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Upgrading the Exinda Firmware

Author: Luis Fernandes Updated

Overview

When it's needed to upgrade your Exinda device to the latest firmware version, the specific procedure needs to be followed. During the upgrade process, the Exinda will reboot with an approx downtime of 15-30 minutes, depending on how busy the device is.

This article provides the steps required for you to perform an upgrade on your Exinda system.

Prerequisites

  • Access to the Exinda WebUI
  • Users should make sure they refer to the release notes to follow the correct upgrade path
  • Users should keep a copy of the current config safe for disaster recovery
    Note: Please refer to any of the following articles, for more information:
  • Exinda's management port should have access to the internet and has a valid DNS server configured

Solution

Note: While the Exinda reboots, it goes into bypass mode and does not interrupt the network traffic ideally (It is recommended to upgrade the firmware when the network traffic is low to avoid any impact). Once the device boots up, it boots into the new firmware version installed.
  1. Log in to your Exinda WebUI
    Exinda_WebUI.jpg
  2. Navigate to Configuration > System > Maintenance
    Exinda.gif
  3. Click on the Firmware Update tab and then click on the Check For Latest Update button
    Exinda.gif
  4. Click on the Release Notes link, which will take you to the Release Notes article
    image.jpg
  5. In the Release Notes article, right-click on the installer, and click on the Copy link address option
    image.jpg
  6. Go back to the Firmware Update window (step 3), make sure the Install From URL is checked, and paste the image URL you just copied, right next to it
    Exinda.gif
  7. Read the Exinda End User License Agreement and if you agree, check the Accept checkbox and then click on the Install Image button
    Exinda.gif
  8. Wait for the installation to complete (you can refer to the progress bar that comes up)
    image.jpg
    Note: Additionally, you can also download the img and instead of selecting the Install From URL you can select the Install From Local File and then upload the img file.
  9. Once it has finished installing it, it will come up with a yellow box letting you know that a reboot is required
    image.jpg
  10. Click on that button, and it will take you to the Reboot / Shutdown page
    Exinda.gif
  11. Make sure the System Watchdog is enabled, and then click on the Reboot button
    Exinda.gif
  12. The WebUI will show a System Temporarily Unavailable page while is getting rebooted
    image.jpg

Testing

You can validate the version which is installed on the main menu of the Exinda WebUI
image.jpg

Additional DB Information

When the system is first rebooted, the database portion of the upgrade happens if required (i.e., moving from v6 to v7 or between two versions that have database changes). It can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a handful of hours. During this time, while the database is being upgraded, traffic passes through the Exinda, and the optimizer remains on, but there might be a few moments where historical data is not entirely captured due to the upgrade state. Once the update to the database is done, it immediately starts up again, and the operation continues as intended.

Rollback clarifications:
Exinda has two partitions. When upgrading, the new version is done on the other partition and switches a flag that points to which partition to boot to point to the newly installed image. Then you have to reboot, if not the upgrade will not be completed. If you reboot and on the new image when it comes up there are some issues, you can go to the same tab for upgrading. Click on switch partition to boot, so it points to the previous partition, reboot the appliance and it will boot into the previous version.

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