How to Upgrade Swarm

Get Products and Docs

Go to the Downloads section on the DataCore Support Portal.
Scroll down and open the Swarm toggle
- When a new component version is available (such as a new release of Content Gateway), these bundles are updated and the ZIP file name changes to reflect the release date for the bundle.
From the Documentation Archive page, download the corresponding PDF.
- The comprehensive PDF that matches all of the components at those versions is uploaded to the Documentation Archive using a filename that includes that same release date for its matching bundle.
- The Swarm online documentation is continually updated to the current release; because the PDF is a snapshot that is tied to a bundle release, consider it the definitive source for that bundle.
- Our Support team's searchable Knowledge Base contains both technical articles and the very latest documentation, which may be newer than the installed version.
Expand the software bundle. In the top-level directory of the bundle, locate and read the README.txt for the version guidance on using the bundle.
Open the PDF for the bundle and see the Release Notes for each component, which include upgrade instructions as well as changes and watch items.

Upgrade Planning

Plan upgrade impacts — Review and plan for this release's upgrade impacts and the impacts for each of the releases since the currently running version. For Swarm 9 impacts, see Swarm Storage 9 Releases.
No volume retires — Do not start any elective volume retirements during the upgrade. Wait until the upgrade is complete before initiating any retires, or verify they are complete before upgrading.
Choose the reboot type — Swarm supports rolling upgrades (a single cluster running mixed versions during the upgrade process) and requires no data conversion unless noted for a release. Upgrades are performed without scheduling an outage or bringing down the cluster. Restart the swarm nodes one at a time with the new version and the cluster continues serving applications during the upgrade process.
- Rolling upgrade: Reboot one node at a time and wait for its status to show as "OK" in the UI before rebooting the next node.
- Alternative: Reboot the entire cluster at once after the software on all USB flash drives or the centralized configuration location has been updated.
Follow the Upgrade Path, below.
Review the Application and Configuration Guidance.

Upgrade Paths

Swarm upgrade paths depend on the implementation environment. See Installing and Initializing Swarm Storage for first time Swarm installations.

Component-only upgrades

Not all components update in every release; some upgrades contain a single RPM. The currently running Swarm version determines which components require an upgrade. Follow the release tables on the Documentation Archive to track component versions.

Upgrade Path options:

Running Elasticsearch 2.3.3 or 5.6.12, see Upgrading from Unsupported Elasticsearch, below.
Not using a Search feed or running Elasticsearch 6.8.6, continue with the upgrade path.

CSN

No CSN

Run settings checker and review upgrade impacts
Review and address report with Support
Download the CSN Swarm bundle from the Downloads section on the DataCore Support Portal
Upgrade the Storage RPM or run the script (see flowchart)
Select the new Storage version and reboot the cluster to activate it
Standalone Gateway:
1. Upgrade Gateway (with Swarm UI, Content UI)
Standalone Elasticsearch:
1. Verify Swarm 14 is working (no downgrading after ES goes to 7)
2. On ES 6, first install the Search and Metrics RPMs.
3. Run the config script provided, which installs and configures ES 7:
  configure_elasticsearch_with_swarm_search.py

Run settings checker and review upgrade impacts
Review and address report with Support
Download the Swarm bundle from the Downloads section on the DataCore Support Portal
Upgrade Storage (fsimage/kernel files via USB key or PXE server)
Complete required cluster reboot
Standalone Gateway:
1. Upgrade Gateway (with Swarm UI, Content UI)
Standalone Elasticsearch:
1. Verify Swarm 14 is working (no downgrading after ES goes to 7)
2. On ES 6, first install the Search and Metrics RPMs.
3. Run the config script provided, which installs and configures ES 7:
  configure_elasticsearch_with_swarm_search.py

Upgrading from Unsupported Elasticsearch

Contact DataCore Support to guarantee a smooth migration process with no down-time if running unsupported Elasticsearch versions 2.3.3 or 5.6.12.

Swarm 9.6	Gateway 5.4	Elasticsearch 2.3.3	Migration to ES 6.8.6 required (new cluster and new Search feed)
Swarm 11.3	Gateway 5.4.1	Elasticsearch 2.3.3
	Gateway 7.0	Elasticsearch 5.6.12
	Gateway 7.0	Elasticsearch 6.8.6
Swarm 14.0	Gateway 7.7	Elasticsearch 6.8.6	Upgrade in-place to ES 7.5.2
Swarm 14.0	Gateway 7.7	Elasticsearch 7.5.2	Upgrade in-place to future ES version
Swarm 14.0 Update 2	Gateway 7.8	Elasticsearch 7.5.2	Upgrade in-place to future ES version

The high-level upgrade sequence is as follows:

Swarm 11 bundle:
1. Upgrade Swarm to 11.3, as guided by Support and the Settings Checker report.
2. Upgrade to Gateway 5.4.1 if currently running Elasticsearch 2.3.3. Upgrade to Gateway 7.0 if currently running Elasticsearch 5.6.12. Refer to Upgrading from Gateway 5.x.
3. Add an Elasticsearch 6 cluster and start a search feed, leaving the old feed as primary (see Migrating from Older Elasticsearch).
4. When the feed completes, make it primary.
5. Upgrade to Gateway 7.0 if currently running Gateway 5.4.1.
6. Configure gateway.cfg indexerHosts to point to the new Elasticsearch 6 cluster and restart CloudGateway, using sudo systemctl restart cloudgateway command.
Swarm 14 bundle:
- Follow the appropriate column in Upgrade Paths, above.
  This is the general order:
  1. Upgrade to Swarm 14.
  2. Upgrade to Gateway 7.7 (from version 5.4.1, follow Upgrading from Gateway 5.x)
  3. Verify Swarm operations (this is the time to downgrade).
  4. Run the ES config script to upgrade in-place to Elasticsearch 7.
  5. Upgrade Gateway 7.7 to Gateway 7.8.