Upgrading BIG-IQ with a Data Collection Device from Version 6.0 and later with Minimal Downtime
Manual Chapter :
Upgrading BIG-IQ with a Data Collection Device from Version 6.0 and later with Minimal Downtime
Applies To:
Show Versions
BIG-IQ Centralized Management
7.1.0
Upgrading BIG-IQ with a Data Collection Device from Version 6.0 and later with Minimal Downtime
What is a minimal
downtime upgrade?
The minimal downtime upgrade process (also referred to as
rolling upgrade
) significantly reduces the amount of time your
system is offline while you are upgrading to the latest version. The degree to which your BIG-IQ
system and DCD cluster can maintain complete online function during upgrade depends on which
BIG-IP services you manage, and what kind of data you collect.
Operators using the BIG-IQ
system to review alerts and events might notice slightly slower performance during the upgrade.
Data might take a bit longer to refresh, and searches might take a little more time to run.
You should not lose any
ASM events or FPS alerts during the upgrade.
You should maintain almost
all of your AFM events during the upgrade.
Statistics data is not
collected during the upgrade.
There is a brief downtime
(approximately 5 seconds) when the primary BIG-IQ system is upgraded.
There is another short
downtime (less than a minute) when the secondary BIG-IQ is paired with the primary BIG-IQ.
Upgrading BIG-IQ version 6.0 and later with a data collection device cluster to version
7.1.0
with minimal downtime
What BIG-IQ setup does this upgrade process support?
The following upgrade supports upgrading BIG-IQ versions 6.x and 7.0 with a data collection cluster with at least three devices.
If your BIG-IQ is not currently running version 6.x or 7.0 and does not include a data collection device cluster with three or more devices, refer to the supported upgrade paths section in the release notes for this BIG-IQ version.
What happens during a BIG-IQ upgrade to version
7.1.0
?
This figure represents BIG-IQ in a high-availability (HA) configuration with a data collection device (DCD) cluster. The DCD cluster continues to collect data until you start the upgrade process. Data collection for all BIG-IP devices resumes only after all devices in the DCD cluster are upgraded and restarted. For this example, there are three data collection devices: one has already completed the upgrade to version 7.0, one is undergoing an upgrade to version 7.0, and one is collecting data as version 6.0.x.
This upgrade procedure with minimal downtime supports BIG-IQ configuration that include a minimum of three data collection devices. However, if the BIG-IQ system you are upgrading includes multiple zones, then in addition to the three DCD minimum, there must also be at least two DCDs in each zone before you can perform a rolling upgrade procedure
Tasks to complete before you start the upgrade process
Before upgrading F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management, complete these
tasks.
Tasks
Additional information
Download the latest BIG-IQ software image and
Pre-upgrade Check tool from the F5 Downloads site.
To ensure that the pre-upgrade
script runs correctly, make sure you always download the latest version of
the tool from
downloads.f5.com
.
Prepare your statistics for the upgrade
process
See Prepare statistics for upgrade. If your BIG-IQ CM is in an HA pair, ensure that
this process is completed on each node.
Run the pre-upgrade check script on the primary
BIG-IQ by typing the following commands:
#
cd
/shared/scripts/preUpgradeChecks
#
./preUpgradeCheck
This script verifies the following for BIG-IQ:
Disk assessment and partition size.
Health checks
Licensing verification.
CPU and memory assessment.
For additional detail about this
script, refer to the AskF5 article K15988343 on
support.f5.com
.
Depending on the version of BIG-IQ software you are
upgrading from, the connectivity requirements for your system may be different
in the version you are upgrading to. Refer to the AskF5 Knowledge Center
article
K15612: Connectivity requirements for the
BIG-IQ system
on
support.f5.com
to confirm that the ports you need are configured
correctly.
Additional information on network connectivity
requirements is available in the
Planning and
Implementing a BIG-IQ Deployment
on
support.f5.com
Deploy any staged configuration changes to your managed BIG-IP devices.
When addressing configuration conflicts for each BIG-IP device, F5 recommends you use BIG-IP to override the configuration settings stored on BIG-IQ.
Decide which disk volume you want to install the BIG-IQ software on. You must have at least two volumes to upgrade BIG-IQ.
If you don't have two volumes, you can add the second volume as part of the upgrade.
If you are currently using a self-IP address for
device discovery, make a note of that IP address.
You'll need to enter that IP address when you
perform setup after you upgrade and reboot the BIG-IQ system.
Upgrade all managed BIG-IP
devices to version 12.1 or later.
For you to manage BIG-IP
devices from BIG-IQ Centralized Management, the BIG-IP devices must be running
version 12.1 or later.
Run the following command to view all daemons
running on the BIG-IQ, and their status:
admin@(ip-10-1-1-4)(cfg-sync
Standalone)(Active)(/Common)(tmos)# show /sys service
.
Make a note of the daemons running on BIG-IQ and
their status. After the upgrade, verify that all daemons are running as
expected.
Prepare statistics for upgrade
Before you begin the upgrade process, use the
following steps to prevent statistics migration errors. This procedure is done to ensure
that all statistics stored on your pre-upgrade version are properly migrated over the
course of the upgrade. To do so, you must modify the active and standby machines of the
BIG-IQ CM. If you do not complete this task, there is a possibility that your statistics
will not be migrated to your upgraded version.
You must complete this entire process for both the active and
standby machines of BIG-IQ CM.
Log into the BIG-IQ command line
Use a text editor to create the following customized startup script in the file
/config/startup_analytics_upgrade_change.sh
.
Add the following lines to the file
#!/bin/bash
es_client_file="/var/config/appiq/upgrade/es_client.py"
upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file="/var/config/appiq/upgrade/upgrade_analytics_data_5_6.py"
appiq_version=`grep -P -o "Version: [\w.]+" /VERSION|cut -d ':' -s -f2|tr -d '[:space:]'`
appiq_product=`grep -P -o "Product: [\w.-]+" /VERSION|cut -d ':' -s -f2|tr -d '[:space:]'`
timeout_perl_cmd="perl -p -i -e 's/(timeout=)14400/\${1}144000/g'"
reindex_tries_cmd="perl -p -i -e 's/(\s+.*reindex\(.*tries = )10(.*)/\${1}1\${2}/g'"
reindex_no_delete_tries_cmd="perl -p -i -e 's/(\s+.*reindex_no_delete\(.*tries = )10(.*)/\${1}1\${2}/g'"
function log()
{
###log error messages###
[ ! "$1" ] && return 0
/bin/echo -e "[$(/bin/date +%m/%d/%y\ %H:%M:%S.%2N)] - $1" >> /var/log/upgrade_analytics_data.log
}
if [ $appiq_product != "BIG-IQ" ]; then
log "not \"BIG-IQ\" product, (found: $appiq_product)! exiting..."
exit 99
fi
if [ $appiq_version != "7.1.0" ]; then
log "not \"7.1.0\" version, (found: $appiq_version)! exiting..."
exit 99
fi
log "Modifying \"$es_client_file\" file"
if [ -f $es_client_file ]; then
$(eval "$timeout_perl_cmd $es_client_file")
$(eval "$reindex_tries_cmd $es_client_file")
$(eval "$reindex_no_delete_tries_cmd $es_client_file")
log "\"$es_client_file\" file has been modified!"
else
log "file \"$es_client_file\" doesn't exist...skipping parsing!"
fi
log "Modifying \"$upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file\" file"
if [ -f $upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file ]; then
$(eval "$timeout_perl_cmd $upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file")
log "\"$upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file\" file has been modified!"
else
log "file \"$upgrade_analytics_data_5_6_file\" doesn't exist...skipping parsing!"
fi
file to allow
modifications by typing the following command:
chmod +w /config/startup
Using a text editor, edit the
/config/startup
file, and
append the following line to the end of the file:
/config/startup_analytics_upgrade_change.sh &
The ampersand symbol (&) at the end of the line is
required.
Save changes to
/config/startup
and exit the text
editor.
Once you have completed your pre-upgrade task
list, you can proceed to the upgrade process. Depending on the volume of statistics in
your pre-upgrade system, the migration process to your upgraded system can vary from one
hour to four days.
Following the upgrade to version 7.1, you can verify the
statistics migration by checking the log file
/var/log/upgrade_analytics_data.log
of the active BIG-IQ
CM. The end of the log should include the
text:
REINDEX statistics completed successfully
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 you have completed the pre-upgrade tasks. These are
detailed in the article
Tasks to complete before you start
the upgrade process
on
support.f5.com
.)
Verify that your statistics are prepared for
migration to the upgraded system. For more information, see Prepare statistics for upgrade.
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
.)
Depending on the version of BIG-IQ software you are upgrading from,
the connectivity requirements for your BIG-IQ system may be different in the version you
are upgrading to. Refer to K15612 on
support.f5.com
to confirm that the ports you need are configured
correctly.
If you plan to gather performance Analytics
data 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.
If you have custom settings for the DCD
statistics data collection retention or aggregation, these custom settings are not
automatically retained over the upgrade process. Save your data retention and
aggregation settings before you begin the upgrade, so you can manually enter your custom
settings, once your upgrade is complete. See
System
BIG-IQ DATA COLLECTION
BIG-IQ Data Collection
Cluster
CONFIGURATION
Statistics Data Collection
.
Check that you have sufficient disk space for the upgrade. For
version 7.1.0, the minimum disk space requirement increased by 10%. When you calculate
the extra amount of space required for this update, make sure to consider:
the amount of space your current installation consumes
the space needed for the upgrade
an additional 10% to meet this new requirement.
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 version 7.1.0 and later, the
var
partition needs to be at least
2.5 times larger than it needed to be for earlier BIG-IQ versions.
(For
details on how to check the size of the
var
partition on your system, 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.
If the BIG-IQ system you are upgrading includes multiple zones, then in addition to the three DCD minimum, there must also be at least two DCDs in each zone before you can perform a rolling upgrade procedure.
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.
Check pre-upgrade AS3 version
If the version of AS3 software that is running on the BIG-IQ you are
upgrading is newer than the AS3 software version that installs with the upgrade, then
you need to note that AS3 version before you upgrade, so you can restore it as part of
the post upgrade process.
Steps for determining the pre-upgrade AS3 version are available in
the F5 knowledge base article K54909607. Please refer to this article if you are
upgrading a BIG-IQ for which a newer version of AS3 software has been installed.
Summary of tasks to upgrade a BIG-IQ system with data collection
devices with minimal downtime
The upgrade process can take up to several
hours depending on how many BIG-IP devices you are managing.
The rolling
upgrade process consists of the following phases, where each phase includes a series of
tasks.
Preparing for an upgrade:
Download the BIG-IQ software image from the F5 Downloads
site.
Upload the BIG-IQ software image to BIG-IQ.
Confirm alerts and events can be sent to an alternative
device in the data collection device cluster.
Upgrade the BIG-IQ systems and data collection devices to the latest version:
Upgrade the primary BIG-IQ and the data collection devices
to the latest version.
Upload the software image to the secondary BIG-IQ
system.
Manually upgrade the secondary BIG-IQ system.
Complete post-upgrade process
Add the secondary BIG-IQ system back to the primary BIG-IQ
system.
Re-discover devices and re-import services.
If you plan to deploy applications to a VMware cloud
environment, install the vCenter host root certificate on BIG-IQ.