HP XC System Software Installation Guide Version 3.1

5 Upgrading an HP XC System
This chapter describes how to use the upgrade process to install HP XC System Software Version 3.1 on
an HP XC system that is already running a previous version of the HP XC System Software.
This chapter addresses the following topics:
• “Software Upgrade Overview” (page 95)
• “Task 1: Prepare for the Upgrade” (page 97)
• “Task 2: Prepare the System State” (page 98)
• “Task 3: Install the Upgrade RPM and Prepare the System” (page 99)
• “Task 4: Upgrade Linux and HP XC RPMs” (page 100)
• “Task 5: View the Results of the RPM Upgrade” (page 102)
• “Task 6: Install Patches and Re-Install Additional Software” (page 102)
• “Task 7: Manually Merge File Customizations” (page 103)
• “Task 8: Configure the System and Propagate the Golden Image” (page 104)
• “Task 9: Image and Boot the System and Start Compute Resources” (page 107)
• “Task 10: Start Availability Tools After the Upgrade” (page 108)
• “Task 11: Verify the Upgrade” (page 108)
5.1 Software Upgrade Overview
A software upgrade to HP XC System Software Version 3.1 installs new versions of Linux and HP XC
RPMs on the current system. As part of the upgrade process, the cluster_config utility re-creates the
golden image on the head node, and the head node represents the configuration from which all other
nodes are upgraded and reimaged.
This section addresses the following topics:
• “Upgrade Types” (page 95)
• “Differences Between Major and Minor Upgrades” (page 96)
• “Upgrade Characteristics” (page 96)
• “Supported Upgrade Paths” (page 96)
• “Upgrade Commands” (page 97)
• “Is Upgrading Right for Your System?” (page 97)
5.1.1 Upgrade Types
Table 5-1 lists the two upgrade types that are available; the type of upgrade you perform depends on the
version of Enterprise Linux (EL) that is currently installed on the system and the version of EL that is
delivered in the new HP XC release.
Table 5-1 Upgrade Types
DescriptionUpgrade Type
You perform a major upgrade on systems that are installed with an HP XC release that is
based on an older version of Enterprise Linux (for example Enterprise Linux 3 [EL3]) and
the new HP XC release is based on the next Enterprise Linux release version (for example,
EL4).
Major
You perform a minor upgrade when the new HP XC release is based on the same version
of the Enterprise Linux (EL) operating system that is currently installed on the system.
For example, a minor upgrade enables you to upgrade the HP XC system from an HP XC
release that is based on EL4 Update 3 to an HP XC release that is based on EL4 Update 4.
Minor
Table 5-3 lists the upgrade types associated with each supported upgrade path. To find out which version
of Enterprise Linux is currently installed on the system, enter the following command:
# cat /etc/redhat-release
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS release 3 (Taroon Update 4)
5.1 Software Upgrade Overview 95