Single bundle upgrade
Note
The Citrix ADM service connect is enabled by default, after you install or upgrade the NetScaler SDX appliance to release 12.1 build 58.xx and above. For more details, see Data governance and Citrix ADM service connect.
For 10.5 and previous releases, SDX appliance setup includes setting up the Citrix Hypervisor hypervisor, its supplemental packs and hotfixes, the Management Service, Citrix ADC virtual machines, and LOM firmware. Each of these components has a different release cycle. Therefore, updating each component independently, as allowed by SDX 10.5 and earlier releases, makes maintenance difficult. Updating each component separately also leads to unsupported combinations of components.
The single bundle image (SBI) upgrade, available from 11.0 and later releases, combines all the components except the NetScaler VPX instance image and the LOM firmware in a single image file, called the SDX image.
Note
From release 12.0 build 57.19, lights out management (LOM) firmware is added to the SBI, and Citrix customers don’t have to upgrade the LOM separately. The LOM firmware is not written by Citrix.
Using this image, you can upgrade all the components in a single step, eliminating the chances of incompatibility between various components. SBI upgrade also ensures that your appliance is always running a version that Citrix has tested and supports. Because all the SDX components are combined in a single file, the SDX image file is larger than the Management Service image file.
The file name of the image is of the format build-sdx-12.1-<build_number>.tgz. After the Management Service is upgraded to SDX 12.1 the new GUI does not display the options to upload the Citrix Hypervisor image file, supplemental packs, or hotfixes. The reason is because SDX 12.1 does not support upgrading individual components.
Points to note
- The SBI upgrade is a multi-step process that might take up to 90 mins.
- First, the Management Service is upgraded to the newer, provided version. During the upgrade, connectivity to the Management Service might be lost. Reconnect to the Management Service to monitor the status of the upgrade.
- Next, the new Management Service upgrades the Citrix Hypervisor and completes the remainder of the appliance upgrade. Management Service from release 11.0 and later is capable of performing a full Citrix Hypervisor upgrade.
- Do not restart the appliance during the Citrix Hypervisor upgrade.
- Citrix recommends that you use a Citrix Hypervisor serial console (or LOM console) to monitor the Citrix Hypervisor upgrade.
- 12.1 51.16/19 is not recommended for SBI upgrade. Because after you upgrade the SDX appliance to release 12.1 build 51.16/19, channel configuration on the SDX ADC instances might be lost. As a result, the member interfaces of the channel flap. The workaround is to upgrade the SDX appliance to the latest build (12.1 Build 52.15).
Upgrade the entire appliance to 12.1
If you are currently running version 10.5.66.x or later of the SDX Management Service, you can use the SDX 12.1 image file to upgrade the appliance. If your Management Service is running an older version, you must first upgrade it to version 10.5.66.x or later.
Note: The upgrade process reboots the entire SDX appliance, including all VPX instances, multiple times. Before performing this procedure, if the VPX instances are in an HA setup, fail over all primary HA nodes to the secondary node. If you do not have an HA deployment, plan for the downtime accordingly.
To upgrade the appliance:
- Upload the SBI file, navigate to Configuration > Management Service > Software Images, and then click Upload.
- Navigate to Configuration > System > System Administration. Go to step 3 if you’re upgrading from release 10.55 66.x and later. Go to step 4, if you’re upgrading from release 11.0.
- In the System Administration group, click Upgrade Management Service.
- In the System Administration group, click Upgrade Appliance. The upgrade process takes a few minutes.
Before the upgrade, the Management Service displays the following information:
- SBI file name
- The current version of SDX running on your appliance
- The selected version to which the appliance is upgraded
- Approximate time to upgrade the appliance
- Miscellaneous information
Before clicking Upgrade Appliance, make sure that you have reviewed all the information displayed on the screen. You cannot abort the upgrade process once it starts.
Supported upgrade paths
| 11.1 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 13.0 | 13.1 | 14.1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.5 or 11.0 | Y | Y | Y | N* | N* | N* |
| 11.1–65.x and later | NA | Not recommended | 12.1-56.x and later | Y | Y | Y |
| 12.1 | NA | NA | Not recommended | Y | Y | Y |
*From 10.5, 11.0, and 11.1 older builds, you must first upgrade to release 11.1 or 12.1, and then upgrade to release 13.0, 13.1, or 14.1.