Upgrade Procedure

This topic details software upgrade procedures. It is recommended that you schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade.

 

Read all the information in this chapter before upgrading your Mobility Conductor, managed device, Mobility controller, or stand-alone controller.

This section deals with the following topics:

Important Points to Remember

To upgrade your managed device or Mobility Conductor:

Schedule the upgrade during a maintenance window and notify your community of the planned upgrade. This prevents users from being surprised by a brief wireless network outage during the upgrade.

Avoid making any changes to your network, such as configuration changes, hardware upgrades, or changes to the rest of the network during the upgrade. This simplifies troubleshooting.

Know your network and verify the state of the network by answering the following questions:

How many APs are assigned to each managed device? Verify this information by navigating to the Dashboard > Access Points page in the WebUI, or by executing the show ap active or show ap database commands.

How are those APs discovering the managed device (DNS, DHCP Option, Broadcast)?

What version of ArubaOS runs on your managed device?

Are all managed devices running the same version of ArubaOS?

What services are used on your managed device (employee wireless, guest access, Remote AP, wireless voice)?

Resolve any existing issues (consistent or intermittent) before you upgrade.

If possible, use FTP to load ArubaOS images to the managed device. FTP is faster than TFTP and offers more resilience over slow links. If you must use TFTP, ensure the TFTP server can send over 30 MB of data.

Always upgrade the non-boot partition first. If you encounter any issue during the upgrade, you can restore the flash, and switch back to the boot partition. Upgrading the non-boot partition gives you a smoother downgrade path, if required.

Before you upgrade to this version of ArubaOS, assess your software license requirements and load any new or expanded licenses that you might require. For a detailed description of these new license modules, refer the ArubaMobility Conductor Licensing Guide.

Multiversion is supported in a topology where the managed devices are running the same version as the Mobility Conductor, or two versions lower. For example multiversion is supported if a Mobility Conductor is running ArubaOS 8.5.0.0 and the managed devices are running ArubaOS 8.5.0.0, ArubaOS 8.4.0.0, or ArubaOS 8.3.0.0.

Memory Requirements

All Arubamanaged devices store critical configuration data on an onboard compact flash memory module. Ensure that there is always free flash space on the managed device. Loading multiple large files such as JPEG images for RF Plan can consume flash space quickly. Following are best practices for memory management:

Do not proceed with an upgrade unless 100 MB of free memory is available. Execute the show memory command to identify the available free memory. To recover memory, reboot the managed device. After the managed device comes up, upgrade immediately.

Do not proceed with an upgrade unless 150 MB of flash space is available. Execute the show storage command to identify the available flash space. If the output of the show storage command indicates that there is insufficient flash memory, free some used memory. Copy any log files, crash data, or flash backups from your the managed device to a desired location. Delete the following files from the managed device to free some memory:

Crash data: Execute the tar crash command to compress crash files to a file named crash.tar. Use the procedures described in Backing up Critical Data on page 1 to copy the crash.tar file to an external server. Execute the tar clean crash command to delete the file from the managed device.

Flash backups: Use the procedures described in Backing up Critical Data on page 1 to back up the flash directory to a file named flash.tar.gz. Execute the tar clean flash command to delete the file from the managed device.

Log files: Execute the tar logs command to compress log files to a file named logs.tar. Use the procedures described in Backing up Critical Data on page 1 to copy the logs.tar file to an external server. Execute the tar clean logs command to delete the file from the managed device.

 

In certain situations, a reboot or a shutdown could cause the managed device to lose the information stored in its flash memory. To avoid such issues, it is recommended that you execute the halt command before power cycling.

Deleting a File

You can delete a file using the WebUI or CLI.

In the WebUI

From the Mobility Conductor, navigate to Diagnostic > Technical Support > Delete Files and remove any aging log files or redundant backups.

In the CLI

(host) #delete filename <filename>

Low Free Flash Memory

Sometimes, after extended use, the flash memory might get used up for logs and other files. The ArubaOS image has increased in size and this may cause issues while upgrading to newer ArubaOS images without cleaning up the flash memory.

Prerequisites

Before you proceed with the freeing up the flash memory:

  • Ensure to always backup the configuration and flash memory. Issue the backup configuration and backup flash commands to backup the configuration and flash.
  • Copy the flashbackup.tar.gz and configbackup.tar.gz files out of the controller. Then delete the flashbackup.tar.gz and configbackup.tar.gz files from the flash memory of the controller.
  • Use only one partition for the upgrade activity and keep the other partition unchanged.

If you use the WebUI to perform an upgrade, a banner on the Maintenance page provides the following reminder to have sufficient free flash memory before initiating an upgrade.

For a healthy and stable system, it requires free space of 360 MB for ArubaOS 8.3 and 8.5, 570 MB for ArubaOS 8.6 and 8.7 and 450 MB for ArubaOS 8.8 and higher versions in the /flash directory. Please make sure the minimum required memory is available in /flash before upgrading to a newer version.

Freeing up Flash Memory

The following steps describe how to free up the flash memory before upgrading to ArubaOS 8.9.0.0:

  1. Check if the available memory in /flash is greater than the limits listed in Table 1, Flash Memory Requirements for all supported controller models:

    Table 1: Flash Memory Requirements

    Upgrading from

    Upgrading to

    Minimum Required Free Flash Memory Before Initiating an Upgrade

    8.3.x

    8.11.x

    360 MB

    8.5.x

    8.11.x

    360 MB

    8.6.x

    8.11.x

    570 MB

    8.7.x

    8.11.x

    570 MB

    8.8.x

    8.11.x

    450 MB

    8.9.x

    8.11.x

    450 MB

    To check the available free flash memory, issue the show storage command. Following is the sample output from a controller with low free flash memory:

    (host) [mynode] #show storage

    Filesystem Size Available Use % Mounted on

    /dev/usb/flash3 1.4G 1014.2M 386.7M 72% /flash

  2. If the available free flash memory is less than the limits listed in Table 1, Flash Memory Requirements, issue the following commands to free up more memory.
    • tar crash
    • tar clean crash
    • tar clean logs
    • tar clean traces
  3. Issue the show storage command again to check if the available space in /flash is more than the minimum space required for ArubaOS upgrade as listed in Table 1, Flash Memory Requirements
  4. If sufficient flash memory is available, proceed with the standard ArubaOS upgrade.
  5. If sufficient space cannot be claimed, then perform the following steps:
    • Upgrade using standard procedure. You may see some of the following errors:

      Error upgrading image: Ancillary unpack failed with tar error ( tar: Short header ).

      Please clean up the /flash and try upgrade again.

      Error upgrading image: Ancillary unpack failed with tar error ( tar: Invalid tar magic ).

      Please clean up the /flash and try upgrade again.

      Error upgrading image: Need atleast XXX MB space in /flash for image upgrade, please clean up the /flash and try upgrade again.

      Failed updating: [upgradeImageNew.c] extractAncTar (dev: /dev/usb/flash1 imgLoc: /flash/config/ArubaOS_70xx_8.8.0.0-mm-dev_78066

    • If any of the above errors occur, issue the show image version command to check for the default boot partition. The partition which was upgraded should become the default partition. Following is the sample output of the show image version command:

      (host) [mynode] #show image version

      ----------------------------------

      Partition : 0:0 (/dev/usb/flash1) **Default boot**

      Software Version : ArubaOS 8.9.0.0 (Digitally Signed SHA1/SHA256 - Production Build)

      Build number : 81046

      Label : 81046

      Built on : Thu Aug 5 22:54:49 PDT 2021

      ----------------------------------

      Partition : 0:1 (/dev/usb/flash2)

      Software Version : ArubaOS 8.7.0.0-2.3.1.0 (Digitally Signed SHA1/SHA256 - Developer/Internal Build)

      Build number : 0000

      Label : arpitg@sdwan-2.3_arpitg-3-ENG.0000

      Built on : Tue Aug 10 15:02:15 IST 2021

    • If the default boot partition is not the same as the one where you performed the upgrade, change the default boot partition. Issue the boot system partition <part_number> command to change the default boot partition. Enter 0 or 1 for part_number representing partition 0:0 or partition 0:1, respectively.
    • Reload the controller. If any of the errors listed in step 5 were observed, the following errors might occur while booting ArubaOS 8.9.0.0.

      Sample error:

      [03:17:17]:Installing ancillary FS [ OK ]

      Performing integrity check on ancillary partition 1 [ FAIL : Validating new ancillary partition 1...Image Integrity check failed for file /flash/img1/mswitch/sap/arm32.ari. Digest Mismatch]

      Extracting Webui files..tar: Short read

      chown: /mswitch/webui/*: No such file or directory

      chmod: /mswitch/webui/wms/wms.cgi: No such file or directory

    • After the controller reboots, the login prompt displays the following banner:

      ********************************************************************

      * WARNING: An additional image upgrade is required to complete the *

      * installation of the AP and WebUI files. Please upgrade the boot *

      * partition again and reload the controller. *

      ********************************************************************

    • Repeat steps 1 through 4. If sufficient free flash memory is available, proceed with the standard ArubaOS upgrade procedure.
    • If sufficient free flash memory is not available, issue the dir and dir flash commands to identify large files occupying the flash memory.

    •  

      Exercise caution while deleting files. Contact Technical Support if you are not sure which large files in the /flash directory could be safely deleted to free up the required space.

      Issue the delete filename <filename> command to delete large files to free more memory.
    • Check if sufficient flash memory is free as listed in Table 1, Flash Memory Requirements.
    • Proceed with the standard ArubaOS upgrade procedure in the same partition.

Backing up Critical Data

It is important to frequently back up all critical configuration data and files on the flash memory to an external server or mass storage device. You should include the following files in these frequent backups:

Configuration data

WMS database

Local user database

Licensing database

Custom captive portal pages

x.509 certificates

Log files

Flash backup

Backing up and Restoring Flash Memory

You can backup and restore the flash memory using the WebUI or CLI.

In the WebUI

The following steps describe how to back up and restore the flash memory:

1. In the Mobility Conductor node hierarchy, navigate to the Maintenance > Configuration Management > Backup page.

2. Click Create Backup to backup the contents of the flash memory to the flashbackup.tar.gz file.

3. Click Copy Backup to copy the file to an external server.

You can copy the backup file from the external server to the flash memory using the file utility in the Diagnostics > Technical Support > Copy Files page.

4. To restore the backup file to the flash memory, navigate to the Maintenance > Configuration Management > Restore page and click Restore.

In the CLI

The following steps describe how to back up and restore the flash memory:

1. Execute the following command in the enable mode:

(host) #write memory

2. Execute the following command to back up the contents of the flash memory to the flashbackup.tar.gz file.

(host) #backup flash

Please wait while we take the flash backup.......

File flashbackup.tar.gz created successfully on flash.

Please copy it out of the controller and delete it when done.

3. Execute either of the following command to transfer the flash backup file to an external server or storage device.

(host) #copy flash: flashbackup.tar.gz ftp: <ftphost> <ftpusername> <ftpuserpassword> <remote directory>

(host) #copy flash: flashbackup.tar.gz usb: partition <partition-number>

You can transfer the flash backup file from the external server or storage device to the flash memory by executing either of the following command:

(host) #copy tftp: <tftphost> <filename> flash: flashbackup.tar.gz

 

(host) #copy usb: partition <partition-number> <filename> flash: flashbackup.tar.gz

4. Execute the following command to untar and extract the flashbackup.tar.gz file to the flash memory.

(host) #restore flash

Please wait while we restore the flash backup........

Flash restored successfully.

Please reload (reboot) the controller for the new files to take effect.

Upgrading ArubaOS

Upgrade ArubaOS using the WebUI or CLI.

 

Ensure that there is enough free memory and flash space on your Mobility Conductor or managed device. For details, see Memory Requirements on page 1.

 

When you navigate to the Configuration tab in the WebUI, the managed device might display the Error getting information: command is not supported on this platform message. This message is displayed ccurs when you upgrade using the WebUI and navigate to the Configuration tab after the managed device reboots. This message disappears after clearing the Web browser cache.

In the WebUI

The following steps describe how to upgrade ArubaOS from a TFTP server, FTP server, or local file.

1. Download the ArubaOS image from the customer support site.

2. Upload the ArubaOS image to a PC or workstation on your network.

3. Validate the SHA hash for the ArubaOS image:

a. Download the Aruba.sha256 file from the download directory.

b. Load the ArubaOS image to a Linux system and execute the sha256sum <filename> command. Alternatively, use a suitable tool for your operating system that can generate a SHA256 hash of a file.

c. Verify that the output produced by this command matches the hash value found on the customer support site.

 

The ArubaOS image file is digitally signed and is verified using RSA2048 certificates preloaded at the factory. The Mobility Conductor or managed device will not load a corrupted ArubaOS image.

4. Log in to the ArubaOS WebUI from the Mobility Conductor.

5. Navigate to the Maintenance > Software Management > Upgrade page.

a. Select the Local File option from the Upgrade using drop-down list.

b. Click Browse from the Image file name to navigate to the saved image file on your PC or workstation.

6. Select the downloaded image file.

7. Choose the partition from the Partition to Upgrade option.

8. Enable the Reboot Controller After Upgrade toggle switch to automatically reboot after upgrading. If you do not want to reboot immediately, disable this option.

 

The upgrade does not take effect until reboot. If you chose to reboot after upgrade, the Mobility Conductor or managed device reboots automatically.

9. Select Save Current Configuration.

10. Click Upgrade.

11. Click OK, when the Changes were written to flash successfully message is displayed.

In the CLI

The following steps describe how to upgrade ArubaOS from a TFTP server, FTP server, or local file.

1. Download the ArubaOS image from the customer support site.

2. Open an SSH session to your Mobility Conductor.

3. Execute the ping command to verify the network connection between the Mobility Conductor and the SCP server, FTP server, or TFTP server.

(host)# ping <ftphost>

or

(host)# ping <tftphost>

or

(host)# ping <scphost>

4. Execute the show image version command to check if the ArubaOS image is loaded on the flash partition. The partition number appears in the Partition row; 0:0 is partition 0, and 0:1 is partition 1. The active boot partition is marked as Default boot.

(host) #show image version

5. Execute the copy command to load the new image to the non-boot partition.

(host)# copy ftp: <ftphost> <ftpusername> <image filename> system: partition <0|1>

or

(host)# copy tftp: <tftphost> <image filename> system: partition <0|1>

or

(host)# copy scp: <scphost> <scpusername> <image filename> system: partition <0|1>

or

(host)# copy usb: partition <partition-number> <image filename> system: partition <0|1>

6. Execute the show image version command to verify that the new image is loaded.

(host)# show image version

7. Reboot the Mobility Conductor.

(host)#reload

8. Execute the show version command to verify that the upgrade is complete.

(host)#show version

Verifying the ArubaOS Upgrade

Verify the ArubaOS upgrade in the WebUI or CLI.

In the WebUI

The following steps describe how to verify that the Mobility Conductor is functioning as expected:

1. Log in to the WebUI and navigate to the Dashboard > WLANs page to verify the ArubaOS image version.

2. Verify if all the managed devices are up after the reboot.

3. Navigate to the Dashboard > Access Points page to determine if your APs are up and ready to accept clients.

4. Verify that the number of APs and clients are as expected.

5. Test a different type of client in different locations, for each access method used.

6. Complete a backup of all critical configuration data and files on the flash memory to an external server or mass storage facility. See Backing up Critical Data on page 1 for information on creating a backup.

In the CLI

The following steps describe how to verify that the Mobility Conductor is functioning as expected:

1. Log in to the CLI to verify that all your managed devices are up after the reboot.

2. Execute the show version command to verify the ArubaOS image version.

3. Execute the show ap active command to determine if your APs are up and ready to accept clients.

4. Execute the show ap database command to verify that the number of APs and clients are as expected.

5. Test a different type of client in different locations, for each access method used.

6. Complete a backup of all critical configuration data and files on the flash memory to an external server or mass storage facility. See Backing up Critical Data on page 1 for information on creating a backup.

Downgrading ArubaOS

A Mobility Conductor or managed device has two partitions, 0 and 1. If the upgrade fails on one of the partitions, you can reboot the Mobility Conductor or managed device from the other partition.

Pre-requisites

Before you reboot the Mobility Conductor or managed device with the pre-upgrade ArubaOS version, perform the following steps:

1. Back up your Mobility Conductor or managed device. For details, see Backing up Critical Data on page 1.

2. Verify that the control plane security is disabled.

3. Set the Mobility Conductor or managed device to boot with the previously saved configuration file.

4. Set the Mobility Conductor or managed device to boot from the partition that contains the pre-upgrade ArubaOS version.

When you specify a boot partition or copy an image file to a system partition, Mobility Conductor or managed device checks if the ArubaOS version is compatible with the configuration file. An error message is displayed if the boot parameters are incompatible with the ArubaOS version and configuration files.

5. After switching the boot partition, perform the following steps:

Restore the pre-upgrade flash backup from the file stored on the Mobility Conductor or managed device. Do not restore the ArubaOS flash backup file.

Do not import the WMS database.

If the RF plan is unchanged, do not import it. If the RF plan was changed before switching the boot partition, the changed RF plan does not appear in the downgraded ArubaOS version.

If any new certificates were added in the upgraded ArubaOS version, reinstall these certificates in the downgraded ArubaOS version.

Downgrade ArubaOS version using the WebUI or CLI.

In the WebUI

The following steps describe how to downgrade the ArubaOS version:

1. If the saved pre-upgrade configuration file is on an external FTP or TFTP server, copy the file to the Mobility Conductor or managed device by navigating to the Diagnostics > Technical Support > Copy Files page.

a. From Select source file drop-down list, select FTP or TFTP server, and enter the IP address of the FTP or TFTP server and the name of the pre-upgrade configuration file.

b. From Select destination file drop-down list, select Flash file system, and enter a file name (other than default.cfg).

c. Click Copy.

2. Determine the partition on which your pre-upgrade ArubaOS version is stored by navigating to the Maintenance > Software Management > Upgrade page. If a pre-upgrade ArubaOS version is not stored on your system partition, load it into the backup system partition by performing the following steps:

 

You cannot load a new image into the active system partition.

a. Enter the FTP or TFTP server address and image file name.

b. Select the backup system partition.

c. Enable Reboot Controller after upgrade.

d. Click Upgrade.

3. Navigate to the Maintenance > Software Management > Reboot page, select Save configuration before reboot, and click Reboot.

The Mobility Conductor or managed device reboots after the countdown period.

4. When the boot process is complete, verify that the Mobility Conductor or managed device is using the correct ArubaOS version by navigating to the Maintenance > Software Management > About page.

In the CLI

The following steps describe how to downgrade the ArubaOS version:

1. If the saved pre-upgrade configuration file is on an external FTP or TFTP server, use the following command to copy it to the Mobility Conductor or managed device:

(host) # copy ftp: <ftphost> <ftpusername> <image filename> system: partition 1

or

(host) # copy tftp: <tftphost> <image filename> system: partition 1

2. Set the Mobility Conductor or managed device to boot with your pre-upgrade configuration file.

(host) # boot config-file <backup configuration filename>

3. Execute the show image version command to view the partition on which your pre-upgrade ArubaOS version is stored.

(host) #show image version

 

You cannot load a new image into the active system partition.

4. Set the backup system partition as the new boot partition.

(host) # boot system partition 1

5. Reboot the Mobility Conductor or managed device.

(host) # reload

6. When the boot process is complete, verify that the Mobility Conductor or managed device is using the correct ArubaOS version.

(host) # show image version

Before Calling Technical Support

Provide the following information when you call the Technical Support:

The status of installation (new or existing) and recent changes to network, device, or AP configuration. If there was a configuration change, list the exact configuration steps and commands used.

A detailed network topology including all the devices in the network with IP addresses and interface numbers.

The make and model number of the wireless device and NIC, driver date, version, and configuration of the NIC, and the OS version including any service packs or patches.

The logs and output of the show tech-support command.

The syslog file at the time of the problem.

The date and time when the problem first occurred. If the problem is reproducible, list the exact steps taken to re-create the problem.

Any wired or wireless sniffer traces taken during the time of the problem.

The device site access information.