Patch Authority Ultimate - How to upgrade from 6.x to 7.5 (4316088)

The information in this article applies to: 

Patch Authority Ultimate Version 6.x and higher 

HOW TO:

How to upgrade from Patch Authority Ultimate 6.x to version 7.5.

If you are using Patch Authority Ultimate 5.x you must first upgrade to 6.x before upgrading to 7.5.  

Note: See Solution Number 3318 to view the functional differences you should be aware of when upgrading to Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5. It also highlights the areas in the user interface that have changed significantly.

SYSTEM REQUREMENTS and PREREQUISITES:

Please note the following new console requirements and prerequisites for Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5.

• You must be using a fully licensed edition of Patch Authority Ultimate. If you are using a Limited, Audit, or Trial edition the upgrade will not be successful.

• Windows 2000 is no longer supported for use as a console.

• Windows 2003 through Windows 2008 R2 are supported.

• Windows Vista, SP1, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition, is supported for use as a console.

• Windows 7, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate Edition, is supported for use as a console.

• SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 Express Edition are now supported.

• SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported as a back-end database.

• Windows Installer 4.5 or later is required if you are using SQL Server 2008.

• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 is now required. If you are using Windows XP this means you must be at SP3 or later.

All missing software prerequisites will be automatically installed during the upgrade process.

UPGRADE PROCEDURE:

This section describes how to upgrade from Patch Authority Ultimate version 6.x to Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5. If you are taking this opportunity to move the console to a new machine, you should perform the upgrade before moving to the new machine. Before performing the upgrade, be sure to read the Functional Differences section so you are aware of how the upgrade will affect your system.   Note: If you are using version 5.x you must upgrade to version 6.x before upgrading to version 7.5. (Optional) If you are using agents, make sure the distribution servers they are using have the most up-to-date information by doing the following:

A) On the Patch Authority Ultimate 6.x console, download the latest versions of the XML files by selecting Tools > Refresh Files. B) Select Tools > Distribution Servers and then select the Synchronize tab. C) Select all the distribution servers in the available list and then click Synchronize Engines and XML. On the Patch Authority Ultimate 6.x console, select Tools > Manage Items and delete any older data that are no longer needed. Close the Patch Authority Ultimate 6.x console program by selecting File > Exit. If you have multiple consoles connected to the same SQL database, close all consoles and stop all ScriptLogic Patch Services as shown below:   Compress the database used to store scan results and patch deployment results. You can do this in SQL Server Management Studio by right-clicking the Scans database and selecting Tasks > Shrink > Database. Create a backup of your current database. Close all programs running on the console machine. Download the Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5 executable file to your console machine using the following link: http://www.quest.com/patch-manager/

Begin the installation process using one of the following methods: Double-click the file named PatchAuthority_ScriptLogic_7.5.#.exe.   Type the file name at a command prompt. Doing so enables you to use one or more command-line options. You should consider this method if:   You are installing the program on a machine that does not have Internet access. The RUNTIMEGENERATEPUBLISHEREVIDENCE option can be used to disable certificate verification. If your Certificate Revocation List (CRL) is out of date this option will prevent the installation program from long delays or from failing. For example: PatchAuthority_ScriptLogic_7.5.300.1 /wi:"RUNTIMEGENERATEPUBLISHEREVIDENCE =false" You are upgrading a very large database. The DBCOMMANDTIMEOUT option is used to specify the SQL command timeout value during installation. The default value is 1800 seconds (30 minutes). The recommended value is 15 minutes per GB, so if you have a 4 GB database you should increase the timeout value to 3600 seconds (60 minutes). For example: PatchAuthority_ScriptLogic_7.5.300.1 /wi:"DBCOMMANDTIMEOUT =3600" On the ScriptLogic Patch Authority Ultimate 6.x has been detected on your system. Would you like to upgrade? pane, click Yes.     The Perform Uninstall dialog is displayed. Click Finish.     Your current version of Patch Authority Ultimate will be uninstalled. When the uninstall is complete, a dialog similar to the following is displayed. Click Install to install any missing prerequisites.

It may take a little time for the installer to begin. The Setup Wizard may need to perform a reboot during this portion of the installation process if the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or other prerequisites are missing. If a reboot is required, when the machine is restarted the Setup dialog will reappear. Simply click Install again to proceed with the upgrade.

The Welcome dialog is displayed.

Read the information on the Welcome dialog and then click Next.

The license agreement is displayed. You must agree to the terms of the license agreement in order to install the program. To continue with the installation click Next.

The Destination Folder dialog is displayed. If you want to change the default location of the program, click the browse button and choose a new location. You also have the option here to install a shortcut icon on your desktop. When you are done, click Next.

The Ready to Install dialog is displayed. To begin the installation, click Install.

Near the end of the installation process the Database Setup Tool dialog is displayed.

Make sure Use an existing database is selected, and then click Next.

Important! In the next step DO NOT select Create a new database. If you do, a new database will be created and your existing data will not be used.  

A dialog similar to the following is displayed:

Use the boxes provided to define how users and services will access the SQL Server database.

Choose a database server and instance

• Server name: You can specify a machine or you can specify a machine and the SQL Server instance running on that machine.

• Database name: Specify the database name you want to use. The default database name is Scans.

Choose how interactive users will connect to the database

Specify the credentials you want the program to use when a user performs an action that requires access to the database.

• Integrated Windows Authentication: This is the recommended, and default option. Patch Authority Ultimate will use the credentials of the currently logged on user to connect to the SQL Server database. The User name and Password boxes will be unavailable.

• Specific Windows User: Select this option only if the SQL Server database is on a remote machine. This option will have no effect if the database is on the local (console) machine. (See Supplying Credentials in the Patch Authority Ultimate Administration Guide for more information about local machine credentials.) All Patch Authority Ultimate users will use the supplied credentials when performing actions that require interaction with the remote SQL Server database.

• SQL Authentication: Select this option to enter a specific user name and password combination when logging on to the specified SQL Server.

Caution! If you supply SQL authentication credentials and have not implemented SSL encryption for SQL connections, the credentials will be passed over the network in clear text.

• Test database connection: To verify that the program can use the supplied interactive user credentials to connect to the database, click this button.

Choose how services will connect to the database

Specify the credentials you want the background services to use when making the connection to the database. These are the credentials that the results importer, various agent operations, and other services will use to log on to SQL Server and provide status information.

• Use alternate credentials for console services:

• If the SQL Server database is installed on the local machine you will typically ignore this option by not enabling this check box. In this case the same credentials and mode of authentication that you specified above for interactive users will be used.

• You will typically only enable this check box if the SQL Server database is on a remote machine. When the database is on a remote machine you need an account that can authenticate to the database on the remote database server.

• Authentication method: Available only if Use alternate credentials for console services is enabled.

• Integrated Windows Authentication: Selecting this option means that the machine account will be used to connect to the remote SQL Server. The Kerberos network authentication protocol must be available in order to securely transmit the credentials. The User name and Password boxes will be unavailable.

Note: If you choose Integrated Windows Authentication the installation program will attempt to create a SQL Server login for the machine account. If the account creation process fails, see SQL Server Post-Installation Notes in the Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5 Installation Guide for instructions on manually configuring a remote SQL Server to accept machine account credentials. Do this after you complete the Patch Authority Ultimate upgrade process but before you start the program.

• Specific Windows User: Select this option to enter a specific user name and password combination. Patch Authority Ultimate’s background services will use these credentials to connect to the SQL Server database. This is a good fallback option if for some reason you have difficulties implementing integrated Windows authentication.

• SQL Authentication: Select this option to provide a specific user name and password combination for the services to use when logging on to SQL Server.

After providing all the required information, click Next.

Note: If the installation program detects a problem with any of the specified credentials, an error message will be displayed. This typically indicates that a user account you specified does not exist. Make a correction and try again.

Your database is upgraded to the 7.5 format. When the database upgrade is complete the following dialog is displayed. Click Next.

On the Installation Complete dialog click Finish and follow the setup wizard prompts to complete the installation.

Wait while the services are started:

You have the option to launch the Patch Authority Ultimate console. Click Finish.

If you aren’t using agents skip to the FUNTIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 6.x and 7.5 section below.

If you are using agents, the Distribution Server Upgrade dialog is displayed.

The dialog is used to reapply the credentials used by the console and by the agents when connecting to your distribution servers. It will also put the mechanisms in place to inform the agents that they need to upgrade themselves.

Important! Don’t be fooled if the key icon indicates that credentials are already applied. You must reapply the credentials by performing the following steps or the upgrade will fail.

A) Select the distribution server you want to update. If the same credentials are used by multiple servers you can select multiple servers.

B) Click Set console credentials and specify the credentials used by the console to connect to the selected distribution servers.

C) Click Set agent credentials and specify the credentials used by the agent machines to connect to the selected distribution servers.

D) Repeat Steps A – C until you have specified credentials for all of your servers.

E) Enable the Confirm check box and then click Update.

F) Click Confirm Distribution Server Upgrade.

The distribution servers are updated for 7.5. When the upgrade is complete the Patch Authority Ultimate home page is displayed.

Verify that all the console data looks correct.

Synchronize all your distribution servers.

This is the trigger that will begin the process of upgrading your full agents. When the agents check in they will be upgraded to the new policy format.

A) Select Manage > Distribution Servers and then select the Synchronize tab.

B) Select all the distribution servers in the available list and then click Synchronize Engines and Definitions.

Run a test scan to verify that everything is working correctly.

Upgrade other consoles as needed.

Note: See Solution Number 3318 to view the functional differences you should be aware of when upgrading to Patch Authority Ultimate 7.5. It also highlights the areas in the user interface that have changed significantly.