Manual Chapter : Before you Upgrade BIG-IQ and a Data Collection Device Cluster from Version 5.2 or 5.3

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Manual Chapter

Before you Upgrade BIG-IQ and a Data Collection Device Cluster from Version 5.2 or 5.3

Upgrading BIG-IQ version 5.2 or 5.3 and a data collection device cluster

What BIG-IQ setup does this upgrade process support?

The following upgrade process to BIG-IQ Centralized Management version 6.0.1 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 and does not include a data collection device cluster, refer to Which BIG-IQ setups support an upgrade to 6.0.1?.

What happens during a BIG-IQ upgrade to version 6.0.1?

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.

Summary of tasks to upgrade BIG-IQ version 5.2 or 5.3 and a DCD cluster to version 6.0.1

A data collection device (DCD) cluster collects and stores information to manage your alerts, events, and statistics. BIG-IQ® Centralized Management (with an optional peer) manages the DCD cluster.

Important: 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.
Important: 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 a different version, refer to Choosing the appropriate upgrade process on support.f5.com for guidance.

Upgrading a BIG-IQ system and a peer managing a DCD cluster is a three-step process, each with its own set of tasks. For a successful upgrade, it is essential that you perform the tasks in the sequence detailed here. You cannot perform these tasks in parallel.

Prepare to upgrade your system.

  • 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 the 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 BIG-IQ software image to the secondary BIG-IQ system and upgrade the secondary BIG-IQ system.
  • Add the secondary BIG-IQ system back to the primary BIG-IQ system.

Complete post-upgrade processes.

  • Upgrade the statistics agent.

  • Re-discover and re-import services.
  • Re-discover devices and re-import LTM, ASM, AFM, and DNS services.

  • For devices running APM services, re-import or remove and re-create access groups (with or without SWG data).

Tasks to complete before you start the upgrade process

Before upgrading F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management, complete these tasks.

Tasks Additional information
Deploy any staged configuration changes to your managed devices. Deploy configuration changes you have staged for your 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. Refer to the section titled, Re-discover devices and re-import services from the user interface.
Decide which disk volume you want to install the upgrade on. You must have at least two volumes to upgrade. If you don't have two volumes, refer to: K17406: Using the tmsh utility to create a new software volume for installing a new image or hotfix on the BIG-IQ system at: https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K17406
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.

Download the BIG-IQ software image from F5 Networks

Downloading a software image from F5 Networks is the first step to making it available to install on the BIG-IQ system.
  1. Log in to the F5 Downloads site, downloads.f5.com.
  2. Click the Find a Download button.
  3. Click the name of the product line.
  4. Click the product name, Centralized Management.
  5. Click the version number you want to download.
  6. Read the End User Software License agreement and click the I Accept button if you agree with the terms.
  7. Click the BIG-IQ version <version number> .iso file name that you want to download.
  8. Click the name of the closest geographical location to you.
    The software image downloads to your local system.
The software image is now available for you to upload to your BIG-IQ system to make it available for this upgrade.

Upload the latest version of the software image to the version 5.2 or 5.3 primary BIG-IQ

Before you can upload a software image to BIG-IQ, you must download it from the F5 Downloads site downloads.f5.com.
You upload the latest BIG-IQ version of the software image to the BIG-IQ system to make it available for this upgrade.
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 Available Images list.
  1. At the top of the screen, click System.
  2. On the left, expand THIS DEVICE > Software Management , then click Available Images.
    The Available Images screen lists the software image files that are available for install on this BIG-IQ.
  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.