Upgrade Preparation and Considerations (4299046)

KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is a virtual appliance designed to automate device management, application deployment, patching, asset management, and Service Desk ticket management. With each upgrade, it is possible that tables are changed as well as new features introduced. Due to the intricacies and customizable nature of the product, KACE recommends that each unique environment be assessed and tested as part of the preparation for upgrading.

Note: The following is a list of considerations and preparation based off of experience with multiple different environments. It is unlikely that every possible consideration is listed below. Please remember to adjust these considerations to the unique environment where the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) resides. To request that we add to this list, please contact support or provide article feedback with specifics.

Upgrade Considerations and Preparation:

• Review Release Notes:
  • Review new incoming features
    • Consider how these new features may interact with current processes
  • Review features that are changing
    • Consider how these changes may interfere/interact with the current environment
  • Review Required Technical Specifications
    • Plan for any infrastructure upgrades which may also be necessary to support the newer version
      • E.G.: ESX/ESXi Version, Host Requirements, Other Technical Specifications
      • If using 11G hardware (PowerEdge R610 or R410), please refer to this KB about EoL at version 8.0 and migrate to a virtual environment
      • Consider if a migration will be necessary
        • SMAs created on much older images should be refreshed (recreated and backup migrated over to the new box)
        • Review Partition size is too small or use the configuration report to check and see if there is a message about the /tmp or swap partitions in Appliance Disk Information section
  • Review Operating system requirements for Agent-managed devices in the Technical Specifications document
    • This will tell you which operating systems will be supported with the KACE Agent
      • Ensure the current environment is ready for the new version
• Review Custom Implementations:
  • Ticket Rules (CTRs)
  • Labels
  • Views
  • Inventory Rules (CIRs)
  • Reports
  • Notifications
  • Profiles
  • Distributions
• Test Upgrade:
  • Use the current backups from a production SMA to create a customer testing environment (DEV box)
  • Upgrade the DEV box with the PROD backups in it
  • Redirect a couple of test agents to the DEV box for testing
  • Test custom implementations on the new version
• Review Database Changes:
  • New and altered features can cause database changes
  • Database changes can break custom implementations
    • Note: KACE strongly suggests using built-in wizards to create smart labels, reports, and rules, as they would likely be converted as part of the upgrade process
    • Note: Custom implementations are not converted during an upgrade and must be addressed manually
  • Use a 3rd party tool to connect to the database of the dev box to compare to the current prod box
  • While testing a dev box with an upgrade, be sure to open custom smart labels, reports, rules, and views to ensure they are working as expected
• Implement Disaster Plans:
  • Ensure that the most recent full backup is completed and offboarded prior to any major changes
    • Offboarding is the only method fully supported by KACE for backing up an SMA
  • Ensure that the backup has been tested to be viable prior to the upgrade
  • Choose a time when there will be little to no access to the SMA to allow for testing and reverting to backups if necessary
    • Any new items created after the upgrade would be subject to being reverted when restoring to backups
  • Consider having snapshot backups as well
    • Note:Taking a snapshot of the SMA should be done while the SMA is powered down to avoid database interference or corruption
    • Powering off the SMA should always be done via the webui Settings | Appliance Updates
    • Note: Though snapshots can be helpful in the event of disaster recovery, please note they are not supported by KACE and do not take the place of using offboard backup transfer