11.0 to 11.11 upgrade

[Sean OB_1]

Hello!

I have to upgrade two L2000's running 11.0 in a service guarded cluster.

We will be doing an upgrade as opposed to a clean install.

Will I need to upgrade any of the following software packages to work with 11.11?

Service Guard A.11.09
Perfview C.03.20.00
Measureware C.03.20.00
ISEE A.01.01.002
Ansi C B.11.01.20
Glance C.03.20.00
JDK C.01.18.01
Omniback II A.04.00

Other items: HSC Fibre adapters

Also what gotcha's do I need to look out for with this upgrade, and how much time can I estimate it will take to upgrade a machine?



TIA and of course max points given for good answers.

Sean

[Ken Hubnik_2]

I strongly recommend you do a fresh install. Upgrades are not clean and prone to all kinds of problems depending on apps, software, and patch level.

[Martin Johnson]

Before starting the upgrade make sure you have the latest v11.0 patches installed. There are newer version of ServiceGuard, Glance and Measureware. You may want to install the newer versions after the upgrade.

HTH
Marty

[Ravi_8]

Hi, Sean

from the forum discussion most of the upgrades are not successful. Cold install is the better way.

[Rainer von Bongartz]

Sean,

First check out the following document:

http://europe-support2.external.hp.com/iv/data/documents/DE_SW_UX_OS-Inst-Upd_EN_01_E/Update11i.pdf

this describes what you should check before an update.
I updated my servers from 10.20 to 11.0 and then to 11.11 without
major problems.
So I do not share the opinion that a cold install is always better.
People often forget that after a cold install you will have a lot of work re-configuring all applications


Regards
Rainer

[Sean OB_1]

Cold install is not an option at the moment, hence the decision to upgrade.

And from the forum discussions that I've seen the upgrade from 11.0 to 11.i isn't a problem.

The upgrade from 10.20 to 11.0 or 11.i doesn't work well.


So to that end if you have successfully upgraded from 11.0 to 11.i using the udpate-ux function please chime in and let me know. Conversely if you tried to upgrade from 11 to 11i and it failed please post that as well.

TIA

[John Poff]

Hi Sean,

We are in the midst of upgrading some of our machines from 11.00 to 11.11. We've been taking notes on what we do and how long it takes us, and the last box we did took about 48 hours total, when you count everything. That includes spinning CD-ROMs, patching, all the reboots, everything. Since it is hard to get a lot of down time for a cold install, we've started getting the machine for one Saturday, splitting the mirror on the root disks, and doing the initial 11.11 install and patching on one of the boot disks. When we get to the end of the day and reach a good stopping point, we use Ignite to get an O/S backup and then we boot back off of the other mirror to get the box back to 11.00. The next weekend, we get the box again and we start off by booting off of the 11.11 disk, which gives us a big head start on finishing things.


As others have mentioned, the cold install seems like a much better way to go than the upgrade. Also, I suggest taking the opportunity to upgrade ServiceGuard to the latest version. The only gotcha we've run into is with an old Fibre Channel card that wasn't supported under 11.11. We had to order a couple more cards and we did some shuffling with some other cards in other boxes and we finagled our way out of it. I don't remember what model the FC card was, but it was older than the A5158A cards which are also being replaced, so it was pretty old.

JP

[Sean OB_1]

Thanks for the comments regarding the listed software.

I know that we may want to consider upgrading them at the same time, but my main question was are there any that we HAVE to upgrade to go to 11i.

[Sanjay_6]

Hi Sean,

Fresh install should be the way to go. That is the best option under all stages. Upgrades are always a pain. However if you still want to upgrade, you'll have to resinatall all the products you have mentioned above.

You may also want to look at the upgrade cookbook on itrc.

http://us-support3.external.hp.com/iv/data/documents/DE_SW_UX_swrec_EN_01_E/Update11i.pdf

Hope this helps.

Regds

[Everett R. Stroman]

Hello Sean,

I've done several upgrades and usually when they work they work very well and when they fail they go down in smoke.
However it is highly possible to have a successful upgrade. Planning will be the key to success. It???s probably a good idea to use a data collection script to put all of your system configurations and install software in a neat package. I've had a lot of success with this one: http://members.tripod.com/rose_swe/cfg/cfg.html
Be sure to do a fullback and use Ignite/UX to make a bootable tape of your current environment.
http://www.software.hp.com/products/IUX/download.html
This will make it easy to revert back to your old environment, in case you run in some unforeseen problem.
Use the cookbook previously mentioned to make sure your file systems meet the size requirements.
Make sure you have code words for HP purchased software. As for the time it takes to upgrade plan on a full day, but if all goes well about 4-6 hours. As mention in an earlier comment, you will have to reinstall all software at HP-UX 11i. Also HP does offer Upgrade assistances call 888-376-4737 for details.

Good Luck

[Anil C. Sedha · Accepted solution]

Hi Sean,

I also upgraded my OS to 11i and there were no big issues, apart from the new compiler version that you will have to install.

One very major concern, the root fs and /stand fs require specific filesystem size. You may have to increase their size, but it has to be done with care as they are sequential and hence you have to remove primary swap and then do it. If you know the steps, fine else let me know


You will have to upgrade ServiceGuard, C++ Compiler, JDK. Omniback - I am not familiar with so i can't say.

Rest of the stuff works fine. On the time part, the OS upgrade takes anywhere around 2-4 hours depending on your system. Rest of the applications are fast.

Regards,
Anil

[Anil C. Sedha]

Hi Sean,

I also upgraded my OS to 11i and there were no big issues, apart from the new compiler version that you will have to install.


You will have to upgrade ServiceGuard, C++ Compiler, JDK. Omniback - I am not familiar with so i can't say.

Rest of the stuff works fine.

Regards,
Anil