Manual Chapter : Upgrade Overview for BIG-IQ v5.2 or 5.3 with a Data Collection Device Cluster to v6.1.0

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 6.1.0
Manual Chapter

Upgrade Overview for BIG-IQ v5.2 or 5.3 with a Data Collection Device Cluster to v6.1.0

Upgrading BIG-IQ version v5.2 or 5.3 and a data collection device cluster to v6.1.0

What BIG-IQ setup does this upgrade process support?

The following upgrade process to BIG-IQ Centralized Management version 6.1.0 is for system setups that currently have version 5.2 or 5.3 installed, and include a data collection device cluster. If your system is not currently running version 5.2 or 5.3 or does not include a data collection device cluster, refer to
Supported Upgrade Processes to BIG-IQ Version 6.1.0
on
support.f5.com
.

What happens during a BIG-IQ upgrade to the latest version?

This example represents a BIG-IQ setup that includes a high-availability (HA) pair of BIG-IQ systems and a data collection device (DCD) cluster. During the upgrade, all devices in the DCD cluster are deactivated until they are all upgraded. During this time, data is not collected from the managed BIG-IP devices. Data collection resumes when all of the devices in the DCD cluster are upgraded and restarted.

BIG-IQ pre-upgrade checklist

To ensure that your upgrade goes smoothly, F5 recommends that you perform a few system checks. Perform this test at least a day or so before you upgrade in case you discover any issues that take longer than expected to resolve. Going through this list ahead of time gives you a chance to resolve any issues before the clock is ticking on your upgrade window.
  • Verify that the software version of the BIG-IP devices managed by the BIG-IQ you are updating are at or beyond the minimum supported version. (For details on how to do this, refer to the AskF5 article K34133507 on
    support.f5.com
    .)
  • If you plan to gather performance analytics for the BIG-IP devices managed by the BIG-IQ you are updating, confirm that the managed devices are at or beyond version 13.1.1, and provisioned with the AVR service.
  • Check that you have sufficient disk space for the upgrade. To calculate the disk space you need, make sure you include the space your current installation consumes and the extra amount needed for the upgrade.
    If the
    var
    partition for any of the devices in your cluster was extended before you upgraded, you must extend the
    var
    partition for that device before the upgrade can succeed.
    (For details on how to do this check, refer to
    Check the volume sizes on your current BIG-IQ installation
    and
    Check the volume sizes required by the software you want to install
    in
    F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management Disk Space Management
    on
    support.f5.com
    . For details on how to extend a disk volume, refer to
    Resizing VE Disk Volume Workflows
    in
    F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management Disk Space Management
    on
    support.f5.com
    ).
  • Verify that your BIG-IQ VE has sufficient memory and CPUs for the configuration that you plan to deploy. (For details on how to do this, refer to
    Determine the resources required for deployment
    in
    Planning and Implementing a BIG-IQ Centralized Management Deployment
    on
    support.f5.com
    ).
  • Examine the health of the devices you plan to upgrade. Make sure to inspect the BIG-IQ primary and secondary devices as well as each DCD in the cluster. (For details on how to do this, refer to
    Check the health of devices in a DCD cluster
    in
    Planning and Implementing a BIG-IQ Centralized Management Deployment
    on
    support.f5.com
    ).
  • Re-activate the licenses on the devices you plan to upgrade to make sure that the service contract date is up to date. Make sure to do this for the BIG-IQ primary and secondary devices, as well as each DCD in the cluster. (For details on how to do this, refer to the F5 Knowledge Center article
    K15365
    on
    support.f5.com
    ).
  • Confirm the zone configuration of the DCDs that you plan to upgrade and for the devices managed by the BIG-IQ systems you plan to upgrade. If a device is configured to be in a zone that does not have DCDs in it, statistics for that device will not be collected after the upgrade.
    • To view the zone configuration for a DCD, navigate to
      System
      BIG-IQ DATA COLLECTION
      BIG-IQ Data Collection Devices
      and note the zone.
    • To view the zone configuration for a device, navigate to
      Devices
      , click the name of the device, then click
      STATISTICS COLLECTION
      and note the zone.

Summary of tasks to upgrade BIG-IQ version 5.2 or 5.3 and a DCD cluster to the latest version

The upgrade process consists of the following phases, where each phase includes a series of tasks.
F5 recommends that you upgrade the BIG-IQ system and the DCD cluster through the user interface. Attempting to use a sequence of
tmsh
commands will likely result in loss of data.
The upgrade process illustrated here is specific to version 5.2 or 5.3, and requires taking the DCD cluster offline. To prevent losing data, perform this process during a maintenance window. To upgrade from a different version, refer to
Choosing the appropriate upgrade process
on
support.f5.com
for guidance.
Preparing for an upgrade
  • Download the BIG-IQ software image from the F5 Downloads site.
  • Upload the latest version of the BIG-IQ software image to the primary BIG-IQ.
Upgrade your DCD cluster.
  • Check the health of the devices in the DCD cluster.
  • Determine available disk space for the devices in the DCD cluster.
  • Prepare the upgrade for your DCD cluster.
  • For each device in the DCD cluster, upload the BIG-IQ software and upgrade the device.
Upgrade the BIG-IQ systems in the HA pair.
  • Remove the secondary BIG-IQ system from the primary BIG-IQ system.
  • Upgrade the primary BIG-IQ system.
  • Upload the latest version of the BIG-IQ software image to the secondary BIG-IQ.
  • Upgrade the secondary BIG-IQ to the latest version.
Complete post-upgrade processes.
  • Add the secondary BIG-IQ system back to the primary BIG-IQ system.
  • Run the post upgrade process.
  • Upgrade the statistics agent.
  • Re-discover devices and re-import services (you can do this either manually or using a script).
  • If you manage devices that use APM services, remove and recreate access groups. There are 3 ways to do this, depending on whether your devices use Secure Web Gateway data and whether you want to do this manually or in bulk.
  • If you plan to deploy applications to a VMware cloud environment, install the vCenter host root certificate on BIG-IQ.