R7.0 to R11.0 upgrade 2

[j.flanagan]

So, I've done some minor upgrades but this will be the first major upgrade that I've attempted. After researching the upgrade process a bit, I have found that there are a few things to be aware of. Namely the boot loader and PCS. Also, the license format will be changing from ADI to PLDS. This upgrade is still a little ways off, I'm just trying to soak up as much info as possible before tackling the project.

So far, I have pulled the upgrade migration file and have that quoted.

I know I need to bring it up to 8.1.95 or any 9.0 release before pushing it up to 11.
I would appreciate if anyone re order these steps or add a few in that I'm missing.

1. Log into system and save configuration to separate location
2. Install manager 8.1.95 on my PC
3. Log into system and run upgrade wizard.
(will the cause phones to upgrade after the system reboots and do i need to let them finish upgrading before moving to 11)
4. Uninstall manager 8.1.95
5. Install Install manager 11.0
6. Log into system and run upgrade wizard
(after the reboot will phones upgrade again?)
(also, is it at this point that I will log into the system/licenses/add/plds/ then brows to new xml file we are provided with by our supplier and upload the XML file? or should that be done earlier in the upgrade process.)

Again, Ive never tackled this big of an upgrade jump and Ive never upgraded from an ADI version to a PLDS version.
So, please re order or add steps to my process and let me know if there are any known issues that I should beware of in the upgrade process. someone told me to make sure no phone calls are made while at the 8.1.95 version, is that actually a thing I need to be worried about?

Thanks.
Also, I'm not a technical user. I just got my implementation certification and have now been tossed into the deep end.

 

[lleeNC]

You don't need to install 8.1.95 manager. Just download the bin files from downloads.avaya.com and then change the working directory within IP Office (File -> Change Working Directory) to where the extracted bin files are located. When you go to File -> Advanced -> Upgrade, you should see the downloaded bin files being detected.

Same thing for 11.0 but I just use manager for this (since I'm already on 11.0). Make sure to change the working directory back to default.

I know that some users will go from 8.1.95 -> 10.1 -> 11.0 just to be safe. I've done both and they work fine.

Make sure to back-up config and other necessary components (ex. Voicemail Pro modules) before upgrading!

 

[Andhee]

We're assuming this is an IP500 V2.
After loading the 8.1.95 bins, upgrading and rebooting, shut down system. Remove SD card and recreate SD using Rel. 11 Manager. Do not reformat. After recreating insert and boot up your IPO. Upgrading process is quicker and more likely not to fail the process. Once completed open your config and install your PLDS licenses. Don't forget to remove the ADI licensed from your config.
Viola! Your done with your upgrade in an hour.

If vegetarians love animals so much, why are they eating all of their food?

 

[jbalzeripo]

What Andhee said is best way...
As for phones, since there'll be downtime, when I do a 'step' upgrade like this I usually disconnect the phones until final upgrade, so phones only update once.

John Balzer Jr
VoIP Engineer, Avalon Communication Services
ACE-IP Office, ACSS, APSS, Convergance+

 

[Pepp77]

When you create the SD card on R11 we have discovered that the best way to ensure a good upgrade is to

Make sure the licence file is called PLDSKeys.xml and is in the primary folder on the SD Card
Take the system config, remove the ADI licences and save as config.cfg - also add this to the primary folder on the SD card

Then add card to system and power up. It will upgrade, apply the licence and ensure the correct config is taken by the upgraded system.

The reason we do it this way is because we were having system going into basic mode when upgraded to R11 when the config wasnt on the SD card.

| ACSS SME |

 

[jbalzeripo]

I've only seen the config default to basic when another tech at my shop powered down the IPO to pull the SD card and then powered up after upgrade.
If you shut the SD card down in status, and pull it while on, you can recreate it and re-insert it. Then just make a minor change in config (reset a vm password or phone login code) merge, and power cycle to trigger update. It will retain the config this way. The plds xml file is new to me, seems like a good option, ill have to remember it for my next upgrade

John Balzer Jr
VoIP Engineer, Avalon Communication Services
ACE-IP Office, ACSS, APSS, Convergance+

 

[Copex]

hi

Ive done a few system 6/7 -> 9.1 (upload licence) -> v11 main issue is older SD card had to replace a few .

 

[derfloh]

I would do it similar to how Andhee explained.

- Shutdown SD card and put it into the laptop
- Take backup of everything you need
- Recreate SD card with latest Manager
- move the .bin files from SD card to a temporary folder on your laptop
- copy the 8.1 BIN files to SD card and put it into the chassis
- reboot IPO and let it upgrade to 8.1
- shutdown SD card again and replace the bin files with the files you moved to the temporary folder
- put the card back into chassis and reboot again

Need some help with IP Office?

https://www.fwilke.com/home

CLI based cale blocking:

https://blog.fwilke.com/ip-office-block-calls-from-specific-cli/

SCN fallback over PSTN:

https://blog.fwilke.com/ip-office-scn-fallback/

 

[Pepp77]

To be completely honest if this was me I would be taking an IP500 and the necessary cards from stock and recreating the hardware. Then I would get a new SD card on R11 and build a basic R11 system. Then take the config from the current system and install it and then licence.

Then I would take that system to site and just do a swap. Handsets will upgrade and system will be working.

As most systems nowadays are IP there will probably only be about 5 cables connected to the IPO itself, so with the right pre-planning the swap will take 5 minutes and they will be back up and running in 20 minutes.

Customers old kit goes into the maintenance stock to replace the kit used for the replacement.

Have completed two R8/R9.0 upgrades in this fashion in the past week.

| ACSS SME |

 

[j.flanagan]

Thanks for all the help. The upgrade is scheduled for the 18th. A few follow up questions... if someone could answer I would really appreciate it.
So, apparently some older SD cards aren't large enough and will run out of room if trying to upgrade to R11. Is that true ad is there anyway to tell based on an offline config or do I need to have someone on site shut down the SD card, take it out, put it in their PC and check from there?

Also, are license tied to an SD card number? Couldn't I just build a new SD card at 11.0 with their new licenses while I'm sitting in my shop one day and then pop that in after I've finished the 8.1.95 upgrade on the 18th?

Thanks

 

[Copex]

yes some old cards have issues when upgrading if the card has PLDS on the label it will be OK, its down to the card size, i would just get a new SD card,upgrade to v9.0 the pop in the new SD card copying the VM folder if required.

 

[Pepp77]

We do not put any systems on R11 if the SD card is not an 8GB card.

| ACSS SME |

 

[j.flanagan]

I was thinking when we were preping for this job that we had to get a license migration file and that asked for a host ID or something which tied the licenses to a specific SD card. Is that the case? Or can I swap out the SD cards whenever I want? Do I need to then update in the PLDS system the new SD card number?

 

[Pepp77]

PLDS licences are set against a HOST ID - this differs between server edition and IP500. For IP500s it is the SD card number. You can rehost whenever you like. Not wanting to sound like an ass but if you are doing upgrades for customers you really should know this stuff.

| ACSS SME |

 

[j.flanagan]

I wont argue with you. I really should know this stuff. However, my company kind of operates around the "throw them in the deep end" mentality. So, i find my self reading a lot of tek tips... Anyways, I do appreciate your feedback. Id rather ask dumb questions here and make myself look stupid on a forum than show up ill prepared on a customer site.

 

[Pepp77]

At least you are prepared to admit it, so many dont.

So to clarify, you can swap out the SD card whenever you want you just need to re-host the licences onto the new HOST ID using the PLDS website.

For upgrades we (as a compnay) have found it easier to create a new SD card on the new software level and add the licence file to the card directly (name it PLDSKeys.xml) in the Primary folder.

You can then just power down the system, remove the SD card, put in the new one and then power back up.

The main positive with this is the system is actually clever enough to do "stepped" upgrades, so you could take a system on 8.1 and put in an 11.0 SD card and it will upgrade correctly (the only thing you have to ensure is the bootloader has been put to the correct level before using this method, as this method doesn't amend the bootloader).

| ACSS SME |

 

[j.flanagan]

Several months have passed but I figured I would just post the results. 7 to 8.95 went well without issues. Then I took a new SD card that the licenses were tied to and recreated it to R11. After popping that into the system and letting it go through it's upgrade process, the system came up in basic mode. For some reason it wouldn't let me change back to IPO mode. So, i put the 8.95 card back in and down graded. Then I used the upgrade wizard to bring it up to 11. It came up at 11 fine. I saved that config on my PC and recreated the new SD card. Popped the card in and uploaded the licenses.

 

[derfloh]

I guess you didn't have a config on the new SD card. So it started in basic mode.

IP Office remote service

https://www.fwilke.com/home

Fixed price SIP trunk configuration:

https://www.fwilke.com/en/ip-office-sip-trunk-en/

CLI based cale blocking:

https://blog.fwilke.com/ip-office-block-calls-from-specific-cli/

SCN fallback over PSTN:

https://blog.fwilke.com/ip-office-scn-fallback/

 

[MaximusBrian]

derfloh - so if you didnt put the config on the SD card during upgrade, what are your options?

is it as easy as to shutdown the IPO and copy the config on to the sd card or do you have to start back from square one?

 

[MaximusBrian]

as an update, it booted to basic mode and gave error "ip office is unusable until release licence is added" in monitor. i had to switch it to standard mode, load the plds file (even though it was in the primary folder) & the config file exported prior to upgrade and rebooted.

system came up but some of the LAN1 -> network topology settings goofed up so i had make a few changes.

other than that, all is well!