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Wai_Mun's avatar
Wai_Mun
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Oct 04, 2019

Firmware Upgrade from 11.5.x to 13.1.1.x

Hi, good day. I have a Viprion 5250V running on a firmware BIG-IP v11.5.1 (Build 8.0.175). We have 3 vcmp guest running with the same firmware as the vcmp host.

 

Objective:

1.Currently we would like to upgrade only one of the the vcmp guest firmware to BIGIP-13.1.1.5-0.0.4.

a. vcmp guest 1 upgrade from firmware BIG-IP v11.5.1 (Build 8.0.175) to BIGIP-13.1.1.5-0.0.4

b. vcmp guest 2 remain firmware BIG-IP v11.5.1 (Build 8.0.175)

c. vcmp guest 3 remain firmware BIG-IP v11.5.1 (Build 8.0.175)

 

Question:

1.Can I upgrade the vcmp guest firmware without upgrade the vcmp host firmware?

 

2.Do I need to re-activate the vcmp host license before install the firmware? As I know the license cannot be re-activate from the vcmp guest. (service check date: 20150330)

 

3.If i need to re-activate the vcmp host license, will it cause any interruption to the all the vcmp guest?

 

Thanks in advance.

2 Replies

  • Hello Wai Mun,

     

    I believe I have some answers for you questions below.

     

    1) "Can I upgrade the vcmp guest firmware without upgrade the vcmp host firmware?"

     

    Yes, it looks like you should be able to do that. It ultimately depends on the hardware platform and the version you are upgrading to. In your case I believe you can do that without issue. Please see the following article for more information.

     

    K14088: vCMP host and compatible guest version matrix

    https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K14088

     

    2) "Do I need to re-activate the vcmp host license before install the firmware? As I know the license cannot be re-activate from the vcmp guest. (service check date: 20150330)"

     

    Yes, you will need to re-activate the vCMP Host license first. This is because your current service check date is earlier than the license check date of the software version you are upgrading to. The following article explains this.

     

    K7727: License activation may be required before a software upgrade for the BIG-IP or Enterprise Manager system

    https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K7727

     

    3) "If i need to re-activate the vcmp host license, will it cause any interruption to the all the vcmp guest?"

     

    Yes, it will cause a brief disruption. The following article notes this.

     

    "Important: Reactivating the vCMP host license will result in a temporary traffic interruption on the guest systems while the license is reactivated on the host system."

     

    K15930: Overview of vCMP configuration considerations

    https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K15930

     

     

    -Nathan F

  • Hi Nathan,

     

    Thank you for your answer and information. One more question here, how do I know if my Viprion is still valid for license reactivation? I found a license validation tool (https://secure.f5.com/validate/validate.jsp), but which section/item should I look at to verify if my Viprion is still valid for license reactivation?

     

    Thanks.

     

    Regards,

    Wai Mun