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smp_86112's avatar
smp_86112
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May 16, 2011

Maintaining OS Customizations After Software Upgrade

My LTM/GTM systems are running 10.2.0 on volume partitions, and there are a number of standard customizations we make to our F5 units during our build process. One simple example is that we create a directory named /usr/local/scripts, upload a couple files there, and add references to /etc/crontab. Another example is uploading a customized authorized_keys2 file to /root/.ssh to facilitate some management automation.

 

 

I haven't actually had to perform an upgrade yet, so I'm not completely sure how this process is supposed to work. But my understanding is that we install the new software to a non-active volume, and then boot to that new volume.

 

 

I'm wondering if any of my customizations will need to be performed after booting to the new volume? And if so, will they need to be performed every time software is installed to another volume, or only the first time? I have been looking for documentation that describes what is and is not retained during an upgrade, but haven't had much luck.

 

 

I'm also wondering about hotfixes - are hotfixes installed on the active volume? Or are those also installed to a separate volume?

 

 

Can someone flush this out a bit for me?
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  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
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    May 17, 2011
    Hi SMP,

     

     

    If you're changing the disk layout and everything gets wiped (like changing from partitions to volumes) you'd need to add back all of your customizations. If you're creating a new slot (either on volumes or partitions) you'd also need to install all of your customizations. An upgrade or hotfix shouldn't wipe out custom files you've added.

     

     

    During an upgrade or hotfix of an existing slot, only files that you've customized (as opposed to added) should potentially be modified. And if you're modifying default files you should be able to use the method described in Deb's post to have them preserved. See Ian Smith's comment for details:

     

     

    LTM 9.4.2+: Custom Syslog Configuration

     

    http://devcentral.f5.com/Tutorials/TechTips/tabid/63/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/155/LTM-942-Custom-Syslog-Configuration.aspx

     

     

    Also, you can only install hotfixes on inactive slots.

     

     

    Aaron
  • smp_86112's avatar
    smp_86112
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    May 17, 2011
    Hi hoolio, let me lay out a bit more of a concrete example. My question is sort of a combination of what happens to customizations I've made, but also what happens to the active configuration. Let's say I have this configuration:

     

     

    MD1.1 (10.1.0) (customized)

     

    MD1.2 (10.2.0) Active (customized)

     

    MD1.3 -

     

     

    Now let's say I need to run 10.2.0-HF2. I have a choice, don't I, of either installing 10.2.0 on MD1.3, or upgrading MD1.1 from 10.1.0 to 10.2.0? Obviously MD1.3 will need the customizations, but would MD1.1 after I upgraded it to 10.2.0?

     

     

    Beyond that, based on what you said, if I upgraded MD1.1 from 10.1.0 to 10.2.0, I would also need to install HF2 on MD1.1 before I actually booted into it?

     

     

    Finally, would the upgrade process of MD1.1 from 10.1.0 to 10.2.0 install the configuration from MD1.1, or from the Active volume?
  • hooleylist's avatar
    hooleylist
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    May 18, 2011
    The config from the current slot is the one which is upgraded/installed on the newly upgraded/installed slot. So if you ran the installation onto MD1.3 from MD1.1 the 10.1.0 config would be installed on MD1.3. Your customizations would probably not get copied during the config save to a UCS file as they're probably not included in a UCS by default. If you wanted, you could modify that though:

     

     

    SOL4420 - Viewing and modifying the files that are configured for inclusion in a UCS archive

     

    http://support.f5.com/kb/en-us/solutions/public/4000/400/sol4420.html

     

     

    A hotfix isn't included as config. So you'd need to specifically install the hotfix. You can actually skip explicitly installing the base ISO if you select the hotfix and the slot to install it on. As long as you have the base ISO in the /shared/images repository, LTM will install the base version first and then the hotfix for you.

     

     

    Aaron