Single bundle upgrade
Note: Console Advisory Connect is enabled by default, after you install or upgrade the NetScaler SDX appliance to release 13.1 and later. For more details, see Data governance and Console Advisory Connect.
The single bundle upgrade, available from 11.0 and later releases, combines all the components except the NetScaler VPX instance image and LOM firmware in a single image file. This file is called the SDX image.
Note:
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. A single bundle 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-14.1-<build_number>.tgz. After the Management Service is upgraded to SDX 14.1 the new GUI does not display the options to upload the Citrix Hypervisor image file, supplemental packs, or hotfixes. The options are missing because SDX 14.1 does not support upgrading individual components.
Prerequisites
- Back up the SDX before you begin the upgrade.
- Check the supported SDX platform list before upgrading via NITRO or NetScaler Console (ADM).
Points to note
- Upgrade to 14.1 is not supported if the Citrix Hypervisor version is 6.1 or earlier.
- The single bundle upgrade is a multi-step process that might take up to 90 mins.
- First, the Management Service is upgraded to the newer 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 Management Service upgrades the Citrix Hypervisor and completes the remainder of the appliance 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.
- We recommend that you don’t interrupt the upgrade process. You can monitor the progress on the serial console. Also, ensure that there are no reboots or power issues during this process.
Upgrade the entire appliance to 14.1
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 Single Bundle Image (SBI) file, navigate to Configuration> Management Service > Software Images, and then click Upload.
- Navigate to Configuration > System > System Administration.
- 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 to be 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 | N** |
| 13.1 | NA | NA | NA | NA | 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.
**From 12.1, you must first upgrade to release 13.0 or 13.1, and then upgrade to release 14.1-34.x or later.
Related information
NetScaler SDX hardware-software compatibility matrix
Demystifying the NetScaler SDX appliance upgrade process
SDX XenServer 8 upgrade
XenServer 7.1.2 in the SDX SBI is upgraded to XenServer 8 in release 14.1-34.x and later.
NetScaler platforms supported on SBI 14.1-34.x and later
Note:
Platforms that have reached EOL are not supported.
- SDX 9100
- SDX 16000
- SDX 15000-50G
- SDX 15000-25G
- SDX 26000-50S
- SDX 26000
- SDX 26000-100G
- SDX 14000-40G
- SDX 14000-40S
- SDX 25000
- SDX 25000A
Upgrade matrix
SBI with XenServer 7 (version 13.0 and later) can only be upgraded to an SBI with XenServer 8. Direct upgrade from SBI with XenServer 6.5 (version 12.1) or earlier to SBI with XenServer 8 is not supported.
| Running SBI version | Target SBI version | Upgrade Path |
|---|---|---|
| 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) or earlier | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Upgrade to 13.1 (XenServer 7) and then to 14.1-34.x (XenServer 8) and later |
| 13.0 (XenServer 7.1) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Supported |
| 13.1 (XenServer 7.1) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Supported |
Downgrade matrix
| Factory SBI version | Running SBI version | Target SBI version | Clean Install Path |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | Not supported |
| 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | ANY (XenServer 7.1 or higher) | Supported |
| 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | 14.1 or 13.1 (XenServer 7.1) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Not Supported |
| 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | 12.1 (XenServer 6.5) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Not Supported |
| 13.1 (XenServer 7.1) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | ANY (XenServer 7.1 or higher) | Supported |
| 13.1 (XenServer 7.1) | 14.1 or 13.1 (XenServer7.1) | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Supported only for Running version above 14.1-17+ and 13.1–53+ |
| ANY SBI with XenServer 6.5 or earlier | ANY | 14.1 (XenServer 8) | Not Supported |
Supported VPX versions
Upgrades are blocked if the SDX is running any unsupported VPX versions. In these cases, all VPX versions must be upgraded to a supported version before upgrading the platform to XenServer 8.
| VPX version | Comments |
|---|---|
| 14.1 | Supported |
| 13.1 | Supported |
| 13.0 or lower | Not-Supported |
Limitations
Upgrade to SDX version 14.1-34.x and later is not supported if any of the following conditions are met:
- Your platform is not supported. However, you can still upgrade the VPX version to 14.1-34.x or later.
- SDX is running SBI 12.1 or earlier.
- SDX is on XenServer 6.5 or earlier.
- A VPX instance on SDX is running an unsupported version.
- Local storage on SDX has less than 34 GB of free space, except for SDX9100 and SDX16000.
Clean install to release 14.1-34.x and later is not supported if any of the following conditions are met:
- SDX is running SBI 12.1 or earlier.
- SDX is on XenServer 6.5 or earlier.
- SDX factory version is 12.1 or earlier.
Note:
The time needed for an upgrade, clean install, or factory reset varies. It varies based on the current and target versions. Transitioning between XenServer versions (XenServer 6.5, XenServer 7, and XenServer 8) or upgrades with NIC or LOM are typically longer.