Manual Chapter : BIG-IP Software Upgrades

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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.
Note: 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.

Uploading a software image to BIG-IQ

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.

Important: 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.
  5. Click the Upload button.
    The screen refreshes to display the progress of the upload.
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.

Note: 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.
Tip: 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 > Software 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.
      Note: 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.
    Important: 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 a compatible version of its 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 from version 5.x 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.