Infoblox frequently releases updated NIOS software. Contact Infoblox Technical Support to learn which file name to use when downloading a new upgrade file , or watch your email for periodic notifications that a new software upgrade is available. To get the latest upgrade, your local network must be capable of downloading a file from the Internet.

After you download and store the new upgrade file on your local network, complete the following tasks to upgrade an Infoblox independent appliance or a Grid.

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Before upgrading, Infoblox recommends that all members in the Grid be connected to the network and operating normally. If one or more members are offline when you upgrade the Grid, they automatically receive the distributed software and upgrade when they join the Grid or come back online.

When you upgrade NIOS 6.4.0 to a later release, you can start, stop, or restart DNS and DHCP services, or only the DHCP service on a member that has not been upgraded. When you start, stop, or restart other services, such as reporting or file distribution, the operation is put in queue for execution until after the targeted member has been upgraded.

Uploading NIOS Software

After you download the NIOS software upgrade to your management station, upload it to the Grid Master, as follows:

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The appliance uploads the file and displays the status of the upload in the status bar. You can click the Stop icon in the status bar to stop the upload. Ensure that you do not navigate away from the Upgrade tab until after the upload is complete. Otherwise, the upload process stops.

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1. From the Grid tab, select the Upgrade tab, and then click Distribute -> Schedule Distribution from the Toolbar.

2. In the Schedule Distribution editor, complete the following:

   • Activate Distribution Schedule: Select this to enable the distribution schedule. Clear this if you are creating a distribution schedule you plan to activate at a later date. You can configure and save information in this editor even when you deactivate a scheduled distribution.

   • Grid Master Distribution Start Information: Enter a Grid Master distribution date, time, and time zone. The distribution date and time must be before those of the upgrade groups.

     • Date: Enter a start date of the Grid Master distribution in YYYY-MM-DD (year-month-day) format. You can click the calendar icon to select a date from the calendar widget.

     • Time: Enter a start time of the Grid Master distribution in hh:mm:ss AM/PM (hour:minute:second in AM or PM) format. You can also select a time from the drop-down list.

     • Time Zone: Select a time zone that applies to the start time you enter. If this time zone is different from the Grid time zone, the appliance converts the time you enter here based on the Grid time zone, after you save this schedule. When you display this schedule again, it displays the converted time. Selecting the time zone here does not affect any time zone settings in the Grid. (For information about selecting the Grid and member time zones, see Managing Time SettingsManagingManaging Time SettingsTimeManaging Time SettingsSettings.)

     • Admin Local Time: Displays the Grid Master distribution start date and time in the time zone of the administrator, as explained in Creating Local AdminsCreatingCreating Local AdminsLocalexplained in Creating Local AdminsAdmins.

   • In the upgrade group table, specify the following for each upgrade group by clicking the corresponding field in each row:

     • Start Distribution: Specify when the distribution occurs. Select one of the following from the drop-down list:

       • Date/Time: Select this to configure the distribution start date, time, and time zone.

       • After <group>: Select After Grid Master to start the distribution immediately after the completion of the Grid Master distribution. Select an upgrade group that must complete its distribution before the group you are configuring. When you select this option, you cannot enter a date, time, and time zone.
         Date, Time, and Time Zone are enabled only when you select Date/Time for Start Distribution.

       • Date: Enter a distribution start date in YYYY-MM-DD (year-month-day) format. You can click the calendar icon to select a date from the calendar widget.

       • Time: Enter a distribution start time in hh:mm:ss AM/PM (hour:minute:second in AM or PM) format. You can select a time from the drop-down list.

       • Time Zone: By default, the appliance displays the time zone of the first Grid member in the Upgrade Group. You can change this time zone if you want to enter the time using a different time zone. After you save the schedule though, the appliance converts the time you entered to the time zone of the upgrade group, if it is different. (For information about setting the Grid and member time zones, see Managing Managing Time SettingsTimeManaging Time SettingsSettings.) To change the default time zone of the upgrade group, change the time zone of the first group member, as explained in Adding Upgrade Groups, see Managing Upgrade Groups.

       • Admin Local Time: Displays the start date and time in the time zone of the administrator, as explained in Creating Local AdminsCreatingCreating Local Admins Local Creating Local Admins Admins.

       • Distribute to Members: Indicates whether the distribution within the group occurs simultaneously or sequentially. You cannot edit this field here. You define this when you create the upgrade group. To change this setting, see Modifying Upgrade Groups in Managing Upgrade Groups.

3. Save the configuration and click Restart if it appears at the top of the screen.

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Performing a software upgrade involves rebooting the appliances and then running the new software. Essentially, each appliance switches between the two software partitions on its system, activating the staged software and saving the previously active software and database as backup.

Depending on your upgrade paths, you can upgrade to a new release immediately or you can schedule the upgrade. For information about how to upgrade immediately, see Upgrading the Grid Immediately below. Before you schedule an upgrade, ensure that you understand the limitations, as described in Managing Upgrade GroupsManagingManaging Upgrade GroupsUpgradeManaging Upgrade GroupsGroups. For information about how to schedule an upgrade, see Scheduling Upgrades below.

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• From the Grid tab, select the Upgrade tab, and then click Upgrade -> Upgrade Now from the Toolbar.

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You can schedule lite upgrades and full upgrades for certain NIOS versions. For limitations about scheduling a full upgrade, see Managing Upgrade GroupsManagingManaging Upgrade GroupsUpgradeManaging Upgrade GroupsGroups. When you schedule an upgrade, you schedule the upgrade for the Grid Master and the upgrade groups, including the Default group. The Grid Master must always upgrade before the upgrade groups. Depending on your upgrade paths, you can schedule the upgrade for the Grid Master and upgrade groups at different times over a period of nine days. If you schedule an upgrade that takes more than nine days, the appliance displays a warning.
To schedule an upgrade:

1. From the Grid tab, select the Upgrade tab, and then click Upgrade -> Schedule Upgrade from the Toolbar.

2. In the Upgrade Schedule editor, complete the following:

   • Activate Upgrade Schedule: Select this to enable the upgrade schedule. Clear it if you are creating an upgrade schedule that you plan to activate at a later date. You can configure and save information in this editor even when you deactivate a distribution.

   • Grid Master Upgrade Start Information: Enter a Grid Master upgrade date, time, and time zone. The date and time must be before those of the upgrade groups.

     • Date: Enter a start date of the Grid Master upgrade in YYYY-MM-DD (year-month-day) format. You can click the calendar icon to select a date from the calendar widget.

     • Time: Enter a start time of the Grid Master upgrade in hh:mm:ss AM/PM (hour:minute:second in AM or PM) format. You can select a time from the drop-down list.

     • Time Zone: Select a time zone that applies to the start time you enter. If this time zone is different from the Grid time zone, the appliance converts the time you enter here based on the Grid time zone, after you save this schedule. When you display this schedule again, it displays the converted time. Selecting the time zone here does not affect any time zone settings in the Grid. (For information about setting the Grid and member time zones, see Managing Time SettingsManagingManaging Time SettingsTimeManaging Time SettingsSettings.)

     • Admin Local Time: Displays the Grid Master upgrade date and start time in the time zone of the administrator, as explained in Creating Local AdminsCreatingCreating Local AdminsLocalCreating Local AdminsAdmins.

   • In the upgrade member table, specify the following by clicking the corresponding field in each row:

     • Group: The name of the upgrade group. You can assign a different upgrade group by selecting the group from the drop-down list.

     • Group Members: When you expand an upgrade group, this field displays the group members.

     • Warning: This field turns yellow when there is a conflict among the upgrade groups. Hover your mouse over the field and the tooltip displays the member that contains the conflict. It also displays recommended upgrade groups in the Group column so you can change the group assignment to resolve the conflict. The tooltip can display one of the following: GMC, DNS Primary, DHCP Logging Member, or DHCP Failover. For information about how to resolve a conflict, see Resolving Upgrade Warnings below. Select an upgrade group from the drop-down list in the Group column to assign a different upgrade group. Click Validate and Refresh to validate the new group assignment.

     • Start Upgrade: Specify when the upgrade occurs. Select one of the following from the drop-down list:

       • Date/Time: Select this to configure the upgrade start date, time, and time zone.

       • After <group>: Select After Grid Master to start the distribution immediately after the completion of the Grid Master distribution. Select an upgrade group that must complete its distribution before the group you are configuring. If you select this option, you cannot enter a date, time, and time zone.
         Date, Time, and Time Zone are enabled only when you select Date/Time for Start Upgrade.

     • Date: Enter an upgrade start date in YYYY-MM-DD (year-month-day) format. You can click the calendar icon to select a date from the calendar widget.

     • Time: Enter an upgrade start time in hh:mm:ss AM/PM (hour:minute:second in AM or PM) format. You can select a time from the drop-down list.

     • Time Zone: By default, the appliance displays the time zone of the first Grid member in the Upgrade Group. You can change this time zone, if you want to enter the time using a different time zone. After you save the schedule though, the appliance converts the time you entered to the time zone of the upgrade group, if it is different. (For information about setting the Grid and member time zones, see Managing Time SettingsManaging Managing Time SettingsTimeManaging Time SettingsSettings.) To change the default time zone of an upgrade group, change the first group member in the Upgrade Group list, as explained in Adding Upgrade Groups, see Managing Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroupsModifyingManaging Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroupsUpgradeManaging Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroups Groups.

     • Admin Local Time: Displays the data and time in the time zone of the administrator, as explained in Creating Local AdminsCreatingCreating Local AdminsLocalin Creating Local Admins Admins.

     • Upgrade Members: Indicates whether the upgrade within the group occurs simultaneously or sequentially. You cannot edit this field here. You define this when you create the upgrade group. To change this setting, see Managing Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroupsModifyingManaging Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroupsUpgradeManaging Upgrade Groups#ModifyingUpgradeGroups Groups.

3. Save the configuration.

The appliance does not save the schedule and displays an error message if the schedule contains the following:

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After the Grid Master has been upgraded, you can choose to immediately upgrade a specific member that has not been upgraded yet. This function is available only for scheduled Grid upgrades from NIOS 6.4.0 to a later release. You can upgrade a single member only when the Grid upgrade is paused, and you cannot upgrade the Grid Master, reporting appliance, and an offline member. Once the member has been manually upgraded, the appliance skips this member when its scheduled upgrade time is reached.
To upgrade a specific member now:

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Reverting a Single Member

During an upgrade from NIOS 6.4.0 to a later release, you can revert a specific member that has already been upgraded and is within its revert time window. The revert single member feature is useful when you want to troubleshoot issues, such as service outages, on a specific member after it has been upgraded. You can revert a member only when the Grid upgrade is paused, and you cannot revert the Grid Master, reporting appliance, and an offline member. If the upgrade is paused and you have reverted a member in an upgrade group that has already completed the upgrade, you must move the member to another upgrade group that has not been upgraded before you can proceed with the upgrade.

Once a member is upgraded, the appliance starts counting down and displays the time that is left for you to revert this member. You can revert the member before the revert time window expires. The default time window to revert a member is 24 hours. You can view the time that is left to revert the member in the Member List view, as described in Grid and MemberStatusMemeber status below. You can also use the CLI commands setdefault set default_revert_window to configure the default revert time window for the Grid. For information about this command, refer to the Infoblox CLI Guide. Once a member exits the revert time window, you must revert the entire Grid in order to revert the member.

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When an upgrade starts, Grid Manager checks if the nodes of an HA Grid Master have the same NIOS software version on their alternate partitions. If they do not have the same software version, the upgrade process stops. Grid Manager displays an error message and if it is a scheduled upgrade, Grid Manager deactivates the schedule as well. Otherwise, the upgrade process continues.

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• Member: The name of the Grid member.

• Group: The upgrade group to which the member belongs.

• HA: Indicates whether the member is an HA pair or not.

• Status: The current distribution or upgrade status. This can be Running (green) or Offline (red).

• IPv4 Address: The IPv4 address of the member.

• IPv6 Address: The IPv6 address of the member.

• Running Version: The NIOS software version that is currently running on the member.

• Alternate Version: Displays the NIOS software version to which the appliance can revert.

• Distribution/Upgrade Status: The current distribution or upgrade status. When the distribution or upgrade is in progress, Grid Manager displays a progress bar in this field to indicate the percentage of completion.

• Hotfix: The name of the hotfix that was last run on the member.

• Status Time: The date, time, and time zone of the status displayed.

• Member Revert: Indicates whether the member has been reverted or not. This appears only when the member has been upgraded from NIOS 6.4.0 to a later NIOS release.

• Time to Revert: The time (in HH:MM:SS format) left to revert a member. This appears only when the member has been upgraded from NIOS 6.4.0 to a later NIOS release.

• Site: The location to which the member belongs. This is one of the predefined extensible attributes. The appliance automatically refreshes the information in this panel.

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