Preparing to Upgrade

This document describes the steps required to upgrade software ESM or ESM on an appliance to version 7.8. This chapter describes how to prepare your environment for upgrade.

ESM Appliance and ESM Express use different licensing models. Both are installed on an appliance.

You install software ESM on your own hardware.

For information about upgrading in a high availability environment, see the Active Passive High Availability Module User's Guide.

Note: Ensure you perform the upgrade from a local workstation or server, not over a VPN. If you perform the upgrade over a VPN, and the VPN is disconnected during the upgrade, the upgrade will fail. If you must use a VPN during the upgrade process, consider using a desktop sharing utility like the screen command on Linux to prevent terminating the upgrade session if the network disconnects.

Understanding Supported Upgrade Paths

The following upgrade paths are supported for software ESM (in both compact mode and distributed correlation mode) and ESM on an appliance:

For ESM 6.11, with or without patches:
1. 7.0 Patch 1
2. 7.2
3. 7.4
4. 7.5
5. 7.8
For ESM 7.0:
1. Apply 7.0 Patch 2
2. 7.2
3. 7.4
4. 7.5
5. 7.8
For ESM 7.0 Patch 1 and Patch 2:
1. 7.2
2. 7.4
3. 7.5
4. 7.8
For ESM 7.2 and 7.3:
1. 7.4
2. 7.5
3. 7.8
For ESM 7.2 Service Pack 1:
1. 7.3
2. 7.5
3. 7.8
For ESM 7.4:
1. 7.5
2. 7.8
For ESM 7.5, you can upgrade directly to 7.8
For ESM 7.6, you can upgrade directly to 7.8
For ESM 7.6.4, you can upgrade directly to 7.8
For ESM 7.7, you can upgrade directly to 7.8

For information about supported platforms, see the Technical Requirements.

Note: If you are running ESM in compact mode and want to convert to distributed correlation mode, complete the upgrade to ESM 7.8 as described in Running the Upgrade, and then convert the system to distributed correlation mode as described in Completing Optional Post-Upgrade Tasks. Conversion to distributed correlation mode is not supported on an appliance.

Understanding Supported Operating Systems on an Appliance

ESM 7.8 supports the following appliances and operating systems:

B7700 (G10) appliances running on RHEL 7.9.

If you are running ESM 7.2 on a G10 appliance that is running RHEL 7.7, you must:
- Upgrade the operating system to RHEL 7.8 and ESM to version 7.4.
- Upgrade the operating system to RHEL 7.9 and ESM to version 7.5.
- Perform an operating system update to RHEL 7.9.
- Upgrade to ESM version 7.8.
If you are running ESM 7.2 on a G10 appliance that is running RHEL 7.7, you must upgrade the operating system to RHEL 7.9 before you upgrade to ESM 7.8.
B7600 (G9) appliances running on RHEL 7.9.

If you are running ESM 6.11 on a G9 appliance that is running RHEL 7.3, after you upgrade the appliance to ESM 7.0 Patch 1 and RHEL 7.5, you must upgrade the operating system first to RHEL 7.5, then to RHEL 7.7, then to RHEL 7.8, and then to RHEL 7.9.

For more information about upgrading an appliance, see Upgrading ESMon an Appliance