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BMC Server Automation 8.7 ... Upgrading Upgrading using individual component installers Upgrading product components on Microsoft Windows

Preparing to upgrade individual components on Microsoft Windows

This topic provides the information you need to prepare your environment for the upgrade process on Microsoft Windows systems using the individual component installers. It includes information about supported upgrade paths and instructions for preparing to upgrade the BMC Server Automation system. 

The topic includes the following sections:

Related topics

Upgrading product components on Microsoft Windows

Troubleshooting the installation, migration, or upgrade

BDSSA upgrade requirement


If your BMC Server Automation environment includes BMC BladeLogic Decision Support for Server Automation, upgrade BMC BladeLogic Decision Support for Server Automation before upgrading BMC Server Automation. For more information, see the following topic in the Decision Support for Server Automation online technical documentation:

 Upgrading

Upgrade overview

The following sections provide information about the latest builds and the supported upgrade paths.

Build information



Release

Build number

EPD version number

Release date

Patch 5 for version 8.78.7.00.3068.7.00.005July 7, 2017
Patch 4 for version 8.78.7.00.2958.7.00.004November 19, 2016
Patch 3 for version 8.78.7.00.2808.7.00.003June 8, 2016
Patch 2 for version 8.78.7.00.2638.7.00.002January 6, 2016
Patch 1 for version 8.78.7.00.2568.7.00.001December 3, 2015

Base version 8.7

8.7.00.239

8.7.00

September 15, 2015


Supported upgrade paths


BMC Server Automation supports direct upgrade from versions 8.5.xx and 8.6.xx. If you need to upgrade from BMC Server Automation version 8.3.x. or earlier, you must first upgrade to one of the following:

  • The latest 8.6 service pack, (as discussed in the Upgrading section of the BMC Server Automation 8.6 online documentation)
  • The latest 8.5 service pack, (as discussed in the Upgrading section of the BMC Server Automation 8.5 online documentation)

Afterwards, you can upgrade from version 8.5.xx or 8.6.xx to 8.7.x.

The following figures illustrate the supported upgrade paths to BMC Server Automation 8.7.x.

     
     
     
     
     

    In the above diagrams, abbreviations are defined as follows:

    • BSA stands for BMC Server Automation
    • SP stands for Service Pack
    • P stands for Patch

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    Step 1: Review requirements and limitations

    Prior to upgrading, it is important to carefully review the following requirements and limitations.

    Category

    Requirement

    Product integrations

    If your BMC Server Automation environment includes BMC BladeLogic Decision Support for Server Automation, upgrade BMC BladeLogic Decision Support for Server Automation before upgrading BMC Server Automation. For more information, see the following topic in the Decision Support for Server Automation online technical documentation:

     Upgrading


    If your BMC Server Automation environment includes BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management, you need to ensure that you maintain compatibility with BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management.  For more information, see the following topic in the BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management online technical documentation:

     Component BMC product service pack and patch levels
    Supported platforms

    For a complete list of platforms supported by the individual component installers, see:

    Supported platforms for individual component installers in Supported platforms for version 8.7

    Install mode

    If you are using Microsoft Windows 2003 or 2008, you must upgrade in Install mode instead of Execute mode, see Using Install mode instead of Execute mode.

    Configuration objects

    Upgrading to a new release can potentially create mismatches between the version of a custom configuration object, an agent, and any model objects that reference custom configuration objects. Therefore, as part of the upgrade process, you must distribute the latest versions of the custom configuration objects that are not included as part of an RSCD agent.

    The product installation is automatically upgraded to the appropriate version when you upgrade the agent. However, you must upgrade any custom configuration objects that are not included with the agent by running a Distribute Configuration Objects Job. Configure this job to target servers to which custom configuration objects need to be distributed. For a list of those objects that are included as part of an agent installation and those that are not included with the agent and require distribution, see Custom configuration objects.

    To upgrade custom configuration objects

     Click here to see the steps for upgrading custom configuration objects.

    1. Run an Update Server Properties Job on the agents you have upgraded. For more information, see Creating Update Server Properties Jobs.
    2. If you are not upgrading all of your agents at this time, make copies of all component templates, BLPackages, Snapshot Jobs, and Audit Jobs that reference custom configuration objects that have dependencies on agents running earlier versions. You must maintain a version match between component templates, BLPackages, Snapshot Jobs, and Audit Jobs and custom configuration objects and agents. The objects that you copy in this step are the objects that you can use to maintain the version match.

    3. If you upgrade to the latest version of BMC Server Automation and you are using BMC Server Automation for virtual environments, you must immediately update the RSCD agent on the system used for the integration and add the new configuration object version for the integration. For example, for the vCenter server, you must upgrade the RSCD agent on either the Windows vCenter server or the AMO proxy and add the new VMware configuration object to the vCenter server object in BMC Server Automation.

    4. To ensure that all configuration-object-based assets within existing content are upgraded, run an Upgrade Model Objects Job that targets any component templates, BLPackages, Snapshot Jobs, or Audit jobs that you want to upgrade. For more information about the Upgrade Model Objects Job, see Creating or modifying Upgrade Model Objects Jobs.
      Note: Do not run the Upgrade Model Objects Job against the copies of objects that you created in step 3.
      If you open an existing component template, BLPackage, Snapshot Job, or Audit Job that references a custom configuration object and a later version of that custom configuration object exists, the system displays a message saying it will automatically upgrade the referenced custom configuration object. To maintain a version match with an earlier agent, close the component template, BLPackage, Snapshot Job, or Audit Job without saving.

    5. After executing the Upgrade Model Objects Job, display the results of the job run to see which assets were successfully upgraded and which were not. If you find that certain assets were not automatically upgraded, you must upgrade them manually. Perform the following steps:

      1. Open the object (template, package, or job).
      2. Manually remove the asset of the earlier version and add the asset of the latest version.
      3. Save the object.

    To upgrade virtualization configuration objects

     Click here to see the steps for upgrading virtualization configuration objects.

    The Upgrade Model Object Job is not supported for upgrading virtualization configuration objects.

    To upgrade configuration objects that you distributed in prior versions, complete the following steps:

    1. Import the new version of the virtualization configuration object (for example, the VMware vCenter configuration object).
    2. Restart the RSCD agent on which the configuration object is distributed. This step is a prerequisite for successful upgrade of the configuration object on the target server.
    3. Run the Distribute Configuration Objects Job to distribute the configuration objects to the target agent (see Distributing configuration objects).
    4. To identify the configuration objects that failed, run the Upgrade Model Objects Job on all jobs, templates, and BLPackages that reference the configuration object.
    5. After the Upgrade Model Objects Job completes, open the objects for which the job failed.
    6. Remove the parts that are marked as failed and add new ones from the upgraded configuration object.

    Upgrading to a new release can potentially create mismatches between the version of a custom configuration object, an agent, and any model objects that reference custom configuration objects. Therefore, as part of the upgrade process, you must distribute the latest versions of custom configuration objects for the custom configuration objects that are not included as part of an agent.  The  installation are automatically upgraded to the appropriate version when you upgrade the agent. (See Custom configuration objects for a list of those objects.) You should upgrade any custom configuration objects not included with the agent by running a Distribute Configuration Objects Job. The job should target servers to which custom configuration objects should be distributed.

    Potential issues

     Click here to review a list of potential issues you can encounter during an upgrade.

    • Upgrade to version 8.6 or later does not grant the DBMS_LOCK privilege to user - Before you start upgrading from a previous version to BMC Server Automation 8.6, ensure that the BMC Server Automation user is granted the DBMS_LOCK privilege. This privilege is required for carrying out a handshake between BMC Server Automation database and the BMC BladeLogic Decision Support for Server Automation ETL during database clean up. You can use the SYS user to grant the DBMS_LOCK privilege by entering the following command: GRANT EXECUTE on DBMS_LOCK TO <User>
    • Upgrade to version 8.6 or later disables PropertySync - As of BMC Server Automation version 8.5, the PropertySync feature has been deprecated. During migration of the database, PropertySync is disabled and the migration results table displays the migration warning: PropertySync has been changed from true to false. Please contact BMC Support for further assistance.
    • Upgrade to version 8.5 or later deprecates the Provision provisionDevice BLCLI command. Earlier releases supported the Provision:provisionDevice command. This command has been deprecated. BMC recommends that you use the ProvisionJob:createProvisionJob command instead.
    • Upgrade to version 8.6 or later causes Citrix XenServer Provision Jobs to fail - After an upgrade from BMC Server Automation version 8.3 or earlier to BMC Server Automation version 8.5 or later, existing Citrix XenServer Provision Jobs fail (QM001706976). Failed jobs display the error message: com.bladelogic.om.infra.mfw .util.BlException: Proxy cannot be null, Error: Proxy cannot be null. To work around the issue, open the Provision Job in the content editor. On the Server Settings panel, browse the Server Properties option to select or create a valid agentless managed object (AMO).
    • Audit performed with snapshots captured using earlier versions of the RSCD agent can fail - When capturing data from target servers, version 8.6.00 of BMC Server Automation skips IPv6 addresses and masks. After an upgrade to version 8.6.00 oe later from version 8.3 or earlier, an audit performed with snapshots captured using older versions of an RSCD agent can fail if the targets had IPv6 enabled.


    Certificate issue


    If your id.pem certificate was created with a key size of 1024 bits (or less), you will need to regenerate it with a higher key size (2048 or higher). This is due to a change in the FIPS requirement for minimum key length (now 2048 bits).

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    Step 2: Prepare the database

    During an upgrade process, core data is migrated to the upgraded BMC Server Automation database. To ensure that this migration completes successfully, you must prepare your database before performing the upgrade. To prepare your database, review the following list of prerequisite tasks and perform the tasks that are relevant for your environment.

    TaskDescription
    Back up the BMC Server Automation database.

    You must back up before beginning the data upgrade process.

    The data upgrade occurs in place. If, for any reason, it should become impossible to complete the upgrade, the only way to
    restore the database to its pre-upgrade state is from the backups.

    (Oracle only)

    Checking for temp space (when upgrading from 8.3 or earlier only)

    Note: If you are upgrading from version 8.5 or later, you do not need to perform this step.

    If you are upgrading from version 8.3 or earlier, you must first upgrade to the latest 8.5 or 8.6 service pack. Prior to this interim upgrade, you must ensure that your Oracle database has the free space required for successful data migration. To determine those requirements, use the sizing_8x_temp_undo.sql script provided by BMC Server Automation. 

    For details see Determining sizing requirements for Oracle databases in the online technical documentation for BMC Server Automation version 8.5. (This task is not required if upgrading from version 8.5 or later).


    Remove unnecessary deployments

    The migration process uses the database system ID information in the _template deployment to identify the database to migrate. In addition,
    the configurations from each existing deployment are processed, so each deployment present in the Deployments directory should have the correct configuration.

    Certain deployments are transitory and can be removed before an upgrade as they are not needed for normal operation.

    • _install, _postmig, and _util can be removed from the deployments directory if present, and provided that an installation,
      postmigration process, or blcontent process is not being run.
    • _launcher is for the Application Server Launcher. 
      This does not include database configuration information. 
      Both _spawner and _pxe include database configuration information. 
      The _template deployment is used to create new deployments, including those used during migration.
    Ensure that the database configuration information on the deployments of the Application Server is up-to-date

    Before upgrading the Application Server, ensure that the database configuration information on the deployments of the
    Application Server is up-to-date.

    You can use the blasadmin utility to check the database related and file server related information for each of the deployments (except _launcher).

    You can use the following blasadmin commands. If either of these commands returns an error, you can use the blasadmin utility to
    correct the configuration information and proceed with the upgrade.

    • blasadmin -s <deloyment name> show database all (for the _pxe deployment use blasadmin -s _pxe show pxe all)
    • blasadmin -s <deployment name> show file all

    If these commands return an error, use the blasadmin utility to correct the configuration so that those commands do not return an error.

    (Oracle only) Grant privileges explicitly to the user account

    For an Oracle database, you must grant certain privileges explicitly to the user account (typically BLADELOGIC) that will be used during the upgrade.

    Some of the privileges can be revoked after database migration is performed during the upgrade. For the complete list, see List of required database permissions.

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    Step 3: Prepare the automation environment

    Perform these tasks in order. Many steps are prerequisites for other steps that occur later in the process.

    1. Back up the BMC Server Automation database. The data upgrade occurs in place. If, for any reason, it should become impossible to complete the upgrade, the only way to restore the database to its pre-upgrade state is from the backups.
    2. Ensure that your connection to Microsoft SQL database is not encrypted. BMC Server Automation does not support using an encrypted Microsoft SQL database connection at the time of upgrade. However, after the product is upgraded successfully, BMC Server Automation can use an encrypted connection to communicate with the Microsoft SQL database.
    3. Shut down the BMC Server Automation environment:
      1. Stop the Application Server. 
      2. Stop the PXE server. See Starting and stopping a PXE server.

    4. Back up the installation directories for all Application Servers and PXE servers. Note that the user who installed the earlier version of the product might have changed the installation directory from the default location, so ensure that you have the right location. If your current installation is already an upgrade from a previous version, the paths might be different, due to differences in these locations in earlier versions of BMC Server Automation. If you do not know the installation location for BMC Server Automation components view the contents of the %WINDIR%\rsc\HOME file.

      The default installation locations are:

      • Application Server: C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\NSH
      • PXE Server: C:\Program Files\BMC Software\BladeLogic\PXE
        If you are upgrading the PXE server, follow the upgrade instructions for Windows or UNIX, to prevent loss of configuration settings.

      Important

      Ensure that all files and folders in the installation directory and its sub-directories do not have the read-only attribute enabled. The upgrade might fail, if the read-only attribute is enabled on any file.

       

    5. Ensure that there is an RSCD agent installed on each Application Server to avoid potential errors in the upgrade process.

    6. Ensure that there is an RSCD agent and NSH are installed on the PXE server.

    7. Make sure that you have 4 GB on disk with temp space and 4 GB on disk with installation directory.

    8. Ensure that you have disabled the NSH proxy on all Application Servers in the environment to avoid failure during upgrade. To disable the NSH proxy, run the following command on the NSH client:

    9. secadmin -m default -p 5 -T encryption_only -e tls -appserver_protocol clear
      This command temporarily removes the appserver_protocol=ssoproxy entry from the default line in the secure file (in the rsc folder).

      Note: After the upgrade completes, remember to add this entry back into the secure file. You can use the following command:
      secadmin -m default -p 5 -appserver_protocol ssoproxy

      10. Ensure that MicrosoftVisual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 is installed on the server. For more information, see Installing an RSCD agent (Windows).

      Note

      As a prerequisite to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 on Windows 2012 R2, you must have the following patches installed on your server:

      • KB2919442 - This patch is required for KB2919355.
      • KB2919355 - This patch requires several other patches (clearcompressionflag.exe, KB2919355, KB2932046, KB2959977, KB2937592, KB2938439, and KB2934018). These are available on download KB2919355 page.

      For more information about the prerequisites for Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3, refer to the Microsoft documentation here.



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    Where to go from here

    Upgrading product components on Microsoft Windows

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    Last modified by Sulekha Gulati on Apr 12, 2018
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