NetScaler SDX

Single bundle upgrade

Note: Console Advisory Connect is enabled by default, after you install or upgrade the NetScaler SDX appliance to release 13.1 and later. For more details, see Data governance and Console Advisory Connect.

The single bundle upgrade, available from 11.0 and later releases, combines all the components except the NetScaler VPX instance image and LOM firmware in a single image file. This file is called the SDX image.

Note:

Lights Out Management (LOM) firmware is added to the SBI, and Citrix customers don’t have to upgrade the LOM separately. The LOM firmware is not written by Citrix.

Using this image, you can upgrade all the components in a single step, eliminating the chances of incompatibility between various components. A single bundle upgrade also ensures that your appliance is always running a version that Citrix has tested and supports. Because all the SDX components are combined in a single file, the SDX image file is larger than the Management Service image file.

The file name of the image is of the format build-sdx-14.1-<build_number>.tgz. After the Management Service is upgraded to SDX 14.1 the new GUI does not display the options to upload the Citrix Hypervisor image file, supplemental packs, or hotfixes. The options are missing because SDX 14.1 does not support upgrading individual components.

Points to note

  • Upgrade to 14.1 is not supported if the Citrix Hypervisor version is 6.1 or earlier.
  • The single bundle upgrade is a multi-step process that might take up to 90 mins.
  • First, the Management Service is upgraded to the newer version. During the upgrade, connectivity to the Management Service might be lost. Reconnect to the Management Service to monitor the status of the upgrade.
  • Next, the Management Service upgrades the Citrix Hypervisor and completes the remainder of the appliance upgrade.
  • Do not restart the appliance during the Citrix Hypervisor upgrade.
  • Citrix recommends that you use a Citrix Hypervisor serial console (or LOM console) to monitor the Citrix Hypervisor upgrade.

Upgrade the entire appliance to 14.1

Note: The upgrade process reboots the entire SDX appliance, including all VPX instances, multiple times. Before performing this procedure, if the VPX instances are in an HA setup, fail over all primary HA nodes to the secondary node. If you do not have an HA deployment, plan for the downtime accordingly.

To upgrade the appliance:

  1. Upload the single bundle image file, navigate to Configuration> Management Service > Software Images, and then click Upload.
  2. Navigate to Configuration > System > System Administration.
  3. In the System Administration group, click Upgrade Appliance. The upgrade process takes a few minutes.

Before the upgrade, the Management Service displays the following information:

  • Single bundle image file name.
  • The current version of SDX running on your appliance.
  • The selected version to which the appliance is to be upgraded.
  • Approximate time to upgrade the appliance.
  • Miscellaneous information.

Before clicking Upgrade Appliance, make sure that you have reviewed all the information displayed on the screen. You cannot abort the upgrade process once it starts.

Supported upgrade paths

  11.1 12.0 12.1 13.0 13.1 14.1
10.5 or 11.0 Y Y Y N* N* N*
11.1–65.x and later NA Not recommended 12.1-56.x and later Y* Y* Y*
12.1 NA NA Not recommended Y Y Y

*From 10.5, 11.0, and 11.1 older builds, you must first upgrade to release 11.1 or 12.1, and then upgrade to release 13.0, 13.1, or 14.1.

NetScaler SDX hardware-software compatibility matrix

Demystifying the NetScaler SDX appliance upgrade process

Single bundle upgrade