HAProxy ALOHA Documentation 12.5

Firmware Updates

In this section, you will learn how to check which version of the firmware you currently have and how to download and install a newer version.

Before you update

Before continuing, perform these steps:

  • If you run two HAProxy ALOHA instances in active-standby mode, ensure that your current load balancer configuration has been pushed to the standby instance. Go to the Services tab and click the push button next to each service where it is shown.

  • When updating to version 11.0 and beyond, first update the firmware to version 10.5. That version allows you to upload larger firmware packages, up to 25MB.

  • When updating to version 14.5 and beyond, first update the firmware to at least version 13.5.6. That version raises the temporary partition to 64MB and prevents a filesystem size issue.

    Alternatively, raise the partition size to 64MB with the root mount command:

    $ root mount -o remount,size=64M /var

Check your firmware version

To obtain the current version of the firmware that you have installed:

  1. In the web user interface, go to the Setup tab and find the firmware version number in the System section, where it is labeled Version.

    https://cdn.haproxy.com/documentation/aloha/12-5/assets/aloha-firmware-version-c53901ab5be5b3686d2c1c065ed8b0f6d79524956a6677aff2dcc3b8f5ab5bb8.png

Alternatively:

  1. Log in to the HAProxy ALOHA command-line interface.

  2. Read the file /usr/share/factory/version to see the Version.

    $ cat /usr/share/factory/version

Product: aloha
Model: albva
Branch: 13.0
Version: 13.0.4
Build: 1312
Date: 2021-05-17 08:32:31
URL: http://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/13.0

Download the latest firmware

Follow these steps to download the latest version of the firmware.

  1. Obtain your credentials for accessing HAProxy ALOHA downloads. You can create a new support ticket in the HAProxy Technologies Customer Portal to request your credentials.

    For virtual appliances, when updating to a new major version (for example 13.0, 14.0, 15.0), you will be given a new license key to install prior to the upgrade. This will prevent the appliance from starting in evaluation mode. The new license will appear as invalid until you upgrade the firmware. Licenses for hardware appliances are valid for all firmware versions.

  2. Browse to the website https://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/12.5. Enter your credentials to access the folder.

  3. Go into the folder with the highest number and download the .bin file for your appliance model:

    appliance type

    file to download

    virtual appliance

    file with albva prefix

    hardware appliance

    file with alb<MODEL> prefix

You can update the HAProxy ALOHA firmware via user interface or the command line.

Install the firmware in the UI

If you run two HAProxy ALOHA instances in active-standby mode, then updating one at a time is preferable to avoid downtime. Start with the standby instance, then once completed switch it into active mode so that you can update the current active instance.

To update the standby instance:

  1. Go to the Setup tab, and in the Firmware section, click Browse to upload the .bin file.

  2. Click Update.

  3. Click Reboot.

  4. Promote the standby instance to be the active instance:

    1. From the Services tab, click the setup_icon Setup icon on the network service line.

    2. Update the vrrp prio number to be greater than the current primary instance's value. This will configure the VRRP group so that the system with the higher priority number will become the new primary instance, avoiding network disruptions during the firmware update process.

    3. Click OK then Close.

      The standby becomes the new active instance and handles the traffic. We recommend monitoring HAProxy ALOHA until you are confident that it is functioning correctly.

      You can still swap the active and standby back by lowering the instance's vrrp prio number to its original value. You can also revert by following the steps in the Roll back section below.

To update the other HAProxy ALOHA instance:

  1. Go to the Setup tab, and in the Firmware section, click Browse to upload the .bin file.

  2. Click Update.

  3. Click Reboot.

  4. If you are running two HAProxy ALOHA instances, you can change the original standby instance to be on standby again:

    1. On the standby instance, go to the Services tab, click the setup_icon Setup icon on the network service line.

    2. Lower the vrrp prio number to the value before the upgrade.

    3. Click OK then Close.

Roll back an update

By default, HAProxy ALOHA stores two firmware images:

  • the current running firmware

  • the firmware that was running before the last upgrade

Follow these steps to revert to the firmware that was running before the last upgrade:

  1. On the Setup tab, scroll down to the Firmware area.

  2. Look for the Next boot image field. The box checked indicates the currently running firmware.

  3. Check the other box pointing to the old image.

  4. Click Update.

  5. Click Reboot.

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