9.2 Updating the Filr, Search, or Database Appliances

The method of updating is the same for the Filr appliance, search appliance, and the database appliance.

Though it is possible to install a new search index appliance and subsequently re-index your data, Novell recommends that in a production environment you update your existing search index appliances rather than install new appliances and re-index your data. However, because of changes made to the search index since the previous release, you should re-index your Filr site after updating from Filr 1.0.

The data location for the original appliance that you are updating from must be independent of the appliance on a separate VMware, Xen, or Hyper-V hard disk, as described in Section 9.1, Prerequisites.

The update process differs depending on your virtual platform.

IMPORTANT:You can update only to the same virtual platform as the platform where you deployed your original Filr system. For example, if your original Filr system was deployed on VMware, you can update only to VMware.

Because Filr 1.0 was available only on VMware, the update process to Filr 1.0.1 is available only in a VMware environment. Updating from version 1.0 to version 1.0.1 in a Xen or Hyper-V environment is not possible.

9.2.1 VMware

  1. Download the software to your management workstation.

    • Filr Appliance: Filr.x86_64-version.ovf.zip

    • Search Appliance: Filrsearch-version.ovf.zip

    • Database Appliance: MySQL.x86_64-version.ovf.zip

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  2. Extract the file that you downloaded in Step 1 on your management workstation until one of the following folders appears, depending on which appliance you are updating:

    • Filr-version

    • Filrsearch-version

    • MySQL-version

  3. In the vSphere client, click File > Deploy OVF Template.

  4. Browse to and select the .ovf file in the Filr-version file folder.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Click Next again.

  7. In the Name field, rename the Filr appliance to a name of your choosing, then click Next.

  8. Click Next to accept the default for the disk format.

  9. Click Finish.

  10. Shut down the appliance you are updating.

    IMPORTANT:When shutting down the appliance, be aware of the following limitations:

    • In a large deployment, always bring down Filr first before you bring down the search appliance or database appliance. When restarting, start the Filr appliance last.

    • In a clustered deployment, all instances of the previous Filr or search index appliance must be shut down before a single instance of the updated Filr or search index appliance is started.

      Rolling upgrades (updating one Filr or search index server while another continues to serve clients) are not supported when updating from Filr 1.0 to Filr 1.0.1 in a clustered environment. This issue does not affect small or non-clustered large installations.

    • When you shut down the appliance, use the Shutdown button from the Novell Appliance Configuration screen (as described in Section 7.9, Shutting Down and Restarting the Novell Appliance), or use the init 0 command from the appliance console when you are logged in as root.

  11. Before you power on the new appliance, point it to the VMware data disk that your previous appliance used. For example, for ESX 5.x:

    1. In the vSphere client, right-click the virtual machine that you just created, and for which you want to create secondary storage, then click Edit Settings.

      The Virtual Machine Properties page is displayed.

    2. On the Hardware tab, click Add.

      The Add Hardware dialog box is displayed.

    3. Select Hard Disk, then click Next.

    4. Select Use an existing virtual disk, then click Next.

    5. Next to the Disk File Path field, click Browse, then browse to and select the datastore or datastore cluster that you selected for the appliance that you are updating from.

    6. Click Open.

    7. Click Next.

    8. In the Virtual Device Node section, select SCSI (1:0) from the drop-down list.

    9. In the Mode section, select Independent, select Persistent, then click Next.

    10. Click Finish.

    11. Click OK.

      WARNING:If for any reason you need to delete the new or the previous appliance, you must unlink (remove) the disk. Otherwise, the disk is deleted. Having the disk linked to the original or to the new appliance does not provide the expected safeguard. In other words, if the disk is linked to multiple appliances and you delete one of them, the disk is deleted despite the remaining link.

  12. Increase the amount of memory that VMware allocates for the Filr appliance.

    The default of 8 GB is the recommended minimum amount of memory for a large deployment. Novell also recommends 2 CPUs.

    For an all-in-one deployment, you should increase the default to at least 12 GB of memory and 4 CPUs.

    Small deployments require more CPUs and memory because in a small deployment, all components are running on a single virtual machine.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

    1. In the Virtual Machine Properties window, select Memory, then increase the setting to a suitable size for your environment.

    2. Click OK to exit the Virtual Machine Properties window.

  13. Power on the appliance (virtual machine).

    IMPORTANT:In a large installation, you must power on the search index and database appliances before you power on the Filr appliance. These appliances must be running at the time you power on the Filr appliance.

  14. Click the Console tab. After the appliance starts, accept the license agreement.

  15. Specify the same configuration information that you did when installing the original appliance.

    If you entered incorrect configuration information, you can log in as root and use the VACONFIG utility. For more information, see Section D.1, Using VACONFIG to Modify Network Information.

  16. Click Next.

  17. The data storage location that you used when installing the original appliance should already be selected. If it is not, select it.

    For more information about the type of data that is stored here, see Data Storage for the Appliance.

  18. Click Next.

  19. (Filr appliance only) If you configured Filr for a clustered environment, you must select Remote NFS. Then click Next.

    For more information about possible configurations when running Filr in a clustered environment, see Section 1.8, Recommended Hardware Configurations Based on System Performance.

  20. Click Configure.

    A message indicating that the installation was successful is displayed.

  21. In a browser, navigate to the following URL:

    https://ip_address:9443

    Use the IP address or DNS name of the server that you specified during the appliance installation.

  22. Log in to the appliance using the vaadmin user and the password that you set.

    The Novell Filr Appliance, Novell MySQL Appliance, or Novell Filr Search Appliance landing page is displayed, depending on which appliance you are updating.

  23. (Conditional) If you are updating the search appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Search Appliance Configuration icon.

      The Search Settings page is displayed.

    2. Ensure that all of the settings are set to your desired specifications.

  24. (Conditional) If you are updating the database appliance:

    1. Click the phpMyAdmin icon.

    2. Verify that the database is populated.

  25. (Conditional) If you are updating the Filr appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Server Configuration icon.

      The Filr Configuration Wizard is displayed.

    2. Click Finish to update the appliance.

      Depending on the size of your database, the update process can take over an hour to complete. For example, a 14 GB database might take 30 minutes to complete, and a 30 GB database might take an hour or more.

  26. Continue with Section 9.3, Rebuilding the Search Index.

9.2.2 Xen

IMPORTANT:You can update only to the same virtual platform as the platform where you deployed your original Filr system. For example, if your original Filr system was deployed on VMware, you can update only to VMware.

Because Filr 1.0 was available only on VMware, the update process to Filr 1.0.1 is available only in a VMware environment. Updating from version 1.0 to version 1.0.1 in a Xen or Hyper-V environment is not possible.

The following steps are provided for future reference, when updating from Filr 1.0.1 to a future version.

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use the following command to log in to the host server from a remote workstation on Linux:

    ssh -X root@host_ip_address

    You must use the -X in the command in order to display the GUI installation program. The steps in this section use the GUI installation program to configure the server.

  2. Navigate to the /var/lib/xen/images directory on the host server.

  3. Create a new directory inside the images directory where you can download the Filr software. The name of this directory must be the same as the name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance Filr1, the name of this new directory must also be Filr1.

  4. Change to the directory that you just created. For example, /var/lib/xen/images/Filr1.

  5. Download the software to the current directory on the host server. For example:

    /var/lib/xen/images/Filr1

    • Filr Appliance: Filr.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz

    • Search Appliance: Filrsearch-version.xen.tar.gz

    • Database Appliance: MySQL.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  6. Untar the file that you downloaded in Step 5 in the directory where you downloaded it.

    You can use the following command to untar the file:

    tar -Sxvzf Filr.x86_64-version.xen.tar.gz

    A filr-version directory is created, which contains a .raw file that you will use to run the virtual image. This process can take a few minutes.

  7. From the host server, run the following command to launch the GUI configuration menu:

    vm-install

    The Create a Virtual Machine wizard is displayed.

  8. Click Forward.

  9. Select I have a disk or disk image with an installed operating system, then click Forward.

  10. Leave SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 selected, then click Forward.

  11. Rename the virtual machine by clicking Name of Virtual Machine, and specifying a new name in the Name field. Then click Apply. For example, Filr1.

  12. Configure the amount of memory and number of CPUs that Xen allocates for the Filr appliance.

    1. On the Summary page, click Hardware, then specify the following information:

      Available Memory: Displays the amount of available memory that is available on the host server.

      Initial Memory: 8 GB is the recommended minimum for a large deployment.

      For an all-in-one deployment, you should increase the default to at least 12 GB of memory.

      Small deployments require more memory because in a small deployment, all components are running on a single virtual machine.

      IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

      At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

      Maximum Memory: Set this to the same value as you set for Initial Memory.

      Available Processors: Displays the number of available processors on the host server.

      Virtual Processors: Specify 2 CPUs for a large deployment and 4 CPUs for a small deployment. At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. (Java heap is set in the Filr configuration.)

      Small deployments require more CPUs because in a small deployment, all components are running on a single virtual machine.

    2. Click Apply.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Summary page, click Disks.

    2. Click Harddisk.

    3. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: Click Browse, then browse to the .raw file that you untared in Step 6.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): The default size is 40.1 GB. This cannot be changed.

      Create Sparse Image File: This option is not available.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

    4. Click OK.

  14. Shut down the appliance that you are updating.

    IMPORTANT:When shutting down the appliance, be aware of the following limitations:

    • In a large deployment, always bring down Filr first before you bring down the search appliance or database appliance. When restarting, start the Filr appliance last.

    • In a clustered deployment, all instances of the previous Filr or search index appliance must be shut down before a single instance of the updated Filr or search index appliance is started.

      Rolling upgrades (updating one Filr or search index server while another continues to serve clients) are not supported when updating from Filr 1.0 to Filr 1.0.1 in a clustered environment. This issue does not affect small or non-clustered large installations.

    • When you shut down the appliance, use the Shutdown button from the Novell Appliance Configuration screen (as described in Section 7.9, Shutting Down and Restarting the Novell Appliance), or use the init 0 command from the appliance console when you are logged in as root.

  15. Before you power on the new appliance, point it to the Xen data disk that your previous appliance used:

    1. On the Disks page, click Harddisk.

    2. On the Virtual Disk page, specify the following information:

      Source: This field should already contain the path to the .raw file that will be created when the virtual machine is created. If desired, you can rename the disk in the source field from disk0 to a name of your choosing.

      Protocol: Select file:.

      Size (GB): Specify the amount of hard disk space that you want to allocate. The recommended minimum is 100 GB.

      Create Sparse Image File: Select this option.

      Read-Only Access: Do not select this option.

      WARNING:If for any reason you need to delete the new or the previous appliance, you must unlink (remove) the disk. Otherwise, the disk is deleted. Having the disk linked to the original or to the new appliance does not provide the expected safeguard. In other words, if the disk is linked to multiple appliances and you delete one of them, the disk is deleted despite the remaining link.

  16. Power on the appliance (virtual machine).

    IMPORTANT:In a large installation, you must power on the search index and database appliances before you power on the Filr appliance. These appliances must be running at the time you power on the Filr appliance.

  17. Click the Console tab. After the appliance starts, accept the license agreement.

  18. Specify the same configuration information that you did when installing the original appliance.

    If you entered incorrect configuration information, you can log in as root and use the VACONFIG utility. For more information, see Section D.1, Using VACONFIG to Modify Network Information.

  19. Click Next.

  20. The data storage location that you used when installing the original appliance should already be selected. If it is not, select it.

    For more information about the type of data that is stored here, see Data Storage for the Appliance.

  21. Click Next.

  22. (Filr appliance only) If you configured Filr for a clustered environment, you must select Remote NFS. Then click Next.

    For more information about possible configurations when running Filr in a clustered environment, see Section 1.8, Recommended Hardware Configurations Based on System Performance.

  23. Click Configure.

    A message indicating that the installation was successful is displayed.

  24. In a browser, navigate to the following URL:

    https://ip_address:9443

    Use the IP address or DNS name of the server that you specified during the appliance installation.

  25. Log in to the appliance using the vaadmin user and the password that you set.

    The Novell Filr Appliance, Novell MySQL Appliance, or Novell Filr Search Appliance landing page is displayed, depending on which appliance you are updating.

  26. (Conditional) If you are updating the Filr appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Server Configuration icon.

      The Filr Configuration Wizard is displayed.

    2. Click Finish to update the appliance.

  27. (Conditional) If you are updating the search appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Search Appliance Configuration icon.

      The Search Settings page is displayed.

    2. Ensure that all of the settings are set to your desired specifications.

  28. (Conditional) If you are updating the database appliance:

    1. Click the phpMyAdmin icon.

    2. Verify that the database is populated.

  29. Continue with Section 9.3, Rebuilding the Search Index.

9.2.3 Hyper-V

IMPORTANT:You can update only to the same virtual platform as the platform where you deployed your original Filr system. For example, if your original Filr system was deployed on VMware, you can update only to VMware.

Because Filr 1.0 was available only on VMware, the update process to Filr 1.0.1 is available only in a VMware environment. Updating from version 1.0 to version 1.0.1 in a Xen or Hyper-V environment is not possible.

The following steps are provided for future reference, when updating from Filr 1.0.1 to a future version.

  1. Log in to the host server either locally or from a remote workstation.

    You can use Windows Remote Desktop to log in to the host server from a remote workstation.

  2. Create a new directory in the location where you want each virtual machine to reside (for example, C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks). In a later step, you will download the Filr software to this directory.

    As a best practice, give this directory the same name that you plan to use for your Filr virtual appliance. For example, if you plan to name the Filr appliance Filr1, the name of this new directory should also be Filr1.

  3. Download the software to your management workstation.

    • Filr Appliance: Filr.x86_64-version.ovf.zip

    • Search Appliance: Filrsearch-version.ovf.zip

    • Database Appliance: MySQL.x86_64-version.ovf.zip

    You can access the software from the Novell Customer Center (NCC). Or, you can access an evaluation version of the software from this location on the Novell Downloads page.

  4. Extract the file that you downloaded in Step 3 to a the directory on the host server that you created in Step 2.

  5. Open the Hyper-V Manager.

  6. In Hyper-V Manager, right-click the disk name in the Action Pane where you want to create the new virtual machine, then click New > Virtual Machine.

    The New Virtual Machine Wizard is displayed.

  7. Review the Before You Begin page, then click Next.

  8. In the Name field, specify a name for the new virtual machine. For example, Filr1.

  9. Click Next.

  10. In the Startup memory field, specify the amount of memory (in MB) to allocate to the virtual machine. 8 GB (8192 MB) is the recommended minimum for a large deployment of Filr.

    For an all-in-one (small) deployment, you should increase the default to at least 12 GB (12288 MB) of memory. Small deployments require more memory because in a small deployment, all components are running on a single virtual machine.

    IMPORTANT:When you increase or decrease server memory for the Filr appliance or the search index appliance, you should also modify the Java heap size, as described in Section 4.10, Changing the Java JDK Configuration Settings and Section 5.0, Configuring and Maintaining the Search Index Appliance.

    At least half of the memory should be dedicated to the Java heap. You cannot adjust the Java heap until after the appliance is installed.

  11. Click Next.

  12. On the Configure Networking page, select the networking card of your choice, then click Next.

  13. Configure the bootable disk image:

    1. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, select Use an existing virtual hard disk, then browse to the .vhd file that was in the downloaded .zip file that you extracted in Step 4.

    2. Click Open to select the file, then click Next.

  14. Click Finish.

    WARNING:If for any reason you need to delete the new or the previous appliance, you must unlink (remove) the disk. Otherwise, the disk is deleted. Having the disk linked to the original or to the new appliance does not provide the expected safeguard. In other words, if the disk is linked to multiple appliances and you delete one of them, the disk is deleted despite the remaining link.

  15. Shut down the appliance that you are updating.

    IMPORTANT:When shutting down the appliance, be aware of the following limitations:

    • In a large deployment, always bring down Filr first before you bring down the search appliance or database appliance. When restarting, start the Filr appliance last.

    • In a clustered deployment, all instances of the previous Filr or search index appliance must be shut down before a single instance of the updated Filr or search index appliance is started.

      Rolling upgrades (updating one Filr or search index server while another continues to serve clients) are not supported when updating from Filr 1.0 to Filr 1.0.1 in a clustered environment. This issue does not affect small or non-clustered large installations.

    • When you shut down the appliance, use the Shutdown button from the Novell Appliance Configuration screen (as described in Section 7.9, Shutting Down and Restarting the Novell Appliance), or use the init 0 command from the appliance console when you are logged in as root.

  16. Power on the appliance (virtual machine).

    IMPORTANT:In a large installation, you must power on the search index and database appliances before you power on the Filr appliance. These appliances must be running at the time you power on the Filr appliance.

  17. Click the Console tab. After the appliance starts, accept the license agreement.

  18. Specify the same configuration information that you did when installing the original appliance.

    If you entered incorrect configuration information, you can log in as root and use the VACONFIG utility. For more information, see Section D.1, Using VACONFIG to Modify Network Information.

  19. Click Next.

  20. The data storage location that you used when installing the original appliance should already be selected. If it is not, select it.

    For more information about the type of data that is stored here, see Data Storage for the Appliance.

  21. Click Next.

  22. (Filr appliance only) If you configured Filr for a clustered environment, you must select Remote NFS. Then click Next.

    For more information about possible configurations when running Filr in a clustered environment, see Section 1.8, Recommended Hardware Configurations Based on System Performance.

  23. Click Configure.

    A message indicating that the installation was successful is displayed.

  24. In a browser, navigate to the following URL:

    https://ip_address:9443

    Use the IP address or DNS name of the server that you specified during the appliance installation.

  25. Log in to the appliance using the vaadmin user and the password that you set.

    The Novell Filr Appliance, Novell MySQL Appliance, or Novell Filr Search Appliance landing page is displayed, depending on which appliance you are updating.

  26. (Conditional) If you are updating the Filr appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Server Configuration icon.

      The Filr Configuration Wizard is displayed.

    2. Click Finish to update the appliance.

  27. (Conditional) If you are updating the search appliance:

    1. Click the Filr Search Appliance Configuration icon.

      The Search Settings page is displayed.

    2. Ensure that all of the settings are set to your desired specifications.

  28. (Conditional) If you are updating the database appliance:

    1. Click the phpMyAdmin icon.

    2. Verify that the database is populated.

  29. Continue with Section 9.3, Rebuilding the Search Index.