Aruba Controller Upgrade Checklist

This blog article describe the process of upgrading an Aruba controller. It provide a checklist of tasks to perform in order to prepare, perform and validate the software upgrade. You can also download the PDF version of this checklist.

You can get the full detailed procedure in each Aruba OS release notes.

TODO Before the Upgrade

Backup Critical Data

• Take flash backup of both units and export them (In my case, I copied the files to a USB key I had plugged into the controller:
  • On Master Controller:
    • (controller) # backup flash
    • (controller) # copy flash: flashbackup.tar.gz usb: partition 1 flashbackup-master.tar.gz
  • On Local Controller:
    • (controller) # backup flash
    • (controller) # copy flash: flashbackup.tar.gz usb: partition 1 flashbackup-local.tar.gz
• Keep track of how many AP you have connected to the your controllers
  • Keep a copy of the output of the show ap active and show ap database long commands

Validate Memory and Storage Requirements

• Validate that you have enough memory on your controllers to load the new code
  
  • Consult the released note to be sure how much memory you will need (for both RAM and Flash storage)
    
• Use the show memory command to validate that you have enough RAM available
  
• Use the show storage command to validate that you have the sufficient flash space available.
  
• If you need to clear up some space, use the following commands
  
  • Crash Data
    
    • Compress crash files: tar crash
      
    • Copy the tar to an external source: copy flash: crash.tar usb: partition 1 crash.tar
      
    • Delete the files from the controller: tar clean crash
      
  • Flash Backup
    
    • Backup the flash: flash bakup
      
    • Copy the tar to an external source: copy flash: flashbackup.tar.ga usb: partition 1 flashbackup.tar.gz
      
    • Delete the files from the controller: tar clean flash
      
  • Log Files
    
    • Compress logs files: tar log
      
    • Copy the tar to an external source: copy flash: logs.tar usb: partition 1 logs.tar
      
    • Delete the files from the controller: tar clean logs

Load the New Code to the Controller(s)

• Copy the new image version onto the controllers’ flash memory
  
  • Before, you need to check which partition is used for the active code /boot partition/: show image version
    
    • In the output, validate which partition is active. You will be using the other partition /non-boot partition/ to copy your new code to. (Ex: if partition 0 is currently active, you will be copying the new code to partition 1)
      
  • On Master Controller:
    
    • (controller) # copy usb: partition 1 <image_filename> system: partition <0 or 1>
      
  • On Local Controller:
    
    • (controller) # copy usb: partition 1 <image_filename> system: partition <0 or 1>
      
  • Validate that the new code has been copied properly using the following command: show image version
    
• Save the configurations on both controllers using the following command: write memory

Validate Licensing Requirements

• Finally , make sure that your licenses will still meet the requirements of the new version (consult the release notes to be sure)

Perform the Upgrade

• At this point, all you have to do it reboot the controllers. 
  
  • Reboot the master controller: reload
    
  • Reboot the local controller: reload

TODO After the Upgrade

• When both units comes back up, validate the following
  
  • Validate that the new image has been installed properly and is active: show image version & show version
    
  • Validate that the AP are back and active on the controllers: show ap active & show ap database
    
  • If you have redundancy setup, validate that the redundancy is still there: show switches & show ha ap table
    
  • Validate that your licenses are good: show license
    
• Finish by testing an end-to-end connection to the Wi-Fi through an access point.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers'


written by François Vergès