Upgrading using individual component installers
The topics in this section provide information and instructions for upgrading the individual components of the BMC Server Automation system. You can alternatively upgrade the product using the unified product installer.
Note
BMC Server Automation version 8.6 and later requires an RSCD agent installed on each Application Server. Therefore, ensure that you have RSCD agents installed on each of the Application Servers to avoid potential errors in the upgrade process. Similarly, ensure that Network Shell (NSH) and an RSCD agent are installed on the PXE server before performing the upgrade process.
The following table provides a high-level description of the process for upgrading components of the BMC Server Automation system and includes links to topics with detailed instructions.
Tip
Prior to upgrading your production environment, it is best practice to test the upgrade in a duplicated environment.
| Step | Description | Supporting topic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prepare the environment for upgrade | Review the supported upgrade paths and upgrade considerations and perform the preliminary upgrade steps, such as shutting down the BMC Server Automation environment and backing up the installation directories for all Application Servers and PXE servers. In addition, prepare your database for the upgrade. 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). | Preparing to upgrade individual components on UNIX and Linux Preparing to upgrade individual components on Microsoft Windows |
| 2 | Migrate the database schema to the new version and persist blasadmin configuration data to the database | Run the configurator utility to perform the following tasks:
The configurator utility must be run on each and every Application Server and PXE server to copy the data from blasadmin into the database, before proceeding with the upgrade procedure. | Migrating the database and persisting configuration data to the database |
| 3 | Upgrade at least one Application Server | Do not start the the Application Server upgrade until you complete the database migration and the operation to copy the application server configuration data (blasadmin) on all application and pxe servers in the environment to the database. Additional upgrades that occur at this point depend on where the Application Server resides:
| |
| 4 | Post-upgrade updates | Run the postmigration (.exe or .sh) file to update BLPackages that refer to old Group Policy Object (GPO) assets. | Performing post-migration updates |
| 5 | Upgrade BMC Server Automation Console | Upgrade at least one BMC Server Automation Console. | Upgrading the BMC Server Automation Console |
| 6 | Upgrade the BMC Server Automation provisioning system | If you have upgraded the provisioning server (the Application Server enabled for provisioning), upgrade the components that BMC Server Automation uses in provisioning operating systems to bare metal machines. | Upgrading the Provisioning System |
| 7 | Upgrade additional components | Upgrade the other BMC Server Automation Application Servers, consoles, RSCD agents, and other components in your enterprise (including on any file servers or virtual servers). Note If the BMC Server Automation file server resides on a different computer from the Application Server, upgrade the RSCD agent on the computer on which file server resides. The file server and the database must be at the same version before you run BMC Server Automation. | Upgrading RSCD agents on Windows Upgrading the Network Shell on Windows |
| 8 | Upgrade custom configuration objects | Upgrade any custom configuration objects that you have created and distributed. 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. For more information, see Upgrading custom configuration objects. | Upgrading custom configuration objects |
| 9 | Upgrade Compliance Content | Perform an over-the-top installation of the new Compliance Content add-ons. | Installing and configuring Compliance Content add-ons |
| 10 | Import out-of-box content and enable the quick start page and dashboards | Import optional out-of-box content into BMC Server Automation to support common tasks and use cases, and enable the quick start page and Health and Value Dashboards, optional user interfaces. These objects and user interfaces are installed or activated automatically by the unified product installer, but not by the individual component installers. | Importing out-of-box content and enabling the dashboards and quick start page |
| 11 | Perform a sanity check of the upgrade | Confirm that the upgrade was successful by performing a few tests, such as confirming that the file server agent is running. |
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