Preparing for the application server and remote device agent upgrade

When you run the TrueSight Network Automation installer on a computer that already has an existing installation of Network Automation on it, the Welcome panel displays a message which indicates that the installer will guide you through the upgrade of Network Automation.

You cannot change the type of installation on the computer. If an installation of Network Automation application server was previously successful on the computer, only an upgrade is possible. Likewise, if an installation of Network Automation remote device agent was previously successful, only a remote device agent upgrade is possible.

Do the following:

Download the product files from the BMC Electronic Product Distribution (EPD) site. For more information, see Downloading-the-installation-files.
Review the application server and remote device agent requirements.
Back up data.
Review general upgrade considerations.
Review application server upgrade considerations.
Review the remote device agent upgrade considerations.
Review database considerations.

Back up data

Back up the following entities in Network Automation before you upgrade:

Network Automation database: Ensure that the Network Automation operational data is preserved. Although the application server backs up the local databases, BMC strongly recommends that you make a separate backup and store it on a separate computer, or backup media, before you run the Network Automation installer to perform the upgrade.
The properties files located in the BCAN_DATA directory if you have customized them
The server.xml and catalina.properties files located in the BCAN_HOME\tomcat\conf directory
The keystore.bcfks file in the BCAN_DATA directory.
Any external scripts located in BCAN_DATA\endorsed directory if you have customized them

Review general upgrade considerations

Consider the following before you upgrade:

While upgrading from a version earlier than 20.02.00, you might get validation error on the OS User Account Information panel if the user account is part of the Administrators (Windows) or root group (Linux). For upgrade to proceed, provide details of any non-privileged user account. In addition, after the upgrade, provide the read/write access to this non-privileged user account on the TFTP, SCP, and FTP directories that are configured in Network Automation.
(Linux only) If you are using embedded PostgreSQL, ensure that you have upgraded to GNU C Library version 2.12 or later.
Use the ldd --version command to display the current version of the library.
In version 20.02.01, the Service URL format has changed for SAML 2.0 authentication. So, before upgrading to version 22.4 from version 20.02.01 or later if you were using SAML 2.0, and during upgrade on the Authentication Source panel you choose SAML 2.0, and click Next, an error message appears indicative of incorrect Service URL. To resolve the issue, click Previous, and provide the Service URL in the following format: https://hostName:portNumber/bca-networks/api/saml and continue with the upgrade.
To populate End of Life (EOL) data for Cisco devices, ensure that the Default realm exists, and the following dynamic fields exist: Impact, Change Type, Risk Level, and Comments.
If a dynamic field named VRF (irrespective of the case) exists, Network Automation does not create a new dynamic field, and leaves the existing one as is. This is true for all device types.
For a fresh installation, Network Automation creates a dynamic field named VRF applicable to the Cisco IOS XR Router and Cisco Nexus device types. The default value of this field is management.
All stored reports are deleted during the upgrade process. Therefore, back them up if required.
If you have installed any intrusion prevention system, such as McAfee Intrusion Protection, ensure that it is disabled before you start the upgrade process. You can enable it once the upgrade is complete.

Review application server upgrade considerations

Consider the following before you upgrade the application server:

You can modify the Certificate Information, Authentication Type (local or external), Memory and System options.
(SQL Server, Windows only) You can modify the authentication mechanism (SQL Server-based or Windows-based) for the database user. However, you can switch to Windows authentication or SQL Server authentication after the upgrade.
You cannot enable integration with Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) database, TrueSight Orchestration, or BMC CMDB during upgrade. However, you can enable these integrations after upgrade by editing system parameters. For more information, see Managing system parameters.
Ensure that the passwords for the keystore.bcfks file and the .keystore file are the same. If they are not the same, update the password for the keystore.bcfks file. Refer to the Knowledge Article for instructions on updating the password for keystore.bcfks.
- To find the password for the .keystore file, open the BCAN_HOME\tomcat\conf\catalina.properties file. The bna.connector.keystorePass property contains the password.
- To find the password for the keystore.bcfks file:
  - (Windows) Open the Registry, and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Apache Software Foundation\Procrun 2.0\enatomcat\Parameters\Java. Double-click Options in the right pane. The -Djavax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword property contains the password.
  - (Linux) Navigate to the /etc/systemd/system/ directory and open the enatomcat.service file. The -Djavax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword property contains the password.
The parameters that you entered in your previous installation are displayed as defaults.

Review the remote device agent upgrade considerations

Consider the following before you upgrade a remote device agent:

If you are upgrading the Network Automation application server, you must also upgrade all remote device agents to the current version.
You cannot modify the installation directory location during upgrade.
The parameters you entered in your previous installation are displayed as defaults.

Review database considerations

Consider the following before you upgrade Network Automation:

You cannot change the database type during upgrade.
Disable database compression prior to upgrading because Network Automation does not support it.
(SQL Server only) On SQL Server, set the READ COMMITTED SNAPSHOT isolation level of the Network Automation database to ON, as described in Configuring databases for Windows or Configuring databases for Linux.

Next step in the upgrade process

Now that you have reviewed the upgrade considerations and prepared your environment for upgrade, upgrade the application server and remote device agent.