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  5. Upgrading DCDs in a DCD Cluster
Manual Chapter : Upgrading DCDs in a DCD Cluster

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Upgrading DCDs in a DCD Cluster

Check the health of devices in a DCD cluster

You can view the health and status of the devices in your data collection device (DCD) cluster using the BIG-IQ Data Collection Device Settings screen. Use the information here, both before and after an upgrade to verify that the devices in your DCD cluster are configured as you expect it to be.
  1. At the top of the screen, click System, then, on the left, click BIG-IQ DATA COLLECTION and then select BIG-IQ Data Collection Cluster.
    The BIG-IQ Data Collection Cluster screen opens. On this screen, you can either view summary status for the data collection device cluster or access the screens that you can use to configure the DCD cluster.
    • Under Summary, you can view information detailing how much data is stored, as well as how the data is stored.
    • Under Configuration, you can access the screens that control DCD cluster performance.
  2. Click the Settings button.
    The Settings screen opens to display the current state of the DCD cluster defined for this BIG-IQ device.
  3. Inspect the DCD cluster details listed in the Summary area.
    Sub-screen What details are provided here?
    Status Look here for information about the current status of the cluster.
    Nodes Look here for information about the current state of the cluster nodes.
    Indexes Look here for information about the current state of the cluster indexes.
    Shards Look here for information about the current state of the cluster shards.
    Cluster Settings Look here for information about the DCD cluster configured for this device.
    External Storage & Snapshots Look here for summary information about the external storage location used to keep the backup snapshots you create for the DCD cluster configured for this device.
    Logging Data Collection Look here for summary information about the event and alert log indices that have been configured for this DCD.
    Statistics Data Collection Look here for details about the statistics data stored on this DCD.
    This information provides a fairly detailed overview that describes the DCD cluster you have created to store data. After you complete an upgrade, you can check the health to verify that the cluster restored successfully.

What should I know about estimating disk space requirements devices in a DCD cluster?

When estimating how much disk space you'll need for the devices in your data collection device cluster, consider these things:

  • Number of BIG-IP devices you're managing
  • Alert rate and size
  • Data retention policy
Although you can expand the alert partition for devices in a DCD cluster, be aware that if you exceed 50% of the available disk space (which is not the same as raw disk space), you will not be able to upgrade the devices in the DCD cluster. After deployment, BIG-IQ uses a certain amount of the disk space for the system software and is unavailable for storing data.

Determining available disk space for devices in a DCD cluster

If you are planning to upgrade devices in a deployed DCD cluster, you can determine the amount of available disk space.
  1. Use SSH to log in to your DCD as root.
  2. Check the disk space available by running the vgdisplay command:
    For example: 
                        vgdisplay
                     --- Volume group ---
                    VG Name               vg-db-sda
                    System ID
                    Format                lvm2
                    Metadata Areas        1
                    Metadata Sequence No  179
                    VG Access             read/write
                    VG Status             resizable
                    MAX LV                0
                    Cur LV                16
                    Open LV               7
                    Max PV                0
                    Cur PV                1
                    Act PV                1
                    VG Size               498.50 GiB
                    PE Size               4.00 MiB
                    Total PE              127617
                    Alloc PE / Size       27936 / 109.12 GiB
                    Free  PE / Size       99681 / 389.38 GiB

    In this example, the total disk space (VG Size) is 498.50 GB.

  3. Find out how the disk space is allocated across your partitions by running the lvs command.
    For example: 
                        [root@vBIGIQ-LN1:Active:Standalone] config # lvs
                      LV            VG        Attr      LSize   …
                      dat.log.1     vg-db-vda -wi-ao---   7.00g
                        dat.maint.1   vg-db-vda -wi-a---- 300.00m
                        dat.share.1   vg-db-vda -wi-ao---  28.00g
                        dat.swapvol.1 vg-db-vda -wi-ao---   1.00g
                        set.1._config vg-db-vda -wi-a----   3.17g
                        set.1._usr    vg-db-vda -wi-a----   3.29g
                        set.1._var    vg-db-vda -wi-a----  10.00g
                        set.1.root    vg-db-vda -wi-a---- 440.00m
                        set.2._config vg-db-vda -wi-ao---   3.17g
                        set.2._usr    vg-db-vda -wi-ao---   3.29g
                        set.2._var    vg-db-vda -wi-ao---  10.00g
                        set.2.root    vg-db-vda -wi-ao--- 440.00m
    There are four entries to note in this response:
    • dat.log.1 (highlighted in yellow) displays the size of the /var/log partition that is used to store the collected log data.
    • dat.share.1 (highlighted in aqua) displays the size of the /shared partition that is used for ISOs and backups on the BIG-IQ system.
    • set.1._var (highlighted in green) displays the size of the /var partition for HD1.1 that is used for the initial software installation.
    • set.2._var (also highlighted in green) displays the size of the /var partition for HD1.2 that is used for the upgrade installation. Note that these two partitions on the active and upgrade volumes must be the same size (as in this example).
  4. If you determine that you need additional disk space, increase the disk space (for both volumes) to the size you need.
    For instructions detailing how to increase disk space, along with additional detail about disk space for BIG-IQ virtual machines, refer to F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management Disk Space Management on support.f5.com.

Prepare BIG-IQ 5.2 or 5.3 to upgrade DCD cluster

Warning: This procedure makes the BIG-IQ system temporarily unavailable, and unable to manage BIG-IP devices until the upgrade is complete. BIG-IP devices can continue to manage traffic during this time. This process can take up to an hour.

The upgrade preparation process readies your devices in your data collection device cluster for the upgrade process. You can opt to back up your data or discard it.

  1. At the top of the primary BIG-IQ system's screen, click System.
  2. On the left, click SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT > IMAGES .
  3. In the list of images, select the check box next to the image you want to install, and click the Install button at the top of the screen.
  4. From the Target Volume list, select the volume you want to install the image on.
    Note: 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.
    • If you selected a target volume, complete the remaining steps to finish the upgrade.
    • If you do not have a second volume, use the following steps to create one:
      • Use SSH to log in to the machine you want to upgrade. You must log in as root to perform this procedure.
      • Create the new volume using the command /usr/libexec/bigpipe software desired <volume name> add, for example: /usr/libexec/bigpipe software desired HD1.3 add.
      • After the command runs, repeat this step; however, this time the Target Volume list will not be empty.
  5. Click the Install button.
    A dialog box opens to give you the option of saving or discarding your data.
  6. Decide whether to save your data or discard it.
    • To back up the data on your data collection device, select Yes, snapshot first and proceed with deactivating services (Recommended) and then click Continue.
    • To discard the data on your data collection device, select No, proceed directly to deactivating services and then click Continue.
    If you are backing up your data, the system creates a snapshot on an external storage location, and then deactivates the services on your BIG-IQ system. Depending on the amount of accumulated data, this step takes some time. If you do not save your data, the system begins deactivating services immediately.
  7. If you chose to back up your data, but have not yet defined an external storage location, a dialog box opens so you can configure it.
    1. In the User name and Password fields, type the user name and password for the user account configured on the external storage device.
    2. For the Domain, type in the domain name for the user account configured on the external storage device.
    3. For the Storage Path, type the path to the external storage location.
      You can specify the device using the IP address or the host name. Additionally, you need to specify the path to the folder on the external storage device. For example:
      //<storage machine ip-address>/<storage-file-path>
      Note: Remember, the folder you specify must have full read, write, and execute permissions.
    4. To test the settings just specified, click Test.
      A message displays to tell you whether the test completes successfully. If it does not, correct the settings and permissions until it completes successfully.
    5. When the external storage is specified successfully, click Save.
  8. Wait while BIG-IQ creates a snapshot.
    Depending on the amount of data you have, this could take up to an hour. During this time, it is important that you not interrupt the installation process by restarting services or the server.
    Note: If this is the first time you have created a snapshot, this step takes significantly more time. If you have been creating regular backups, the snapshot step completes relatively quickly.
    When the process completes, a message displays to tell you that the snapshot and deactivation have finished.
  9. Click Close to close the de-activating services message.
  10. If you used a self IP address to discover your data collection device(s), you need to stop the database service before proceeding.
    If you use the management IP address to discover the DCDs in your cluster, you can skip this step.
    1. Use SSH to log in to the DCD as root.
    2. Use the bigstart stop elasticsearch command to stop the elasticsearch service. Type bigstart stop elasticsearch, and press Enter.
    Note: You must perform this task for each DCD in the cluster.
Although the upgrade preparation process is now complete, you can not yet upgrade the BIG-IQ system. You must upgrade the devices in the DCD cluster before you can upgrade the BIG-IQ.

How do I upgrade DCDs in a DCD cluster from version 5.2 or 5.3?

After you prepare the devices in your data collection device (DCD) cluster, you perform the following tasks for every device in your DCD cluster.

  1. Upload the latest version of the BIG-IQ software image to the device.
  2. Upgrade the device to the latest version.
  3. Confirm that the device is back in service.

Upload the BIG-IQ software image to a device in your DCD cluster

Before you can upload the software image to a device in your data collection device (DCD) cluster, you must have first downloaded it from the F5 Downloads site.

You upload the latest version of the BIG-IQ software image to make it available to upgrade a device in your DCD cluster.

Important: To make sure the software image successfully uploads, don't log out of DCD 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 the image is done uploading, it shows in the Available Images list.

Upgrade each device in your DCD cluster from version 5.2 or 5.3

Note: If the machine you are upgrading does not have two volumes, you must create one using the command line interface. The following steps provide options for either case.
Before upgrading the devices in your data collection device (DCD) cluster, you must have downloaded the latest version of the BIG-IQ software image from the F5 downloads site.

The upgrade process installs the new version of the software on one device in your DCD cluster. You must repeat this process for each device in the DCD cluster.

  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 installation.
  3. Select the check box for the image you want to install and click Install.
  4. From the Target Volume list, select the volume you want to install the image on.
    Note: 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.
    • If you selected a target volume, complete the remaining steps to finish the upgrade.
    • If you do not have a second volume, use the following procedure to install the upgrade for this machine:
      • Use SSH to log in to the machine you want to upgrade. You must log in as root to perform this procedure.
      • Navigate to the folder where you install software using the command: cd /shared/images
      • Install the upgrade to a new volume using one of the following commands:
        • If you are upgrading a virtual machine: tmsh install sys software image <full name of the iso file> volume hd1.2 create-volume reboot
        • If you are upgrading a BIG-IQ 7000 series platform: tmsh install sys software image <full name of the iso file> volume md1.2 create-volume reboot
      • While the system installs the upgrade to the new volume, you can check on the status of the upgrade using the command: tmsh show sys software status.
      • When the upgrade finishes installing, the machine reboots. Proceed to the next to the last (login) step in this task.
  5. To prompt the data collection device to reboot into the new software installation volume, select the Reboot into Target Volume check box.
  6. Click the Install button at the bottom of the screen.
  7. Click the Continue button.
  8. Wait while the data collection device loads the new software and reboots.
    Depending on your configuration and the number of devices you are managing, this could take up to 15 minutes. During this time, it is important that you not interrupt the installation process by restarting services or the server.
  9. Log back in to the data collection device to confirm that the upgrade succeeded.
  10. If needed, extend the /var partition.
    The default size of the /var file system in a newly installed or upgraded node is 30 GB. This amount of available storage might not be enough to store your data. If you previously extended your disk space, you'll need to do it again after you upgrade. For information about how to do that, refer to: K16103: Extending disk space on BIG-IQ Virtual Edition And remember, upgrading a node requires at least two volumes, so be sure you can extend the /var file system on both volumes to the same size, or upgrades might fail.
Note: Remember to complete this process for each device in your DCD cluster.
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