Cisco Intersight Virtual Appliance and Intersight Assist Getting Started Guide

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Updated:
September 10, 2024

Chapter: Software Update

Software Update

Intersight Virtual Appliance 1.1.0-0 Upgrade Behavior — Impact of CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 9 Migration

Starting with Intersight Virtual Appliance Release Version 1.1.0-0, the underlying operating system is AlmaLinux 9.


Note

It is highly recommended that you take a snapshot of the appliance VM as well as a backup of the appliance before you start the upgrade process.

The following information highlights the key aspects of this migration:

  • Starting with Intersight Virtual Appliance Release Version 1.1.0-0, all new Appliance and Assist installations will be based on AlmaLinux 9.

  • Existing Appliance and Assist installations on version 1.0.9-631 or later that upgrade to version 1.1.0-0 or later will upgrade in-place to AlmaLinux 9.

  • Upgrading to version 1.1.0-0 directly from version 1.0.9-615 or older will fail. Therefore, while upgrading to version 1.1.0-0 from version 1.0.9-615 or older, do the following:

    • Ensure that the appliance meets the disk requirements. For more information, see Resource Requirements.

    • Upgrade to one of the following versions before upgrading to version 1.1.0-0.

      • 1.0.9-631

      • 1.0.9-655

      • 1.0.9-675

      • 1.0.9-677

  • When an existing Appliance or Assist upgrades to version 1.1.0-0, expect the following behavior:

    • The upgrade will take at least 4 hours to complete and will reboot multiple times.

    • The Appliance web UI, REST API, and CLI interfaces may not be available. You can monitor the progress of the upgrade on the VM console.

    • It is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that you DO NOT manually reboot the Appliance or Assist VM during the upgrade process as it may damage the VM and potentially disrupt the upgrade process.

  • Installation and upgrade bundle sizes for release version 1.1.0-0 are larger than the ones for the previous releases due to the switch to AlmaLinux.

Intersight Virtual Appliance Patch Releases

Starting with version 1.1.0-0, Intersight Virtual Appliance updated its version scheme to be a.b.c-d, where:

  • a.b.c — represents the appliance software release version.

  • d — represents the appliance patch release version.

This new version scheme allows Cisco to issue patch releases for important updates between software releases.


Note

  • Patch releases are applicable to specific software versions. For example, the 1.1.0-3 patch bundle can be applied to appliances that are running on software versions 1.1.0-0, 1.1.0-1, or 1.1.0-2 only. It cannot be applied to software version 1.1.2-0.

  • Patch releases are cumulative. For example, you can directly update to appliance patch version 1.1.0-3 for an appliance that is running software version 1.1.0-0, without having to apply intermediate patch versions such as 1.1.0-1 and 1.1.0-2.

  • Appliances that are running on a patch version can be updated to either a higher version of a patch release or to a higher version of a software release. For example, if your appliance is running on version 1.1.0-2, you can either update to a patch release higher than 1.1.0-2 (patch releases pertaining to the 1.1.0-0 software release) or you can update to a software release that is higher than 1.1.0-0.

For more information about updating your appliance, see Updating Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance and Updating Intersight Private Virtual Appliance.

Updating Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance

Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance provides a way to either update automatically when new versions are made available by the update service, or to manually update to any available version that is higher than the running version.

When Connected Virtual Appliance is configured to update in the Automatic mode, which is the default mode, it obtains the bundles directly from the cloud to update the service packages, OS packages including the kernel, and other security fixes. Based on the selection made during the configuration, installation will occur as per the grace period or will occur as per the custom installation schedule. In the automatic mode, if there are no new updates available for more than 90 days, ensure that the appliance is connected to Intersight.


Note

  • It is recommended that you use the Automatic mode for updating the appliance.

  • There is no difference between an upgrade on a multi-node appliance versus an upgrade on a single-node appliance as the upgrade is done at the cluster-level and not at the node-level.

When the appliance is configured to update in the Manual mode, you have a choice of either uploading the image from the local machine or from a network share server, depending on where you saved the image. Once the image is uploaded, you can choose to install the update immediately, or you can schedule a date and time for the installation. Note that you need to download the required packages from the Appliance Portal for manually updating your Connected Virtual Appliance. For more information, see Creating an Appliance Account for Downloading Software Packages and Downloading Software Packages for Intersight Virtual Appliance.


Note

  • It is highly recommended that you check the Appliance Account regularly for updates and remain on the latest version of Intersight Virtual Appliance as it is continuously improved to include new features and enhancements. It is also important to note that only "N-3" versions of the product are supported, with "N" being the latest version of the appliance.

  • Ensure that the version of the appliance that you are manually uploading for installation is always higher than the running version.

  • Intersight Virtual Appliance patch bundles are supported for specific software versions only. For more information about appliance release versioning scheme, see Intersight Virtual Appliance Patch Releases.

Use the following instructions to configure an update for Connected Virtual Appliance:

Before you begin: Ensure that Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance is connected to Intersight.

Procedure

Step 1

Log into Intersight Virtual Appliance as a user with account administrator role.

Step 2

From the Service Selector drop-down list, choose System, and navigate to Settings > GENERAL > Software. The following details about the installed version are displayed:

In the Automatic mode of configuration, the following details are displayed:

  • Running Version—The current version number

  • Update Mode—Automatic

  • Installation Schedule—Displays the date and time when the update is scheduled

In the Manual mode of configuration, the following details are displayed:

  • Running Version—The current appliance version number

  • Update Mode—Manual

In both the modes, you may see the following details about the Pending Update:

  • Version—Indicates the appliance version that is scheduled to be updated

  • Update Impact Type—This could be Disruptive, Disruptive-reboot, or None. The impact could be disruptive because of an infrastructure upgrade or upgrade of other Intersight services. A disruptive update may cause Intersight to be unavailable for the duration specified in Update Impact Duration. The disruptive reboot of the appliance could be caused by kernel updates and restarting of services. A grace period is provided to help you plan and manage the update better. The UI displays appropriate messages to guide you if there is a disruptive reboot.

    Attention

     

    An appliance update could take about 90 minutes to complete.

    During this time, some features will be temporarily unavailable.

    It is recommended that you take a backup prior to triggering the update and do not reboot your appliance. If there is a requirement to reboot, Intersight Appliance does it automatically.

  • Installation Date/Time —Displays the date and time when the update is scheduled. You can click on the pencil icon to edit the installation date and time.

  • Release Notes—Link to the release notes for the pending update

The Software page also displays a table view of the appliance updates under Update History. This table lists the installation date, appliance version, a description of the version, and the status of the installation of the update. From this table view, you can search for a specific version of the appliance and the date it was installed on and the status of the installation.

Step 3

Click Update Settings to configure an update.

Step 4

On the Update Settings page, make your selections for the update mode of configuration by choosing either the automatic or the manual mode.

For the Automatic mode:

  1. Select Automatic mode of update.

  2. Select between System Default and Custom for the installation schedule. When you select System Default, Intersight will install the update as per the grace period. When you select Custom, you can define the recurrence and Installation time for the update. The appliance will be updated automatically when an update is available, based on the selected installation schedule.

  3. Enable Blackout Dates and specify a Blackout Start Date and Blackout End Date for an update blackout window and click Save. The blackout window prevents the system from auto-updating the appliance.

    Attention

     

    The blackout window cannot be defined if the appliance has not been updated in the past 90 days. The blackout window duration cannot exceed 90 days.

  4. Choose a strategy to update Intersight intelligence. For more information, see Updating Intersight Intelligence for Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance.

  5. Click Save.

For the Manual mode:

  1. Select Manual mode of update.

    Choose a strategy to update Intersight intelligence. For more information, see Updating Intersight Intelligence for Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance.

  2. Click Save.

  3. From the appliance UI, navigate to Settings icon > Settings > GENERAL > Software, and click Install Updates.

    The Upload Appliance Software page is displayed.

  4. Select either Local Machine or Network Share, depending on where you saved the image.

    1. For the Local Machine option, browse to the location from where you want to upload the image and click Next.

    2. For the Network Share option, enter the protocol and enter details of the remote server from where you want to copy the file, and click Next.

      • Protocol—Communication protocol used for the file transfer. SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) are supported.

      • Server IP/Hostname—The network share server from where the file is copied

      • Port—TCP port to use

      • Location—Directory where the file to be copied is stored

      • Filename—Directory where the file to be copied is stored

      • Username—Username for authenticating with the network share

      • Password—Password for authenticating with the network share

    3. Select to install immediately or to schedule the installation to a later date and time.

    4. Click Apply.

  1. You can track the upload progress by clicking on the Requests icon.

    When the upload completes, you will see details about the Pending Update on the Software page. From the Pending Update Details section, you will be able to cancel an update, update immediately, or edit the installation date and time.

    Note

     

    In the Manual mode, if you cancel a pending update, you will need to upload the appliance bundle again to be able to initiate an update.

Note

 

If the update fails and if the update is recoverable, the Update History shows the installation as Failed, and the existing Pending Update Details remains as-is. You can try the upgrading process again. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

If the update fails and if the update is non-recoverable, the Update History shows the installation as Failed, and you will no longer see any existing Pending Update Details. However, all existing features and functionality continues to work as before. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

After the update, if you use the same browser to log in to the appliance, you might encounter an Error code: SEC_ERROR_REUSED_ISSUER_AND_SERIAL. To fix this issue, you will need to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from the same browser that you are using to log in to the appliance. For example, to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from Google Chrome, navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > Manage certificate. Select the system-generated certificate that you want to remove, click Remove, and click Close. Close the browser, and then log in to the application from a new browser. For more information about certificate, see Certificates.

Updating Intersight Private Virtual Appliance

Intersight Private Virtual Appliance provides a way to manually update to any available version that is higher than the running version. You have a choice of either uploading the image from the local machine or from a network share server, depending on where you saved the image. Once the image is uploaded, you can choose to install the update immediately, or you can schedule a date and time for the installation.

You can download the required packages from the Appliance Portal for manually updating your Private Virtual Appliance. For more information, see Creating an Appliance Account for Downloading Software Packages and Downloading Software Packages for Intersight Virtual Appliance.


Note

  • There is no difference between an upgrade on a multi-node appliance versus an upgrade on a single-node appliance as the upgrade is done at the cluster-level and not at the node-level.

  • Intersight Virtual Appliance patch bundles are supported for specific software versions only. For more information about appliance release versioning scheme, see Intersight Virtual Appliance Patch Releases.

Before you begin: Ensure that you have downloaded the required packages from the Appliance Account for upgrading your Intersight Private Virtual Appliance. For more information on how to create the Private Appliance Account, see Creating an Appliance Account for Downloading Software Packages.

To configure an update for Private Virtual Appliance, do the following:

Procedure

Step 1

Log in to Intersight Virtual Appliance as a user with account administrator role.

Step 2

From the Service Selector drop-down list, choose System, and navigate to Settings > GENERAL > Software.

You may see the following details about the Pending Update:

  • Version—Indicates the version that is scheduled to be updated

  • Update Impact Type—This could be Disruptive, Disruptive-reboot, or None. The impact could be disruptive because of an infrastructure upgrade or upgrade of other Intersight services. A disruptive update may cause Intersight to be unavailable for the duration specified in Update Impact Duration. The disruptive reboot of the appliance could be caused by kernel updates and restarting of services. A grace period is provided to help you plan and manage the update better. The UI displays appropriate messages to guide you if there is a disruptive reboot.

    Attention

     

    An appliance update could take about 90 minutes to complete.

    During this time, some features will be temporarily unavailable.

    It is recommended that you take a backup prior to triggering the update and do not reboot your appliance. If there is a requirement to reboot, Intersight Appliance does it automatically.

  • Installation Date/Time —Displays the date and time when the update is scheduled. You can click on the pencil icon to edit the installation date and time.

  • Release Notes—Link to the release notes for the pending update

The Software page also displays a table view of the appliance updates under Update History. This table lists the installation date, appliance version, a description of the version, and the status of the installation of the update. From this table view, you can search for a specific appliance version and the date it was installed on and the status of the installation.

Step 3

Click Install Updates.

The Upload Software page is displayed.

Step 4

On the Update Settings page, make your selections as follows:

  1. Select either Local Machine or Network Share, depending on where you saved the image.

    1. For Local Machine, browse to where you saved the image, and then click Next.

    2. For the Network Share option, enter the protocol and enter details of the remote server from where you want to copy the file.

      • Protocol—Communication protocol used for the file transfer. SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) are supported.

      • Server IP/Hostname—The network share server from where the file is copied

      • Port—TCP port to use

      • Location—Directory where the file to be copied is stored

      • Filename—Directory where the file to be copied is stored

      • Username—Username for authenticating with the network share

      • Password—Password for authenticating with the network share

    3. Select to install immediately or to schedule the installation to a later date and time.

    4. Click Apply.

    You can track the upload progress by clicking on the Requests icon.

    When the upload completes, you will see details about the Pending Update on the Software page. From the Pending Update Details section, you will be able to cancel an update, update immediately, or edit the installation date and time.

    Note

     

    If you cancel a pending update, you will need to upload the appliance software again to be able to initiate an update.

Note

 

If the update fails and if the update is recoverable, the Update History shows the installation as Failed, and the existing Pending Update Details remains as-is. You can try the upgrading process again. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

If the update fails and if the update is non-recoverable, the Update History shows the installation as Failed, and you will no longer see any existing Pending Update Details. However, all existing features and functionality continues to work as before. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

After the update, if you use the same browser to log in to the appliance, you might encounter an Error code: SEC_ERROR_REUSED_ISSUER_AND_SERIAL. To fix this issue, you will need to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from the same browser that you are using to log in to the appliance. For example, to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from Google Chrome, navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > Manage certificate. Select the system-generated certificate that you want to remove, click Remove, and click Close. Close the browser, and then log in to the application from a new browser. For more information about certificate, see Certificates.

Updating Intersight Assist

Cisco Intersight Assist is auto-upgraded from Intersight Cloud, when new versions are made available by the upgrade service. If there are no new upgrades available for more than 90 days, ensure that Intersight Assist is connected to Intersight. Intersight Assist can be upgraded automatically from the cloud directly to update the service packages, OS packages including the kernel, and other security fixes. The appliance UI provides guidance about the upgrade including the impact of the upgrade, and any service interruptions. You can schedule an upgrade to occur automatically when an update is available during a weekly maintenance window.

Use the following instructions to configure an upgrade schedule:

Before you begin

Ensure that Cisco Intersight Assist is connected to Intersight.

Procedure

Step 1

Log into Intersight Assist as a user with account administrator role.

Step 2

From the Service Selector drop-down list, choose System, and navigate to Settings > GENERAL > Software. The following details about the installed Assist are displayed:

New Version section:

  • Version—The available Assist version number.

  • Upgrade Impact Type—This could be Disruptive, Disruptive-reboot, or None. The impact could be disruptive because of an infrastructure upgrade or upgrade of other Intersight services. A disruptive update may cause Intersight to be unavailable for the duration specified in Upgrade Impact Duration. The disruptive reboot of the appliance could be caused by an update to the operating system or other component changes. A grace period is provided to help you plan and manage the upgrade better. The UI displays appropriate messages to guide you if there is a disruptive reboot.

    Attention

     

    An Assist upgrade could take up to 90 minutes to complete.

    During this time, some features will be temporarily unavailable.

    It is recommended that you take a backup prior to triggering the upgrade and do not reboot your appliance. Do not reboot the appliance manually while the appliance is upgrading. If there is a requirement to reboot, Intersight Assist does it automatically.

  • Scheduled to Install On—Date and time at which the new version is scheduled to be installed. When the upgrade is triggered, a progress bar displays the status of the update.

  • Features section—Lists the features, enhancements, and defect fixes that are part of the new version.

Depending on your upgrade schedule preferences, you can wait for the automatic upgrade on the scheduled install time or install the new version immediately by clicking Install Now.

Note

 

Any new Assir version must be upgraded within seven days. If not, the Intersight Assist automatically completes the upgrade service.

The following details about the currently installed Assist are also displayed:

  • Version—Currently installed Assist version.

  • Schedule—Displays one of the following upgrade status:

    • Automatic—If you have chosen automatic updates and scheduler is not configured

    • Day and Time, if a specific update time is scheduled

    • Click the pencil icon in the Schedule field to specify the following details:

      1. Select an update strategy to update the appliance. Choose Automatic or a Weekly Maintenance Window. When you choose the Automatic option, the appliance will be updated automatically when an update is available. Upgrade is auto triggered if the upgrade service detects any pending update during the interval, once the grace period expires. You can view details of the upgrade from Settings > Software.

      2. When you choose the Weekly Maintenance Window option, select the Day of Week and the Time of Day within the following week to initiate the upgrade process. The schedule is an interval from the time of the day it was set until the end of the day. Upgrade is triggered based on the specific time and day of the week selected in the schedule. The Weekly Maintenance Window option upgrades only if an update is available.

      3. Choose a strategy to update Intersight intelligence. The Update Intersight Intelligence Immediately option is enabled by default. It allows you to update Intersight intelligence such as Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) as soon as it becomes available, independent of the upgrade schedule. For more information, see Updating Intersight Intelligence for Intersight Connected Virtual Appliance.

  • Update History—A table view of the appliance updates. This table lists the Installation Date, Version, Description of the version, and the Status of the installation of the update. From this table view, you can search for a specific version and the date it was installed on and the status of the installation.

Note

 

If the upgrade fails and if the upgrade is recoverable, the Install Now button remains enabled. You can try the upgrading process again. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

If the upgrade fails and if the upgrade is non-recoverable, the Install Now button is disabled. However, all existing features and functionality continues to work as before. For more information about the update errors and possible resolutions, see Troubleshooting Appliance Update Failure Issues.

After the upgrade, if you use the same browser to log in to the appliance, you might encounter an Error code: SEC_ERROR_REUSED_ISSUER_AND_SERIAL. To fix this issue, you will need to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from the same browser that you are using to log in to the appliance. For example, to remove the system-generated certificate of the server from Google Chrome, navigate to Settings > Privacy and security > Manage certificate. Select the system-generated certificate that you want to remove, click Remove, and click Close. Close the browser, and then log in to the application from a new browser. For more information about certificate, see Certificates.

Troubleshooting Intersight Virtual Appliance Software Update Failure Issues

The following table lists some of the error messages you may encounter while updating your appliance and the possible resolution for each of them. If the issues still persist, contact Cisco TAC.

Table 1. Appliance Software Update Failure Issues

Error Messages

Possible Resolutions

The disk size does not meet the minimum requirement.

Your appliance hardware disk space is not enough for a successful upgrade. Refer to the information in the requirements section and update your hardware to meet the requirements.

Appliance is currently running on version CURRENTVERSION. You must upgrade to version INTERMEDIATEVERSION manually before you can upgrade to version PENDINGVERSION.

Note

 

CURRENTVERSION, INTERMEDIATEVERSION, and PENDINGVERSION are variables and serve as placeholder texts here. Follow the versions as indicated in the error message that you encounter.

Your appliance version does not support direct upgrade to the pending upgrade version. Trigger a manual upgrade to the intermediate version listed in the error message, before you upgrade to the pending version.

Appliance requires CPU that supports the AVX instruction set.

The CPU used for your appliance does not offer AVX support. Upgrade the hardware and use a CPU that offers AVX support.

To upgrade to an appliance running AlmaLinux, you need to upgrade from Appliance Version INTERMEDIATEVERSION or a newer version.

Note

 

INTERMEDIATEVERSION is a variable and serves as a placeholder text here. Follow the version as indicated in the error message that you encounter.

Your appliance version does not support direct upgrade to the pending upgrade version. Trigger a manual upgrade to the intermediate version listed in the error message, before you upgrade to the pending version.

Storage devices on appliance must use VirtIO drivers only.

If running appliance on KVM, ensure that you are only using VirtIO drivers for storage.

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