Forum Discussion

JimmyB2's avatar
JimmyB2
Level 4
3 years ago

Netbackup Appliance Upgrade Workaround

Hi there,

my task is going to prepare and perform Netbackup Appliance upgrade from 3.2 to 4.1 and to be honest I am a little bit scary, because the procedure seems to be quit complex and I have never been upgrading NB appliance so far.

Firstly, I am not sure, everything will be working smoothly after the upgrade. However, the documentation says, that if backup agents have lower version than master server, it should be ok. In general, it doesnt matter how highest version the master server, but the agents have to be the same or lower version.

NetBackup Master Server

NetBackup Media Server

NetBackup Client

9.1

9.1

7.7.3, 8.0, 8.1, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.2, 8.3, 8.3.0.1, 8.3.0.2, 9.0, 9.0.0.1, 9.1

Secondly, the tape library looks quite old, but the compatibility should be kept:

Even tape drives should be compatible.

Basically, it will be needed to run NetBackup Appliance Upgrade Readiness Analyzer, that can ensure us everything is ready for the upgrade. If so, installation package can be installed - SYMC_NBAPP_update-4.1-1.x86_64.rpm.

What I am not sure about is Usage Insights customer registration key on primary server and and licence key for Netbackup 9.x Is it really necessary in all cases generate any keys? Can be an upgraded Netbackup Appliance working without them?

Another thing I have to elaborate is IPMI user interface. So far, I use java GUI and ssh access. Because I want to use shell while upgrading, I will need IPMI console, wont I? Most likely, the IPMI should be configured firstly, maybe.

I will be completing this post during the time, because the most likely I have forgotten something relevant regarding the upgrade.

 

  • quebek's avatar
    quebek
    Moderator
    3 years ago

    Hi

    During an upgrade it is wise to have access to IPMI as the appliance will reboot few times. So please prepare this in advance. About registration key - I think it is already there as you do run 3.2 and it was introduced in 3.1.2 if I am not mistaken - so go for it. Also I don't recall when the fingerprints from MD5 were changed to SHA-256 - this should be completed prior the upgrade and ARUA will not let you go without this being made.

    Good luck

    • Nick_Morris's avatar
      Nick_Morris
      Level 6
      3 years ago

      The fingerprints changing from MD5 to SHA-256 happened in 8.1/3.1

  • ReOn_Xer's avatar
    ReOn_Xer
    Level 3
    3 years ago

    Hi,

    Before going on to the compatibility of NetBackup Software, are you familiar on the components you handling?

    1. What is the role of the NetBackup Appliance?
    - If is a Primary (Master) Appliance, have you consider also the pre-requisites of Primary Server upgrade?
    - if is a Media Appliance, have you upgrade the Primary Server? 

    2. What is the model of the NetBackup Appliance?