How to: Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager¶

Overview¶

Use this procedure to upgrade to the most recent version of BIG-IP Next Central Manager.

Prerequisites¶

Sufficient resources such as disk space and memory. Refer to the release notes for this release for more information.
Complete all administrative tasks. You can be logged in during the upgrade, but you cannot perform any tasks.
BIG-IP Next Central Manager only supports incremental upgrades.

For example, if a user wants to upgrade the BIG-IP Next Central Manager version from 20.1.0 to 20.3.0, they must first upgrade to version 20.2.0 and then upgrade from 20.2.0 to 20.3.0.
Upgrade the BIG-IP Next instances to the latest version before upgrading BIG-IP Next Central Manager.

For example, if your BIG-IP Next Central Manager is version 20.2.1 and BIG-IP Next instance is version 20.2.1, first upgrade the BIG-IP Next instances from 20.2.1 to version 20.3.0 using the 20.2.1 BIG-IP Next Central Manager, and then upgrade the BIG-IP Next Central Manager from 20.2.1 to 20.3.0 version.
During the upgrade, the system will check if the administrator Linux account is using the default password. If a default password is detected, SSH access to the instance will be disabled. After the upgrade, you can re-enable SSH access by logging in through the VM console and running the command: enable-ssh-password-auth.

Limitations¶

There are limitations on upgrading BIG-IP Next Central Manager. Refer to the Supportability Matrix for the User workflow on how to upgrade the BIG-IP Next Central Manager.

Table 1: Compatibility Matrix for BIG-IP Next Central Manager Upgrades

Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager Version (From)	Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager Version (To)	Compatible	User upgrade Workflow
20.1.0	20.2.0	Yes
20.1.0	20.2.1	No (Follow the workflow mentioned in User upgrade column)	Follow the sequences below to upgrade: Make sure that all BIG-IP Next instances are upgraded to version 20.2.0. Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager from version 20.1.0 to 20.2.0. Upgrade all BIG-IP Next instances to version 20.2.1. Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager from version 20.2.0 to 20.2.1.
20.2.0	20.2.1	Yes
20.1.0	20.3.0	No (Follow the workflow mentioned in User upgrade column)	Follow the sequences below to upgrade: Make sure that all BIG-IP Next instances are upgraded to version 20.2.0. Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager from version 20.1.0 to 20.2.0. Upgrade all BIG-IP Next instances to version 20.2.1. Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager from version 20.2.0 to 20.2.1. Upgrade all BIG-IP Next instances from 20.2.1 to version 20.3.0. Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager from version 20.2.1 to 20.3.0.
20.2.0	20.3.0	Yes
20.2.1	20.3.0	Yes

Procedure¶

Central Manager GUI

To upgrade the BIG-IP Next Central Manager using Central Manager GUI:

Log in to MyF5 Downloads.
Accept the EULA and click Next.
Under Group, select BIG-IP_Next.
Under Product Line, select Central Manager (CM).
Under Product Version select the appropriate version.
Under Select a product container, choose the appropriate version.
Under Select a download file select the appropriate tgz file and the (if required) sig file(s).
Under Download locations, select the appropriate location.
Click Download.
- The file is downloaded to your local system, which can take up to an hour because of the size of these files.
Log in to BIG-IP Next Central Manager as admin, click the Workspace icon next to the F5 logo, and then click System.
- The About BIG-IP Next Central Manager maintenance properties are shown.
Click the Upgrade button.
- The Upgrade BIG-IP Next Central Manager panel describing upgrade requirements is shown.
Note: If the network connection is slow and the user is inactive for 20 minutes, the system will automatically log them out for security purposes. After 18 minutes of inactivity, a pop-up will appear, warning that the session will expire in 120 seconds. A countdown timer will be displayed. To remain logged in, users can click Continue Session.
Click Next.
From Step 2. Upload or select the upgrade file, select the Upload file and then click Browse to add the upgrade file (file with .tgz extension).
Click the Upload button under the selected file.
Click the Upgrade button.
- A progress bar opens.
When the upgrade is complete, click the Close button on the progress bar box.

Results

The BIG-IP Next Central Manager is upgraded.

Central Manager API

To upgrade the BIG-IP Next Central Manager using Central Manager API:

Download the upgrade file from MyF5 Downloads.
Authenticate with the BIG-IP Next Central Manager API. For details refer to Authenticate with the BIG-IP Next Central Manager
Upload the upgrade tgz bundle downloaded from F5 Downloads site.
- Send a POST request to /system/v1/files endpoint with a multipart/form-data that includes the form fields “file_name”, “content” (contents of the file), and “description” that is set to the value of “CM upgrade”.
  
  Example of authentication and upload using curl and jq
```
ACCESS_TOKEN=$(curl -kL 'https://<cm_mgmt_ip>/api/login' -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{ "username": "<username>", "password": "<password>" }'|jq .access_token -r )
curl -k -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
     -F "file_name=<tgz file name>" \
     -F "content=@<tgz file name>" \
     -F "description=CM upgrade" \
     https://<cm_mgmt_ip>/api/system/v1/files
```
- When the file is uploaded, an ID is generated for the file and the “file uploaded” message is returned in the request body.
Start Central Manager Upgrade.
- Send a POST request to upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade endpoint.
```
POST https://{{cm_mgmt_ip}}/api/upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade
```
- For the request payload, use the following example, modifying the values as required:
```
{
  "file_id": "Enter the file ID generated in the previous step"
}
```
The upgrade task is started, and the task ID is returned.
Check the progress of the upgrade.
- For Standalone upgrade, send a GET request to the endpoint upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade-tasks/{{cm-upgrade-task-ID}} using the task ID of the task for which you want to check the status.
```
GET https://{{cm_mgmt_ip}}/api/upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade-tasks/{{cm-upgrade-task-ID}}
```
  When the upgrade task is completed, the state is done, and the status is completed.
- For HA upgrade, send a GET request to the endpoint upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade-tasks/.
```
GET https://{{cm_mgmt_ip}}/api/upgrade-manager/v1/upgrade-tasks/
```
  When the upgrade task for HA group is completed, the status of the 2 nodes changes to failed and the status of the third node is changed to completed.

Results

The BIG-IP Next Central Manager is upgraded.