Manual Chapter : Upgrading a Data Collection Device Cluster

Applies To:

  • BIG-IQ Centralized Management

    7.0.0

Updated Date: 07/07/2026

Upgrading a Data Collection Device Cluster

Important: The upgrade process can take up to several hours depending on how many BIG-IP devices you are managing.

From the primary BIG-IQ, the automatic upgrade process performs the following sequence of tasks:

  1. Breaks the high availability relationship with the secondary BIG-IQ (if present).
  2. Upgrades the devices in the Data Collection Device (DCD) cluster. The process starts by checking the statistics retention policy for the cluster and checking that the DCD cluster is healthy. Then, for each device in the DCD cluster:

    • Confirms disk space is sufficient for the upgrade.

    • Stops snapshot creation.

    • Deactivates data collection services for the DCD.

    • Upgrades the DCD to the latest version.

      Note: 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 will proceed. For details on extending a disk volume, refer to Resizing VE Disk Volume Workflows in the F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management Disk Space Management guide on support.f5.com.

    • Confirms that the DCD is back in service.

    • Reactivates data collection services.

  3. After the Data Collection Devices have all been upgraded, the process automatically upgrades the primary BIG-IQ.

Before upgrading the primary BIG-IQ system and data collection device (DCD) cluster, you must have completed the upgrade preparation.

You upgrade BIG-IQ and the devices in your DCD cluster to the latest version from the primary BIG-IQ system.

  1. Log in to the primary BIG-IQ system.

  2. At the top of the screen, click System.

  3. On the left, click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > Installations button. 

  4. On the left, click Upgrade.

    A popup screen notifies you that you are about to upgrade this BIG-IQ system and all of the devices in the associated DCD cluster. Click Continue to proceed.

  5. For the Upgrade Process, make sure Regular Upgrade is selected.

  6. From the Software Image list, select the image you want to install.

  7. Decide which cluster members you want to back up as part of this upgrade.

    • To back up the BIG-IQ device, select Back up the BIG-IQ system before upgrade.
    • To back up the DCD devices in your cluster, select Back up the Data Collection cluster before upgrade.

  8. To create a snapshot of the data stored by your DCD, select Snapshot the Data Collection Cluster before upgrade.

    Note: To create a snapshot successfully, the system needs a remote storage location. If you have not previously configured this location, refer to Define external storage snapshots location in the Planning and Implementing an F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management Deployment guide on support.askf5.com.

  9. From the Target Volume list, select the volume you want to install the image on for each device in the cluster.

    You can either choose an existing (inactive) volume, or create a new volume. If the Target Volume list is empty, the machine you are upgrading does not have a second volume available for you to install the upgrade. You must create one to proceed.

    • To install to an existing volume, select Target Volume and select the volume for the upgrade.
    • To install to a new volume, select New Volume, and type the new volume name.

  10. Click the Install button.

    A confirmation dialog box opens. Wait while the DCD cluster upgrade process completes. Depending on your configuration and the number of devices you are managing, this could take up to 30 minutes per device. During this time, it is important that you not interrupt the installation process by restarting services or the server. When the BIG-IQ upgrades, it becomes briefly inaccessible. When you can log in to the BIG-IQ again, the process is complete.

  11. Confirm that the upgrade completed successfully.

    1. At the top of the screen, click System.

    2. On the left click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > Installations.

    3. Under Last Upgrade, click the name of the just completed upgrade to open the properties screen.

    4. On the properties screen for the upgrade, under General Properties, note the Status. If there is a green icon and the words Successfully completed the upgrade appear, then the upgrade is complete and successful.

Even though you can log in to this BIG-IQ system after the software is installed, the system continues some database re-indexing processes in the background. The time required re-indexing varies, depending on the size of your system configuration. If you perform any searches on objects before it’s done re-indexing, BIG-IQ might not return the expected results. During this time, you can continue with the rest of the upgrade process.

Note: During the period of re-indexing, do not restart the BIG-IQ system until you confirm a successful upgrade.

Before you can upload the software image to the standby BIG-IQ, you must have first downloaded it from the F5 Downloads site.

You upload the BIG-IQ version software image to the standby BIG-IQ system to make it available for this upgrade.

  1. At the top of the screen, click System.

  2. On the left, click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > 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.

  5. Click the Upload button.

    The screen refreshes to display the progress of the upload.

Before you can upgrade the standby BIG-IQ system, you must have uploaded the software to it.

The active BIG-IQ is upgraded automatically, directly after the devices in the DCD cluster are finished upgrading, but you have to manually upgrade the standby BIG-IQ system.

CAUTION:

Use the following command only in very specific circumstances, such as this one, since it clears the majority of a BIG-IQ system’s configuration. Before you run the command, be sure you are on the standby BIG-IQ system. This command removes all stored data. If you run this command from the active BIG-IQ system, you’ll permanently lose all of your saved data.

  1. Log in to the standby BIG-IQ system’s command line as root and type the following command: /usr/bin/clear-rest-storage.

    While this step is not required, it clears the database storage on the system so the upgrade goes more quickly. After you upgrade both peer systems and re-establish the HA pair, the peer BIG-IQ will synchronize its database with this BIG-IQ system and repopulate the database.

  2. Log in to the system that you are going to establish as the standby BIG-IQ system’s user interface.

  3. At the top of the screen, click System.

  4. On the left click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > Software Installations.

  5. Click the Upgrade button.

  6. For the Software Image, select the image you want to install.

  7. From the Target Volume list, select the volume you want to install the image on.

    You can either choose an existing (inactive) volume, or create a new volume. If the Target Volume list is empty, the machine you are upgrading does not have a second volume available for you to install the upgrade. You must create one to proceed.

    • To install to an existing volume, select Target Volume and select the volume for the upgrade.
    • To install to a new volume, select New Volume, and type the new volume name.

  8. To back up the BIG-IQ device, select Backup the BIG-IQ System before upgrade.

  9. Click the Install button at the bottom of the screen.

Wait while the BIG-IQ standby device upgrade process completes. During this time, it is important that you not interrupt the installation process by restarting services or the server. When the BIG-IQ upgrades, it becomes inaccessible briefly. When you can log in to the BIG-IQ again, the process is complete.