to managed BIG-IP devices.
To make sure the software image successfully uploads, don't log out of BIG-IQ or close the browser window until the software image name appears in the Software Image list.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Devices
    .
  2. On the left, click
    SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
    Software Images
    .
  3. Click the
    Upload Image
     button.
  4. Click the
    Choose File
     button and go to the location to which you downloaded the image, and click the
    Open
     button to upload it to BIG-IQ.
When BIG-IQ uploads the software, it verifies the image. This verification process can take several minutes. When BIG-IQ is finished uploading and verifying the image, the software image displays as 
Verified 
and is available for installation on a device.

Upgrade managed devices

Before you can install a software image onto a device, you must download it from the F5 Downloads site,
https://downloads.f5.com
, and upload it to the BIG-IQ system. To apply a hotfix, you must have the base software image (as well as the hotfix) uploaded to, and verified by, BIG-IQ.
You can deploy software images only to BIG-IP devices running version 11.5.0 or later. Refer to the
Upgrading a legacy device
 section for specific instructions about upgrading devices running version 10.2.0 - 11.4.1.
BIG-IQ makes it easy for you to upgrade your devices. You can upgrade a single device, or upgrade several at once. You also have the option to:
  • Capture the state of certain objects before the upgrade so you can compare their state after the upgrade.
  • Create backups before the software installs, or create backups after the upgrade.
  • Copy the software images to devices, but wait to upgrade until later.
  • Pause before rebooting devices.
  • Install the software on devices in your DNS sync groups one-by-one so you can bring them all online at the same time.
While the software installs on the BIG-IP devices, you can continue doing other tasks on the BIG-IQ system.
Install a software image during a maintenance window when you are not directing traffic to the target BIG-IP device.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Devices
    .
  2. On the left click
    SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
    Installations
    .
  3. Click the
    Managed Device Install
     button towards the top of the screen.
  4. From the
    Software Image
     list, select the image you want to install.
  5. In the
    Name
     field, type a name to identify this installation.
  6. For the
    Options
     setting, you can enable one or more of the following by selecting the check box next to it:
    If you select an option to pause at any point during before, during, or after the installation process, you'll need to click the
    Continue
     button to move on to the next step.
    • Perform pre and post installation assessment
       and select the managed objects you want to assess the state of, before and after upgrading, so you can investigate if any difference are found.
    • Perform backups
       and select the
      Backup Properties
       options for the backup.
    • Pause after the software image is copied has been copied to devices
       if you want to copy the image to this device, but wait until later to install it.
    • Pause for reboot confirmation
       to pause before rebooting the devices after the software is installed.
    • Install devices one by one
       for DNS sync group upgrades.
      Because the upgrades occur sequentially when you choose this option, when the installation finishes for the last device, all of the devices in the sync group are at the same software version, and the sync group can be brought back online.
  7. Click the
    Add/Remove Devices
     button to select devices to install this software on.
  8. If you are upgrading devices that belong to a DNS sync group, decide how you are going to choose devices for upgrade:
    • To use the sync group name, select
      Group/Cluster
      , and then select
      DNS Sync Group
      .
    • To use the host names for individual devices, select
      Device
      .
  9. From the
    Available
     list, select the device(s) you want to upgrade, move it to the
    Selected
     list, and click the
    Apply
     button.
    If you select a device that belongs to a DNS sync group, you must also select all of the other members of the group, to continue the upgrade.
  10. To set the location for where BIG-IQ installs this software image:
    1. Click the
      Set Default Volume
       button.
    2. Select
      Volume Name
      .
    3. In the
      Volume Name
       field, type the name of the volume on which you want to install this image.
    4. Click the
      Apply
       button.
  11. Click the
    Run
     button towards the middle of the screen to put the image on the BIG-IP device(s) immediately.
    Alternatively, you can click the
    Save & Close
     button to save this job to deploy the software later.
  12. If you selected the option to back up the BIG-IP device(s) before installing the software, when BIG-IQ pauses, click the
    Back Up Devices
     button.
  13. If you selected the option to run a pre-installation assessment, when BIG-IQ pauses:
    1. Click the
      Run Pre-assessment
       button.
    2. Select the configurations that you want BIG-IQ to review before upgrading and click the
      OK
       button.
    3. When the assessment is complete, click the
      Continue
       button to start the installation.
  14. If you selected the option to back up the BIG-IP device(s) after installing the software, click the
    Back Up Devices
    button.
  15. If you selected the option to pause before rebooting the BIG-IP device after the software is installed, click the
    Continue
     button to reboot.
  16. To run a post-installation assessment, click the
    Run Post-assessment
     button.
  17. To compare the pre-upgrade assessment and the post-upgrade assessment, click the
    Compare Assessments
     button towards the bottom of the screen, and click the
    Mark Finished
     button when it's done.

Upgrade the BIG-IP framework

To properly communicate, BIG-IQ Centralized Management and managed BIG-IP devices must be running compatible versions of the framework. If the frameworks are incompatible, BIG-IQ displays a yellow triangle next to the device in the BIG-IP Device inventory.
When you upgrade a BIG-IP device running version 11.5.x to another 11.5.x version, or to an 11.6.x version (for example, from version 11.5.3 to 11.5.4, or from version 11.5.3 to version 11.6.1), you must upgrade the REST framework so BIG-IQ can manage the device.
When you upgrade BIG-IQ to the latest version, you must also upgrade the REST framework for all BIG-IP devices (currently in the BIG-IP Device inventory) running a version prior to 12.0.0.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Devices
    .
  2. Select the check box next to a device, click the
    More
     button, and select
    Upgrade Framework
    .
    A popup screen opens.
  3. Into the fields, type the required credentials, and click the
    Continue
     button.
    A
    REST Framework upgrade in progress
     message displays.
After the framework is updated, you can successfully manage this device.
Repeat these steps for each device.

Upgrade a legacy device (version 10.2.0 - 11.4.1)

Before you can upgrade a device, you must first download the software image from the F5 Downloads site,
https://downloads.f5.com
 to the BIG-IQ system. You need the root user name and password for the device to upgrade it.
A BIG-IP device running versions 10.2.0 - 11.4.1 is considered a
legacy device
. You must upgrade a legacy device to version 11.5.0 or later before you can add it to the BIG-IP Device Inventory and start managing it from BIG-IQ.
If you were managing a device running versions 10.2.0 - 11.4.1 from a previous version of BIG-IQ, and upgraded to version 5.0, the device displays as impaired with a yellow triangle next to it in the BIG-IP Devices Inventory. To manage the legacy device, you must upgrade it to version 11.5.0 or later.
  1. At the top of the screen, click
    Devices
    .
  2. On the left, click
    SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
    Legacy Upgrades
    .
  3. Click the
    Legacy Device Install
     button near the top of the screen.
  4. From the
    Software Image List
    , select the image you want to install on this legacy device.
  5. In the
    Device IP Address
     field, type the IP address for the legacy device that you want to upgrade.
  6. In the
    Admin User Name
     and
    Admin Password
     fields, type the administrator's user name and password for this device.
  7. In the
    Root User Name
     and
    Root Password
     fields, type the user name and password for the root user for this device.
  8. Click the
    Install
     button at the bottom of the screen to start the upgrade.
When the upgrade to version 11.5.0 or later is complete, you can discover the device from BIG-IQ.
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