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This documentation aims at providing steps on upgrading your Controller to the latest Aviatrix images.
This upgrade workflow only applies to AWS and Azure. Contact Aviatrix Support if your Controller and Gateways are deployed on other cloud service provides.
For the major upgrade paths, see Major Upgrade Paths.

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Before Upgrade

Before you upgrade your Controller and Gateways, it is highly recommended to check the prerequisites to ensure that your Controller meets the upgrade requirements.

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Perform the Pre-upgrade Tasks

Check and perform all the pre-upgrade tasks. See details in Check the General Controller and Gateway Upgrade Guidance.

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Check the Upgrade Checklist

Perform all the items listed in the upgrade checklist. Go through Checklist of the Controller and Gateway Upgrade.

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Upgrade Your Controller to the Latest Aviatrix Supported Images

There are four phases of upgrading your Controller:
  1. Perform Dry Run of the Upgrade.
  2. Review the Dry Run Result.
  3. Perform the Upgrade.
  4. Verify the Upgrade.

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Perform the Dry Run of the Upgrade

The dry run will check prerequisites to better prepare for a successful upgrade. Confirm your Controller version meets the required 7.1.4101. You can check your Controller version on the Controller upgrade card from CoPilot > Settings > Maintenance > Upgrade > Upgrade Controller. Perform the following steps:
  1. From CoPilot > Settings > Maintenance > Upgrade > Upgrade Controller, click Prepare For Upgrade.
  2. Click Image Upgrade.
  3. (Optional) You will only need to select a cloud account from the drop-down list if you have multiple accounts associated with the same account ID. a. Choose the account that was used to deployed and initialized the Controller. b. Verify that the IAM role the of this cloud account to make it has the required permissions to create, delete, and stop VM instances, as well as to create and delete Elastic IP addresses and security group rules, if the Controller security group management is enabled. For any custom IAM roles, see Onboard your Access Account and Custom IAM Role. c. Click Start Dry Run.

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Review the Controller Upgrade Dry Run Result

  1. On the CoPilot > Settings > Maintenance > Upgrade > Upgrade Controller > Upgrade Controller: Review Dry Run Result to review the identified issues. Solve these issues as indicated. See Troubleshooting Controller and Gateway Upgrades.
  2. Once you have resolved the identified issues, click Retry Dry Run to run the dry run one more time.
  3. Click Next.

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Perform an Image Upgrade of your Controller to the Latest Aviatrix Supported Images

During the upgrade, you will not be able to change the settings in Aviatrix Network and Security. You will be temporarily logged out of CoPilot and unable to access the Controller. For minimal disruption, we recommend performing this upgrade during your maintenance window. Your Aviatrix data plane will continue to function normally during the Controller image upgrade process.
Perform the following steps to upgrade your Controller and Gateways to the latest Aviatrix supported images.
  1. Enter your upgrade time limit. The upgrade of your Controller will take from 30 to 60 minutes based on your deployment size. You can set a time limit for the upgrade to enable appropriate actions if the process exceeds the expected duration. For large networks with more than 500 gateways, set the time to at least 2 hours. Choose one of the following actions when the upgrade time limit expires:
    • Revert the Controller to its Previous State: This option allows reverting the Controller back to its previous state if the upgrade does not complete within the set time limit. This option helps to prevent prolonged system downtime or instability.
    • Continue Attempting the Upgrade: Selecting this option allows the system to continue attempting the upgrade indefinitely, regardless of the time limit or user inaction. Users can also choose to revert the upgrade or proceed to complete the upgrade. This option might be suitable if the upgrade is critical and must be completed, regardless of how long it takes.
    You can use the estimated timeout session as your maintenance window. When the upgrade reaches the time limit, the system will send an email to notify you.
  2. Click Start Upgrade.
  3. (Optional) If some error occurs during the upgrade, you can choose to either:
    • Click Work with Support.
    • Click Work with Support and then click Revert to Old Controller to cancel the upgrade.
    If the New Controller Process Status is “Failed”, the system will halt the upgrade and revert the upgrade to its previous state and bring back the old Controller. However, once the New Controller Process Status shows “Completed”, reverting the upgrade to its previous state is no longer allowed through the CoPilot UI. To revert back to the old Controller at this stage, contact Aviatrix Support.
    You will be blocked from closing the upgrade wizard. After a period of time, the system will log you out automatically and you will have to wait 10-15 minutes before you can log back in to CoPilot to check the upgrade process. The upgrade continues uninterrupted, regardless of whether you are logged out or logged back in.
    When prompted to login, enter:
    • Username
    • Password
  4. After logging back into the CoPilot UI, wait till the Next button becomes clickable. Click Next.
  5. Read all the instructions on the Verify Upgrade page. Once completed, click Done to exit the upgrade wizard.

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For the Controller Configured with a Load Balancer

(Optional) If you have any load balancer configured for the old Controller. Please go to AWS > EC2 > Load Balancing > Target Groups, select the new Controller instance and then choose Include as pending below. When you are finished adding instances, choose Register pending targets. See Register Controller with your Target Group.

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Verify Your Controller Upgrade Status

After performing an upgrade, it is important to verify the upgrade status to ensure that it has been completed successfully. Perform the following steps to verify that your Controller and Gateways have been upgraded successfully.
  1. Go to CoPilot > Settings > Maintenance > Upgrade Controller to check the Controller upgrade status.
  2. Check if the upgrade window displays a message indicating that the Controller upgrade has been completed successfully.
  3. Ensure that the displayed Controller version is updated to the latest version
  4. Go to CoPilot > Settings > Maintenance > Back up & Restore > Back Up Controller to check the Controller backup is shown up.
  5. Go to CoPilot > Cloud Fabric > Gateway Management to check the status of Controller and gateways.
    • Verify all gateways are up and the status is green.
    • Verify all tunnels are up and the status is green.
  6. Go to CoPilot > Diagnostics > AppIQ to check whether there are some connectivity issue.
  7. Go to CoPilot > Diagnostics > FlowIQ or perform a ping test on Controller to check if the traffic flows are running as expected.
If the above conditions are met, this indicates that your Controller upgrade has been completed successfully.

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Cancel Your Controller Upgrade and Revert Your Controller to the Previous State

If you decide to cancel an ongoing Controller and Gateway upgrade, the cancellation stops the upgrade from proceeding further and will attempt to revert your Controller to its previous state. Contact Aviatrix Support before you click the Force Completion or the Revert to Old Controller button.
During the upgrade, you can:

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Get Assistance from Aviatrix Support

The Work with Support button displays after the upgrade starts. Click the Work with Support button to work with Aviatrix Support.
  • Get assistance from Aviatrix Support. Click Work with Support to work with Aviatrix Support.
  • Click Enable Remote Support. You will then see the open remote support port and the log bundle name.
  • Click Support to find solutions or create a support ticket from Support > Ticket Creation from Aviatrix Support website.
  • You can share your log bundle with Aviatrix Support for further assistance.

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Cancel Your Upgrade

Contact Aviatrix Support before you click the Revert to Old Controller button.
You can cancel and revert your Controller to its previous state under the following scenarios:
  • During the upgrade
  • When the upgrade time limit is reached.
Click Revert to Old Controller to cancel the Controller upgrade and revert Controller to its previous state before the upgrade started. This action will:
  • Halt the upgrade process. Please be noted that this process may take some time. If you need to access the old Controller, contact Aviatrix Support.
  • Revert your Controller to the previous state. During the revert, the system will clean up all the temporary files and configurations that have been created during the upgrade attempt and bring back the Controller to its previous state. If you revert the Controller upgrade after logging out of the old Controller and logging into the new Controller, you will be logged out and returned to the CoPilot again as we restore the old Controller. Contact Aviatrix Support to understand more about potential negative impacts before selecting the Revert to Old Controller button.

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Force Completion of the Upgrade

Contact Aviatrix Support before you click the Force Completion button.
When the upgrade time limit expires, you will be prompted with two options: force completion or revert to old Controller. Click Force Completion to continue the upgrade regardless of the expiration of the time limit. Contact Aviatrix Support to understand more about potential negative impacts before selecting the Force Completion button. For troubleshooting the Controller upgrade, see Troubleshooting Controller and Gateway Upgrades. For upgrading gateways to the latest Aviatrix supported images, see Upgrade Gateways for the Latest Aviatrix Supported Images (AWS and Azure Only).