Upgrading to rWeb 10.0

Overview

For most rWeb releases, upgrades can be done without any special consideration. However, rWeb 10.0 includes a major overhaul of many internal system components including the underlying OS, and so cannot be performed like previous upgrades. Pre-10.0 systems will not be able to load 10.0 and post 10.0 upgrade files. Unlike the previous major upgrade to 9.0, however, this upgrade can be done in place (without replacing disks or creating a new VM). This document outlines the procedure for the upgrade. If you have questions after reading this procedure prior to upgrading, please email them to support@riorey.com.

Preconditions

Before upgrading to 10.0, your rWeb should previously have been upgraded to 9.7.3.release.0, and ideally running this version for at least a week prior to attempting the 10.0 upgrade.

info

While we recommend running 9.7.3 prior to this upgrade procedure, we have also tested loading a backup from 8.3.0.release.1. Users who have not previously upgraded a pre-9.0 rWeb to a 9.x rWeb can do a fresh install upgrade (not an in-place upgrade) to 10.0, as long as you have been running 8.3.0 for at least a week and have an appropriate backup from 8.3.0.

• Record rWeb serial numbers for each device being upgraded.
• Ensure sufficient free disk space. We recommend having at least 25% available free disk space on your rWeb prior to the upgrade. This is primarily to ensure you can create a full backup ahead of time if desired.
• Regardless of which upgrade path you are taking, you'll need to generate a backup for your rWeb.
• Decide if you are doing in place upgrades or fresh installs:
  • In place upgrades are the default option, but will require more user interaction than doing a fresh install.
  • Fresh installs require additional coordination:
    • For hardware rWebs:
      • A fresh install requires the purchase of new disks. Please email sales@riorey.com in advance of your upgrade window with your existing serial number(s), shipping address, point of contact information, and if desired the networking address of your devices (IP address, net mask, and gateway). This information should match the configuration shown under your /setup page. The configuration for the management address can be loaded on the new disks ahead of time. You should also make sure you have the latest copy of your license available, or that your rWeb will have internet access to pull it directly.
      • If you instead want to transition to a VM and no longer use a hardware rWeb, install a new VM and contact sales@riorey.com with your old hardware serial number and the new VM serial number so your license can be transferred.
    • For VM rWebs: New instances can be spun up ahead of time, in which case you will need to email support@riorey.com with your old instance serial number(s) and the new instance serial number(s) so appropriate licenses can be generated.

Maintenance Window

It is recommended to set aside a window of time to perform this upgrade procedure. Regardless of deployment type, you will need a backup of your existing deployment. A configuration only backup will be significantly faster to generate and load on the new 10.0 deployment, but will lose traffic history. A full backup will take longer to generate and load, but will retain full history of your system. The closer the back up is generated to the maintenance window the less history will be lost.

Upgrade Procedure

Select the option that covers your deployment for explicit instructions on how to perform the upgrade.

Upgrade Paths

Single rWeb (VM)

Upgrade the existing VM (KVM or VMWare) or install a new instance.

Single rWeb (HW)

Upgrade your rWeb in place or follow the fresh install procedure if you ordered new disks.

Cluster rWeb (Dual VM)

A cluster can be upgraded one machine at a time to minimize system unavailability. There will be minor moments of downtime at certain steps in this process. Each individual VM can be upgraded in-place or via a fresh install.

1. Backup rWeb

   Any configuration operations made by users after this point will not be restored. If not already done, ensure you have a backup (full or config only) generated and saved off from your existing cluster.

2. Prepare secondary for upgrade

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Disable clustering on both your primary and secondary rWebs, then turn off the secondary. The existing primary should still be managing your filter devices.

3. Upgrade/replace secondary

   Install a new instance or upgrade the existing VM (KVM or VMWare).

4. Migrate users to upgraded secondary after restore

   The upgraded system can now be used as the new primary. While your old rWeb is still running, you will need to "claim" devices on the device admin screen (the device status will report rWeb conflict) of the newly installed/upgraded rWeb. Select those rows and hit the "claim" button on the right.

5. Upgrade/replace previous primary

   Install a new instance or upgrade the second VM (KVM or VMWare). It is not necessary to do the 'restore' step of the install.

6. Rebuild cluster

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Configure the cluster on your new 10.0 pair of rWebs. Be careful when recreating the cluster since the roles of primary and secondary are currently swapped. After this step, a switchover can be performed to restore the original primary/secondary roles.

7. Fix licenses

   If you installed new VMs, email support@riorey.com with the old and new serial numbers of your rWebs so we can transfer your license. 10.0 VMs will come up with a temporary one week license so if this was not done ahead of time you have up to a week after this procedure to get your licenses.

Cluster rWeb (Dual HW)

A cluster can be upgraded one machine at a time to minimize system unavailability. There will be minor moments of downtime at certain steps in this process. Each individual rWeb can be upgraded in-place or via a fresh install.

1. Backup rWeb

   Any configuration operations made by users after this point will not be restored. If not already done, ensure you have a backup (full or config only) generated and saved off from your existing cluster.

2. Prepare secondary for upgrade

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Disable clustering on both your primary and secondary rWebs, then turn off the secondary. The existing primary should still be managing your rWebs.

3. Upgrade secondary

   Either upgrade your secondary rWeb in place or follow the fresh install procedure if you ordered new disks.

4. Migrate users to upgraded secondary after restore

   The upgraded system can now be used as the new primary. While your old rWeb is still running, you will need to "claim" devices on the device admin screen (the device status will report rWeb conflict). Select those rows and hit the "claim" button on the right. Once properly managing devices, you can power off the original primary.

5. Upgrade/replace previous primary

   Either upgrade the original primary rWeb in place or follow the fresh install procedure if you ordered new disks. It is not necessary to do the 'restore' step of the install.

6. Rebuild cluster

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Ensure that both rWebs have valid licenses before continuing. Be careful when recreating the cluster since the roles of primary and secondary are currently swapped. After this step, a switchover can be performed to restore the original primary/secondary roles. Configure the cluster on your new 10.0 pair of rWebs.

Cluster rWeb (Mixed VM and HW)

A cluster can be upgraded one machine at a time to minimize system unavailability. There will be minor moments of downtime at certain steps in this process. Each individual rWeb can be upgraded in-place or via a fresh install.

1. Backup rWeb

   Any configuration operations made by users after this point will not be restored. If not already done, ensure you have a backup (full or config only) generated and saved off from your existing cluster.

2. Prepare secondary for upgrade

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Disable clustering on both your primary and secondary rWebs, then turn off the secondary VM. The existing primary should still be managing your filter devices.

3. Upgrade/replace secondary

   • For VM, Install a new instance or upgrade the existing VM (KVM or VMWare).
   • For Hardware: Either upgrade your hardware rWeb in place or follow the fresh install procedure if you ordered new disks.

4. Migrate users to upgraded secondary after restore

   The upgraded system can now be used as the new primary. While your old rWeb is still running, you will need to "claim" devices on the device admin screen (the device status will report rWeb conflict). Select those rows and hit the "claim" button on the right.

5. Upgrade/replace previous primary

   • For VM, Install a new instance or upgrade the existing VM (KVM or VMWare).
   • For Hardware: Either upgrade your hardware rWeb in place or follow the fresh install procedure if you ordered new disks.

   It is not necessary to do the 'restore' step of the install.

6. Fix licenses

   Ensure that both rWebs have matching licenses before rebuilding the cluster. If you performed a fresh VM install, email support@riorey.com with the old and new serial numbers of your VM rWebs so we can transfer your license. 10.0 VMs will come up with a temporary one week license, but this will not match your hardware license and so clustering can't be configured until the licenses match. Once the correct licenses are issued, load them or use 'Pull and apply' on each rWeb.

7. Rebuild cluster
   

   There will be momentary downtime during this operation. Configure the cluster on your new 10.0 pair of rWebs. Be careful when recreating the cluster since the roles of primary and secondary are currently swapped. After this step, a switchover can be performed to restore the original primary/secondary roles.

Post Upgrade

Following the completed upgrade, you may wish to configure some of the newer features available in 10.0 like EC SSL certificates. Please review the release notes for other features you might be interested in using. After you are using 10.0, all 10.0+ version upgrades can be done using our normal upgrade procedures.