Upgrade path from Orion 2015.1.2 on Windows 2008 / SQL Server 2008 – OFFLINE environment

gattobondo

Hello!

My client would need to upgrade the following Solarwinds environment:

DB: MS-SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 (10.50.2500) on Windows 2008 R2 SP1 OS (6.1.7601)
Orion Server (separate hardware): Windows 2008 R2 SP1 running the following modules

Orion 2015.1.2

NPM 11.5.2

SAM 6.2.2

IVIM 2.1.0

IPAM 4.3

DPA 10.0.0

This environment has no internet access, so we’d need to download the upgrade packages somewhere else an then move them to the Orion Server.
In order to minimize possible impacts, we’d prefer to keep the OSs an DB at their current version and, after a first successful upgrade under this restriction, we’ll move forward to newer versions if needed.

My questions:

Would it make sense to split the upgrade in two “waves” as stated (i.e., first keeping Windows and SQL at their current levels, and then planning next steps)?
What will be the recommended upgrade path for each module?
Any other advice or potential risks/issues we should be aware of?

Thank you very much in advance for your help

Dan

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offline environment

npm 11.5.2

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2008_r2

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orion 2015.1.2

Accepted answers

mesverrum

I thought I'd dig up some documentation on this process and was amused when I found this gem
https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/Upgrade-to-NPM-12-from-NPM-11-5-and-earlier
Which essentially says the "recommended" route is just a complete rebuild haha.

Looks like the document I used to reference has been taken down, but the upgrade advisor will tell you which versions you need, and it will give you a breakdown where it tells you the break points where you need to do the OS upgrades.

All comments

cnorborg

You might try using the Upgrade Advisor, it should tell you what you can/cannot do...

Product Upgrade Advisor | SolarWinds Customer Portal

gattobondo

Thank you for your prompt answer, Craig. According to that page, it seems that my first step should be to attempt an NPM upgrade from 11.5.2 to 12.0. I'll check the requirements and update the post accordingly. Thank you!

mesverrum

gattobondo

Thank you, mesverrum. As per the upgrade advisor, the first step would be to upgrade NPM to 12.0.-

Regarding the "rebuild" process, Do you know how it works? According to the article, both versions will run concurrently during the transition. Would the rebuild process create a new database end migrate all existing data and configuration?

On the other hand, the document covers upgrades "from NPM 11.5 and earlier to NPM 12 and later", so it might not apply to our case (we are running 11.5.2). Would you concur?

Kind regards and thanks ones more

Dan

mesverrum

It's really up to you when you think you are better off rebuilding, it is a fairly complex process for most environments of any size, new server, new database, and need to set up all you nodes and custom properties and alerts and everything again. It's likely to be less effort to just upgrade what you have, but if its currently running badly it might be a time to go for it.