Upgrade Peer Global File Service (PeerGFS)

This article describes how to install a major upgrade to PeerGFS.  If you want to install a minor update, see Update Peer Global File Service (PeerGFS).  Major releases require a new license and can be requested by submitting the Peer Global File Service Upgrade Form.  See Peer Software Lifecycle Policy to learn more about Peer Software major and minor releases.

Update versus upgrade

Although update and upgrade are often used interchangeably in the technology world, an update (or patch) is typically an enhancement to the current version of the software, while an upgrade is typically a whole new version of the software.  Overall, the processes for updating and upgrading are very similar; however, an upgrade requires a new version license and a few additional steps.

Overview of the PeerGFS upgrade process

The PeerGFS upgrade process is outlined below:

1. Check to see whether an upgrade is available. 
2. Obtain a new license.
3. Back up the current PeerGFS configuration.
4. Download the Peer Management Center installer.
5. Install the new version of Peer Management Center.
6. Install the new license.
7. Upgrade Peer Agents.
8. Upgrade clustered Peer Agents (applicable only if you have Agents that are attached to a Windows Failover Cluster).

Technical Note: Clustered versus non-clustered Peer Agents

Within this article, we differentiate between an Agent and a clustered Agent.  A (non-clustered) Agent is one that that is installed directly on a server.  This is the typical Agent installation.   

A clustered Agent is one that is operating in an Windows Failover Cluster environment.  Microsoft Failover Clustering is a capability built into Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and later that allows running applications and services to migrate between two or more nodes (Windows servers) to mitigate downtime due to the failure of a single node.  Within this clustering framework, an application or service is only operational on a single node at any given time. 

A Peer Agent can be attached to and interact with a clustered file server role operating in a Windows Failover Cluster environment.  Once configured, the Peer Agent Service will operate within the context of the file server role, using the same storage, IP address, and DNS name of the role.  All Agent capabilities are available as if the Agent was installed on a normal Windows File Server.  In the event that the cluster node actively hosting the file server role and Peer Agent fails, both elements will automatically be moved and restarted on another node.  After a brief period of time following the failover to another node, the Agent will reconnect and all jobs set to auto-start will begin. 

See the Step-by step guide for detailed instructions on the upgrade process.

Step-by-step guide

Step 1. Check to see whether an upgrade is available.

Check to see whether a new version of PeerGFS is available (see Check for a new version of PeerGFS for instructions):

• If a major upgrade is available, proceed to Step 2. Obtain a new license. 
• If a minor update is available, see Update Peer Global File Service (PeerGFS).

Step 2. Obtain a new license.

To obtain a new license:

1. Request the license using the Peer Global File Service Upgrade Form.  The new license will be emailed to you.
2. Download the license file to the Peer Management Center Server. 
3. Store the license file in a readily accessible place.  You will need this file after installing the upgrade.

Step 3. Back up the current PeerGFS configuration.

Previous PeerGFS configuration information and logs are automatically retained during an installation of Peer Management Center; however, manually backing up PeerGFS provides an added layer of protection.  If you would like this additional backup, follow the steps in Back up your PeerGFS configuration manually.

Step 4. Download the Peer Management Center Installer

1. Peer Software will email you a link to download the Peer Management Center (PMC) installer.  Contact Peer Technical Support if, for some reason, you do not receive the link.
2. Download the PMC installer to an readily accessible place on your PMC server (such as a folder on the Desktop).

Step 5. Install the Peer Management Center software

1. Navigate to where you downloaded the Peer Management Center installer on the PMC server.
2. Right-click the installer and select Run as administrator.  
   The installer wizard dialog appears.
   
3. When the Welcome page of the Setup Wizard appears, click Next.
   

   

   
   The setup wizard detects the currently installed version.  The first action that the installer takes is to uninstall the old version.  This will not uninstall your jobs or configuration data.
   

   

4. Click Next.
   The License Agreement page appears.
   

   

5. Select I accept the agreement to accept the license terms and conditions and then click Next.
   The Select Destination Directory page appears.
6. Click Next to select the previous installation folder.
   

   

   
   The Select Start Menu Folder page appears.
7. Click Next to accept the default Start Menu folder location.
   

   

   
   The Installing page appears.  It shows the progress of the installation.  At this point, all Peer services are stopped.
   

   

   
   After the installation is completed, the wizard present several options:
   

   

8. Select your options. 

   Option	Description
   Run the Peer Management Center Client	Select this option to open the Peer Management Center rich client.
   Download Peer Agent installer	Select this option if you want a copy of the Agent installer so that you can manually update an Agent or if you want to add a new Agent to your environment.
   Show the Installation folder	Select this option to view the Peer Management Center installation folder.
   Show the README file	Select this option to open the Peer Management Center read-me file.
   Launch the Peer Management Center Web Client.	Select this option to open the Peer Management Center web client.

9. Click Finish to finalize the installation.
   After the installation is finalized, Peer services are automatically restarted and the main Peer Management Center window reappears.  Notice the Agents appear in red in the Agents view, indicating that they need to be updated. 
   

   

10. Continue with Step 6 to install the new license.

Step 6. Install the new license.

1. Install the new license.  See Install a new PeerGFS license for details on installing the new license file:
2. Continue with Step 7 to upgrade the Agent software.

Step 7. Upgrade Peer Agents.

The process for upgrading Agents depends on whether they are clustered Agents (Agents that are attached to a Windows Failover Cluster) or (non-clustered) Agents:

• If your PeerGFS environment doesn't contain any clustered Agents, follow the instructions in this step. 
• If your PeerGFS environment consists of clustered Agents, follow the instructions in Step 8.
• If your PeerGFS environment contains a mixture of both clustered and (non-clustered) Agents, follow the relevant instructions for each Agent.

Peer Management Center provides the ability to directly download and install software upgrades for Agents from within Peer Management Center.  If, for some reason, the upgrade through Peer Management Center fails or times out, you can manually upgrade the Agent.

Step 8. Upgrade clustered Agents 

The following steps describe how to upgrade existing Agents in Windows Failover Cluster environments. 

These instructions do not apply to adding new Agents to a cluster.  Contact Peer Technical Support for information on how to attach a new Agent to a Windows Failover Cluster.

To upgrade clustered Agents:

1. Contact Peer Technical Support to request the clustered Agent installer. 
2. Use Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows Server where one Agent is installed.
3. Start the Windows Failover Cluster Manager.
4. Disable the Agent service that is attached to each clustered file server role.
5. Run the new clustered Agent installer.
   The new installer will automatically uninstall the old version of the Agent.  When prompted by the installer, make sure that the Broker settings are correct and match those of the prior installation. 
6. When asked by the installer for the number of clustered file server roles, set it to the total number of roles that will run with an attached Agent across all nodes in this particular cluster.  This number MUST MATCH that of the previous installation.  
   
7. When prompted for each clustered file server role, enter the exact file server role name and the Agent working directory.  The working directory will point to a location on a cluster disk attached to that clustered file server role.  These settings MUST MATCH those of the previous installation.  
   
8. Repeat for all other cluster nodes where the Agent is installed.
9. Once all nodes have been upgraded, manually restart the Agent services attached to each clustered file server role from within the Windows Failover Cluster Manager.

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