Web Farms - Software Upgrade

This procedure describes how to upgrade a MOVEit Transfer web farm from one version of the software to another.

Note: All nodes in the system must be upgraded. Different nodes cannot run different versions of MOVEit Transfer.

1. Using the MOVEit DMZ Configuration Utility, stop the services on each of the MOVEit Transfer web farm nodes. All the services must be down to prevent interlock problems when updating software. (Shut down services on Node 1 LAST to prevent an accidental failover!) Also, after stopping all services, be sure to close the MOVEit Transfer Config program on all nodes before installing any software; if this program is not closed, your installations may require you to reboot the server.
2. Run the MOVEit Transfer software update program on the lowest node number. (This will also make any necessary upgrades your database.)

   Do not run the InstallChecker after updating the software. Wait until all the nodes are updated.

3. Using the MOVEit Transfer Configuration Utility, stop the services on web farm node 1.
4. Run the standard MOVEit Transfer software update program on the remainder of the nodes.

   Install using the /SkipAllDBActions flag if you are installing MOVEit Transfer on many nodes. This invokes an interactive session from the command line that skips over time consuming database actions that are not necessary with the application nodes.

   Warning! Never use the /SkipAllDBActions flag (or equivalent silent install property) on the primary node. This will result in a mismatch of an older database with new database methods that expect a newer data model. This can result in loss of data availability.

   Important: Do not run the InstallChecker after updating the software. Doing so causes a Database down error. Instead, wait until all the nodes are updated.

5. After you have finished updating all web farm nodes, go back to web farm node 1 and use the MOVEit Transfer Configuration Utility to start the services.
6. Go to the remaining web farm nodes, and use the MOVEit Transfer Configuration Utility to start the services.
7. After these services are running, you can run the MOVEit InstallChecker on any node

Upgrade operations are written to the C:\MOVEitDMZWebfarm_Install.log file.

When you have many remaining (non-primary) application nodes to update...

If you have many application nodes, the step where you install MOVEit Transfer to remaining application nodes within the upgrade steps can take some time.

Warning: Never use the /SkipAllDBActions flag (or equivalent silent install property) on the primary node. This will result in a mismatch of an older database with new database methods that expect a newer data model. This can result in loss of data availability.

For quicker install times, you can optionally run the MOVEit Transfer installer from the command line using an option that will skip temporary database instance creation, using either:

• This flag (/SkipAllDBActions) or...
• By using silent (non-interactive) install with a response file flag (mitransfer.mitransferserver.SkipAllDBActions=1).

For example:

After the install, you will need to use the MOVEit Transfer Config utility to ensure the Database Connection properties match those of the primary Web Farm node. For example:

Windows Updates

Use one of the following ways to apply non-MOVEit software upgrades, such as Windows patches, to a MOVEit Transfer web farm.

Scenario: small number of upgrades with a single reboot required

Use this procedure if there are is only a small number of updates to apply, and all can be applied with a single reboot. It minimizes the amount of downtime the web farm will encounter, but also limits the number and complexity of the updates that can be applied.

1. Run DMZCheck on a node to get a baseline status of the web farm setup.
2. Leave all nodes running. Apply updates to the nodes and reboot. Reboot each node, if required.
3. After all nodes have been updated, use the DMZ Config program to check that the web farm setup is back up.
4. Run DMZCheck on the same node and compare the result to the baseline status.

Scenario: large number of updates, or reboots required between upgrades

Use this procedure if there are a large number of updates to apply, or if most updates require a reboot before applying other updates (for example, one of the updates is a service pack). This procedure requires more downtime, because the web farm will be unavailable between the time the procedure is started, and it is complete .It allows more flexibility in the numbers and types of updates that can be applied.

1. Run DMZCheck on a node to get a baseline status of the web farm setup.
2. Stop the HA services on all nodes by running the MOVEit DMZ Config program, switching to the High Availability tab, clicking the Advanced button, and then clicking the Stop button for the HA Service entry in the Services section. Answer Yes when asked to stop the other services as well.
3. Using the Windows Services manager, set the Startup Type for the HA services to Disabled on all nodes. This will prevent the services from attempting to start after reboots.
4. Apply all updates to all servers. The HA services will stay down during multiple reboots.
5. After all nodes have been updated and have booted, set the Startup Type for the HA services on the master node to Automatic, and start both services.
6. After all nodes have been updated, use the DMZ Config program to check that the web farm setup is back up.
7. Run DMZCheck on the same node and compare the result to the baseline status.