Manual Chapter : Understanding the Upgrade of BIG-IQ with a Data Collection Device Cluster

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Centralized Management

  • 8.2.0, 8.1.0
Manual Chapter

Understanding the Upgrade of BIG-IQ with a Data Collection Device Cluster

Upgrading BIG-IQ with a data collection device cluster

What BIG-IQ setup does this upgrade process support?

The following upgrade process supports upgrading BIG-IQ versions 7.x to 8.1.x with a data collection device (DCD) cluster. If your system is not currently running one of these versions or does not include a DCD cluster, refer to Supported upgrade paths.

What happens during a BIG-IQ upgrade?

This example represents a BIG-IQ high-availability (HA) configuration with a BIG-IQ data collection device (DCD) cluster. Remove the standby BIG-IQ, upgrade the primary BIG-IQ, upgrade the BIG-IQ DCD cluster, and then re-add the standby BIG-IQ. During this upgrade:
  • Access to BIG-IQ is temporarily unavailable when the Primary BIG-IQ devices upgrades. The primary BIG-IQ upgrades after DCD upgrades are complete.
  • BIG-IQ suspends management for all managed BIG-IP devices.
  • Data collection from the managed BIG-IP devices is suspended, and resumes only after all devices in the DCD cluster are upgraded and restarted.

Downtime for statistics collection

The upgrade process to BIG-IQ 8.1 supports an upgrade path with minimal downtime (rolling upgrade) for version BIG-IQ 8.0.x. Upgrades from earlier supported versions (BIG-IQ v7.x) must conduct a regular upgrade. This means that statistics collection is suspended until all DCDs in the cluster complete the upgrade.

What happens during a BIG-IQ and data collection device cluster upgrade?

The upgrade process can take up to several hours depending on how many BIG-IP devices you are managing. During the device upgrade process, statistics collection is suspended until the DCDs are back in service.
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.
      • Access to statistics data becomes temporarily unavailable during the DCD device upgrade process.
        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. Upgrades the primary BIG-IQ. After the data collection devices have all been upgraded, the primary BIG-IQ is automatically upgraded.
    • During the upgrade of the primary BIG-IQ device, the system provides a log of the initial launch status, which allows you monitor device upgrade.
    • Once the initial launch is complete, the system becomes temporarily unavailable for up to 60 minutes (see image below).
    • The upgrade is complete when the screen displays the system log in page.
      In the event that the system does not become available within 60 minutes, or the upgrade fails, generate a Qkview and report the issue at
      support.f5.com
      .
  4. During the post upgrade process, you are able to log into the system, upgrade secondary BIG-IQ device (if applicable), and navigate though all system screens.
    • Data collection services are restored.
    • Historical statistics data may not become fully available for several hours, depending on your system's volume of statistics.