Upgrading Stratus Redundant Linux Software Using an Upgrade Kit

This topic describes how to use an upgrade kit of Stratus Redundant Linux software to upgrade the system software. The topic also explains how to download the kit and then upload it to the system, if you need to do so before upgrading the system. For systems configured with two nodes, you can optionally control the upgrade by enabling pauses (you cannot enable pauses on a system configured with one node). Inspecting a system during a pause is useful for verifying or reconfiguring third-party tools or other services that are not managed by the system.

The steps are:

I. To download the upgrade kit

When an update is available, you can download the upgrade kit that contains the new system software, if it is not already downloaded. From the Upgrade Kits page, click Download Software in the Software Update Available window (see the Upgrade Kits Page).

Alternatively, you can download the software from the Stratus Downloads page.

1. Open the Downloads page at https://www.stratus.com/services-support/downloads/?tab=ztcedge.
2. Scroll down to the upgrade section and then click the upgrade link to download the kit.
3. Navigate to a location on a local computer to save the file. If necessary, transfer the file to the remote management computer running the ztC Edge Console.

II. To upload the upgrade kit to the system

Upload the upgrade kit, if necessary, to the ztC Edge system from the remote management computer that is running the ztC Edge Console.

1. In the ztC Edge Console, click Upgrade Kits in the left-hand navigation panel.
2. On the Upgrade Kits page, click the Add a Kit button beneath the masthead, which opens the ztC Edge - Kit Upload Wizard.
3. In the ztC Edge - Kit Upload Wizard dialog box, click Choose File (in Google Chrome) or Browse (in Firefox or Internet Explorer), and then browse to select a .kit file.
4. After you have selected a .kit file, click Upload, Import, or Finish (they perform the same function). A message such as Uploading file (DO NOT CLOSE WIZARD) appears while the file is uploading. The upload may require up to two minutes for a file stored locally, to ten or more minutes for a file stored over a network. If the upload fails, the wizard displays the message Failed to upload file.

5. After the upload is complete, the wizard closes and the Upgrade Kits page lists the state and version number of the upgrade kit. The Qualify, Upgrade, and Delete buttons also appear with the Add a Kit button.

6. If more than one upgrade kit is loaded, select the one to use.

III. To qualify the software

Qualify the software to verify that your system meets the requirements of the upgrade kit. (Qualifying the software is recommended, but not required.)

To do so, select the upgrade kit you want to qualify on the Upgrade Kits page, and then click Qualify.

The qualification may require up to six minutes. If the qualification succeeds, continue with the next step.

If the qualification fails, a pop-up window appears with messages indicating the cause of the failure. These messages may indicate unsupported releases, insufficient storage, partition problems, VMs that need to be shut down, or other information associated with upgrading the system. For example, if the system has insufficient disk space to complete the upgrade, the message Insufficient free space appears reporting the amount of space needed. If you need help resolving a qualification issue, search for the qualification error message in the Knowledge Base in the Stratus Customer Service Portal at https://service.stratus.com.

IV. To upgrade the system software

1. Begin the upgrade by clicking Upgrade on the Upgrade Kits page.

   A Confirm window appears, stating that you have chosen to upgrade the system and displaying a message asking you to confirm the upgrade to the selected upgrade kit. The window also includes a check box for you to enable pauses, allowing you to control the upgrade. Enable pauses by clicking the box Pause after individual node upgrades.

2. Click Yes to continue the upgrade.

   The upgrade begins. If you enabled pauses, the diagram illustrating the upgrade steps displays the current state of the upgrade. When the upgrade pauses, you must click Finalize to continue.

After one node has been upgraded, but the other node (if it exists) has not yet been upgraded, the nodes are running different versions of the software. During this time, the masthead displays the message System is running with mismatched versions.

After the upgrade is complete, check for updated virtIO drivers on all Windows-based VMs, as described in Updating the VirtIO Drivers (Windows-based VMs).