Upgrade Selection

After authorizing the user for the Upgrade software function, open Admin Corner (Sierra's character-based interface) using an SSH client such as PuTTY. See the Sierra WebHelp for instructions on accessing Admin Corner.

After logging into the Sierra's Admin Corner, follow the ADDITIONAL system functions | ALTER system parameters menu path, and then choose the Upgrade system software menu option to begin the upgrade.  You must enter the authorized username and password. 

A passkey obtained from CSDirect support site is required before starting the Prep Phase. A passkey is also needed before you reboot the server to begin the Commit Phase. You obtain the passkey from CSDirect by visiting https://csdirect.iii.com/custconv-aws and logging in using your credentials.

You need a passkey to proceed with upgrade. The passkey can be obtained from: https://csdirect.iii.com/custconv-aws

Enter the passkey.

Enter your passkey. Sierra checks the current system status and offers any available upgrades. If Sierra 6.6 is an option for your system, you see:

System is currently on Sierra release #
 Upgrades available:
  1 > Sierra 6.6
Please select an upgrade by number (1): 

Press 1, and then press Enter.

The system displays the following:

Preparing to upgrade to Sierra 6.6
Press Enter to continue

Press Enter.

If you use Innovative’s legacy backup functionality and have not completed a full backup in the last 24 hours, the system does not allow you to continue with the upgrade and prompts:

Cannot find a full backup from the last 24 hours.
Press <SPACE> to continue.

Assuming that you have performed a recent backup, the preparation phase continues with this message:

Preparing to upgrade to Sierra 6.6

Press Enter to continue

Press <Enter> to proceed with the upgrade process.

After some possible messages about downloading the upgrade tools, the system displays the following message:

Loading preliminary build software

and then a banner message about the Preparation Stage you are about to begin:

==========================================================
=====         Sierra_6.6.0_n upgrade
=====
===== You may wish to review the Release Notes before continuing.
===== Release notes are posted to the Supportal at http://support.iii.com
===== and accessible through the 'Release Notes' shortcut on the main page.
=====
===== Please start this program no more than 7 calendar days before
===== you want to complete this upgrade
=====
=====
============================================================
		

The system prompts:

Are you ready to start the Preparation Phase for Sierra 6.6.0_<x>? (y/n) 

Press Y to continue.

You are then prompted for a user name:

Please enter your login/user name:

Enter an alphanumeric string with no spaces that identifies you. This is used for logging purposes only.

As the installation proceeds, the system displays messages describing current progress and the completion of each stage. The first checks are whether there is sufficient disk space to meet the upgrade’s projected needs, and whether the dependency packages described above in Meeting OS Package Dependencies can be met, and the system reports its progress

Testing platform and configuration
Creating upgrade directories on the Sierra db server...
Sierra db upgrade directory setup complete.
Creating upgrade directories on the Encore server...
Encore upgrade directory setup complete.
Checking disk space on the DB server...
Verifying that there is free space to complete the install

If there is insufficient space to continue with the upgrade, or if other problems such as with the package dependencies are found, the system displays an error message. Contact Innovative for further instructions.

During the space and package checks, you may see messages about Ansible or other packages being installed, which are part of the upgrade process. At the conclusion of successful checks, you are asked whether to proceed:

Verifying that there is free space to complete the install  6.5.86.4
			
Sufficient disk space has been found to complete the install.

You may proceed with the preparation phase of the upgrade to Sierra_6.6.0_1.
During the preparation phase, Sierra is available to all users while the upgrade runs in the background.  All applications should work as expected during this phase.     

Setting up upgrade work directories...
Checking disk space on the DB server...
Package check and installation on the Sierra App server complete.
Package check and installation on the Sierra DB server complete.

     Server  sfw unit            installed               to install
     ------  --------            ---------               ----------
     SDA     base                6.<x>.<xx>.<x>        Sierra 6.6.0_1
     SDA     bldtools            6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x> 
     SDA     admin               6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x> 
     SDA     apache              6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     SDA     aws                 6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     SDA     dataservice         6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     SDA     dsclient            6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     SDA     summit              6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     ------------------------------------------------
     DB      base                Sierra              Sierra 6.6.0_<x>
     DB      bldtools            6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     DB      apache              6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     DB      aws                 6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     DB      dataservice         6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     DB      dsclient            6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     DB      summit              6.<x>.<xx>.<x>          6<x>.<xx>.<x>
     ------------------------------------------------ 

Do you wish to continue with the installation ? (y/n) 

To continue with the software load, press Y, and then press Enter.