Arbiter upgrade question

[AlexandreC]

Hello everyone,

I would like to clarify a question regarding the HPE SimpliVity Arbiter version alignment during an upgrade path.

I was asked to upgrade an environment from HPE SimpliVity 4.1.3 to 5.3.1.
Following the documentation and Simplivity Upgrade Planner, I initially downloaded the 5.3.1 package and upgraded the Arbiter to version 5.3.1, without removing the previous version, as stated in the guide:

“If upgrading the HPE SimpliVity software, upgrade the Arbiter software (without removing the current version) to the same version of the HPE SimpliVity software that you plan to use for the upgrade. The Arbiter and HPE SimpliVity software versions must match to complete the upgrade.”

After that, I was advised here in the forum that the correct and supported upgrade path should be:
4.1.3 → 5.1.0 → 5.3.1.

The issue now is that the Arbiter is already at version 5.3.1, and If i run the installer 5.1.0 windows says i have a newer version installed. As far as I can see, there is no supported way to downgrade the Arbiter without uninstalling it first. 

Is there any issue or known risk if I uninstall Arbiter 5.3.1 and install Arbiter 5.1.0 in order to follow the intermediate upgrade step? Or should i go ahead with the upgrade to 5.1.0 and it will allow me to commit the Omnistack update with arbiter 5.3.1 installed?

[Sanika · Accepted solution]

Hi @AlexandreC 

The supported upgrade path for HPE SimpliVity requires Arbiter and OmniStack versions to be aligned at each step.
If you have already installed Arbiter 5.3.1 while the environment is still at 4.1.3, you cannot simply run the 5.1.0 installer because Windows will block downgrades. The safe and supported approach is to uninstall Arbiter 5.3.1 and install Arbiter 5.1.0 before upgrading OmniStack to 5.1.0. Running OmniStack 5.1.0 with Arbiter 5.3.1 is not supported and may cause upgrade failures or cluster communication issues.

You may check with HPE SimpliVity support for any specific recommendations or requirements for the upgrade and for further assistance.

Regards,
Sanika.

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