Ajcody-Notes-OS-Upgrade-And-ZCS-Options

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ZCS Upgrades Requiring OS Upgrades Also

Actual Upgrade Options Notes Homepage

Please see: Ajcody-Notes-OS-Upgrade-And-ZCS-Options

ZCS8 Upgrades Requiring OS Upgrades Also - Same Server

Reference: https://www.zimbra.com/downloads/ne-downloads.html

ZCS6 On RHEL5 TO ZCS8 or ZCS7 on RHEL6

With ZCS8, will can only support it for RHEL6. RHEL 5 and RHEL 4 is not supported.

Redhat is not supporting upgrades from RHEL5 to RHEL6. The option is available, but they state they do not support it. You will need to decide if you will or will not do the in-place upgrade or not.

In-Place RHEL Upgrade to RHEL6

If you do ignore the lack of support Redhat is giving for this, I would recommend the following:

  • From ZCS6-RHEL5 ; Upgrade ZCS to ZCS7-RHEL5 ; Upgrade to RHEL6 ; then to ZCS7-RHEL6, and finally to ZCS8-RHEL6:

Overview of steps to take:

  • Download all ZCS installer packages you'll need. [Download ZCS7 for RHEL5, ZCS7 for RHEL6, and ZCS8 for RHEL6]
  • Read the Release Notes - the actual upgrade process is detailed in there for ZCS.
  • Make sure you have a proper backup.
  • During schedule downtime:
    • Block client/mail type network access to server.
      • You'll need access to our license server [license.zimbra.com] .
      • If you have multiple ZCS servers, they'll need network access to each other.
  • Upgrade to ZCS7 on RHEL5
    • Disable the zimbra services from starting on reboot/start.
  • Perform the RHEL6 upgrade
  • Then install ZCS7 for REHL6.
  • Confirm operations. Decide if you want to now proceed with the upgrade to ZCS8, upgrade to ZCS8 for RHEL6 if so.
  • Confirm operations and re-enable the init startup for zimbra.
  • Remove network access blocks.

If you want to bypass the one upgrade, you would:

  • From ZCS6-RHEL5 ; Upgrade to RHEL6 ; and then upgrade ZCS to ZCS8-RHEL6:

Overview of steps to take:

  • Download all ZCS installer packages you'll need. [Download ZCS8 for RHEL6]
  • Read the Release Notes - the actual upgrade process is detailed in there for ZCS.
  • Make sure you have a proper backup.
  • During schedule downtime:
    • Block client/mail type network access to server.
      • You'll need access to our license server [license.zimbra.com] .
      • If you have multiple ZCS servers, they'll need network access to each other.
    • Disable the zimbra services from starting on reboot/start.
  • Upgrade your server from RHEL5 to RHEL6.
  • Then install the ZCS8 installer for RHEL6.
  • Confirm operations and re-enable the init startup for zimbra.
  • Remove network access blocks.

If you are planning on using a new server, then I would need to know your disk infrastructure to see what the best course would be.

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

ZCS 8 is available for Ubuntu but only for Ubuntu 12.04. Since Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is not available for ZCS7x or earlier Ubuntu versions, you will have to do the upgrade to both Ubuntu and ZCS during the same downtime window.

Overview of steps to take:

  • Download all ZCS installer packages you'll need. [Download zimbra 8 installer for Ubuntu 12.04]
  • Read the Release Notes - the actual upgrade process is detailed in there for ZCS.
  • Make sure you have a proper backup.
  • During schedule downtime:
    • Block client/mail type network access to server.
      • You'll need access to our license server [license.zimbra.com] .
      • If you have multiple ZCS servers, they'll need network access to each other.
    • Disable the zimbra services from starting on reboot/start.
  • Do OS upgrade. [Ubuntu 12.04 LTS]
  • Do Zimbra upgrade. [ZCS8 for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS]
  • Confirm operations and re-enable the init startup for zimbra.
  • Remove network access blocks.

The above is for a single server install and where the option of using another server for the transition isn't an option.

ZCS8 Upgrades Requiring OS Upgrades Also - Switch To New Server

The Zimbra Support has asked the Developer and QA teams to confirm, test, and document the following options below. This request is currently a private comment in the following bug/rfe :

Possible options:

  1. RSYNC
  2. Zimbra Backup/Restore
  3. Active ZCS partition/mount is able to be relocated to new server.
    • A new head node/server is used and is attached to the network storage that held the ZCS data.
      • Move from RHEL 4/5 to RHEL6 Example [we are currently testing this to confirm it works]:
        • Install new OS version on new system/VM
        • Mount zimbra data volumes on new system [data was zcs 6 or zcs7 running rhel 4/5]
        • Install the same ZCS version of software that was being used but now with the right OS version. Install only the software, ./install.sh -s
        • Confirm ZCS works.
        • Run Zimbra software upgrade to new version [zcs8]
        • Old Recommendation was:
          • Install new OS version on new system/VM
          • Install Zimbra software of current ZCS version on the "old" server on to the "new" server
          • Mount zimbra data volumes on new system [data was zcs 6 or zcs7 running rhel 4/5]
          • Run Zimbra software upgrade to new version [zcs8]
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