Cisco Crosswork Network Controller 7.2 Administration Guide

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Tier upgrades

Updated: March 2, 2026

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Upgrade Crosswork Network Controller from a lower tier to a higher tier in either clustered or single-VM deployments.

A tier upgrade is a process that:

  • allows users to move from a lower tier to a higher tier in Crosswork Network Controller during the installation lifecycle,

  • involves different procedures and requirements depending on whether the deployment is a cluster or a single VM, and

  • supports ongoing scaling or feature expansion as business needs evolve.

For detailed information about available product tiers, see the Release Notes for Crosswork Network Controller, Release 7.2.0.

Note

Ensure all operations are performed with minimal disruption to running workloads.

Upgrade the cluster tier

Follow these steps to upgrade Crosswork Network Controller on a cluster from a lower tier to a higher tier:

Procedure

1.

Add new nodes : Add new nodes to the cluster to accommodate more applications and resources required for the higher tier. For more information, see Add a VM to the Crosswork Network Controller cluster
2.

Move databases : Move databases to worker nodes to optimize performance. For more information, see Capabilities of placement APIs for workload distribution .
3.

Rebalance pods across nodes : Use the rebalance feature to redistribute pods across new nodes and restore pod balance after any prolonged node shutdowns or power-ups. For more information, see Rebalance cluster resources .
4.

Redeploy Data Gateway from Standard to Extended for higher tiers (Advantage, Premier) : Put the Data Gateway in Maintenance mode by removing it from the pool and changing its role to Unassigned before redeploying. For more information, see Redeploy a Data Gateway VM and Change the administration state of a Data Gateway .

  • For protected pools :

    1. Start the redeployment with the Data Gateway that has the role Spare, if the pool contains one, to minimize downtime for collections.

    2. Add the re-deployed Data Gateway back to the pool.

    3. Initiate a failover so the re-deployed Data Gateway becomes Assigned and resumes collections.

    4. Move the other Data Gateway (its role becomes Spare after the failover) out of the pool and redeploy it.

  • For unprotected pools : Move the Data Gateways out of the pool and redeploy them. Collections may stop temporarily until the redeployment completes and the Data Gateways resume processing collection jobs.
5.

Update the number of devices per Data Gateway based on tier : Reduce the number of devices per Data Gateway as you move to a higher tier to align with the tier’s requirements.

Upgrade the single VM tier

Follow these steps to upgrade Crosswork Network Controller on a single VM from a lower tier to a higher tier:

Note

For a single VM tier upgrade from Advantage to Premier, you can download the Premier bundle and install the applications without needing to destroy or redeploy the VM. This is because the tier change from Advantage to Premier does not require additional resources.

Procedure

1.

Create a backup of the current VM to secure all data. For more information, see Manage Backup and Restore .
2.

Deploy the higher tier build on a new VM. For installation instructions, see the Install Cisco Crosswork Network Controller on a Single VM chapter in Cisco Crosswork Network Controller 7.2 Installation Guide .
3.

Restore the data from the backup to the newly deployed VM.