Pre-upgrade Tasks for Controller and Gateways

Check the following prerequisites before you upgrade your controller and gateways:

Before upgrading your Controller and gateways, check the following prerequisites:

Disable Deprecated Controller-Logging Configurations

If you have logging configurations enabled in Controller for the following external log servers, the out-of-the box logging services for these external log servers were deprecated in previous Controller releases and are removed in Controller 7.1 versions - that is, any Controller version that begins with 7.1:

  • Elastic Filebeat

  • Splunk Enterprise/Cloud

  • Sumo Logic

You cannot upgrade from any Controller 7.0 version to any Controller 7.1 version until you have disabled these deprecated logging configurations.

To disable the deprecated logging configurations:

  • Depending on your environment, you may want to enable your log forwarding under rsyslog and verify the functionality is working before disabling the deprecated logging configurations. For information about using rsyslog as the logging mechanism to forward Aviatrix platform logs to your external log server, see Aviatrix Controller Logging.

  • Disable the deprecated logging configurations for Elastic Filebeat/Splunk Enterprise or Cloud/Sumo Logic, as applicable, in the Controller > Settings > Logging page. Locate the applicable external log server’s respective option and switch its toggle from Enabled to Disabled.

Inspect the Current Controller Resource Utilization

  1. Inspect the current Controller’s overall CPU and memory utilization from CoPilot UI > Monitor > Performance:

    • Ensure that the CPU utilization of the Controller is no more than 50%.

    • Do not proceed with the upgrade unless the Controller’s Memory Available metric is at least 40% of Total Memory. These utilization thresholds should be met before initiating the upgrade.

  2. Check the Controller storage usage from CoPilot UI > Monitor > Performance:

    • If you are upgrading to version 6.8, add additional disks. Add approximately 2.5MB per tunnel.

    • Ensure that the Controller has enough free disk space (at least 30% free) for the upgrade.

    • If the available disk space is insufficient, resize the Controller disk to an appropriate size before proceeding with the upgrade. Or you can contact Aviatrix Support to migrate the Controller with a large disk size before proceeding with the upgrade.

Perform Controller and CoPilot Backup

Perform a full backup of Copilot and the Controller:

  • Before initiating the upgrade process, it is crucial to perform a full backup of both Copilot and the Controller.

  • Save the previous backup in case it is needed for restoration purposes.

For Controller backup and restore, see Back Up and Restore Your Controller for details.

For CoPilot Backup and restore, see CoPilot Backup and Restore for details.

Check for the Non-HA (without High Availability) Gateways

Check for the non-HA gateways:

  • Please note that the upgrade procedure provided below is designed for environments with HA gateways.

  • Please ensure that all deployed environments include redundancy, with both primary and high-availability (HA) gateways configured.

  • If your environment does not have HA gateways and extensively uses Site2Cloud, there will be some downtime during the gateway image upgrade. It is recommended to consult Aviatrix Support before proceeding with the upgrade.

(Optional) Set up a Testing Environment

Before proceeding with the upgrade in the production environment, it is highly recommended to establish a dedicated testing environment. This environment should closely mirror the production setup, including hardware, software, and configurations. By doing so, you can simulate the production conditions and assess the compatibility and performance of the upgraded software in a controlled manner.

Only when the testing phase is successfully completed, and all identified issues have been resolved, should you proceed with the upgrade in the production environment.