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Cisco Managed Service Accelerator 3.9 Installation and Upgrade Guide

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Book Title

Cisco Managed Service Accelerator 3.9 Installation and Upgrade Guide

Chapter Title

Upgrading MSX (In Service)

Results

Updated:
September 29, 2020

Chapter: Upgrading MSX (In Service)

Upgrading MSX (In Service)

Starting from Release 3.9, MSX can perform in-service upgrades. These upgrades minimize system downtime compared to prior releases. Take note, however, that while you are upgrading MSX system components, you may experience occasional system stalls and may have to retry some actions.

This chapter contains the following topics:

Pre-Upgrade Tasks

Before upgrading MSX, you must run Ansible scripts that perform several actions, such as health checks, backing up keys and passwords, a data backup, and other tasks. This process has been structured so that MSX should continue to function even if some components are not perfectly upgraded. In the rare event of a catastrophic failure, the backups will enable you to revert to your previous MSX deployment.


Note

The following upgrade steps must be applied on top of MSX 3.8.2. After you upgrade MSX to 3.9.0, in Action Orchestrator, only default workflows will be present. Any workflow created in 3.8.2 will have to be recreated.

This section details actions that must be performed before initiating an MSX upgrade.

Health Checks and Back Up of Keys and Passwords

Procedure

Step 1

Verify that the nodes and services in your existing deployment are healthy. This process takes approximately 5 minutes. If the platform health check indicates that any components are unhealthy, then you should recover those components prior to proceeding with the upgrade. 

ansible-playbook checks/check-vms.yml
Step 2

Perform a backup of the keys and passwords in the old MSX 3.8.0 container (There is no container for MSX 3.8.2.). 

ansible-playbook vms-backup.yml --tags pass-to-vault,keys-to-vault
Step 3

Copy the files that are essential for the upgrade process. These files should not have changed from your first MSX install and they will be used for all future MSX versions. The commands for copying the files are: 

cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/ssh.cfg /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/
cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/inventory/inventory /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/
cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/keys/id_rsa.pub /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/
cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/keys/id_rsa /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/
cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/group_vars/all/external_addresses.yml /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra
cp /msx-3.8.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/<openrc> /msx-3.8.0/ansible/

Downloading and Verifying Images

Procedure

Step 1

Download the following tar files from the MSX Software Download page. Click Download Options to see the files.

  • - msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.sig.tar

  • - msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar

  • - msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.sig.tar

  • - msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar
Step 2

At this stage, you will create files that will verify that the msx-container and msx-binaries tar files are not corrupt. On the Software Download page, hover your mouse over the msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar file. You will see a dialog that shows the SHA512 checksum.

Step 3

Click the copy icon and then paste the checksum content into a text file called msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar.sha512sum.

Step 4

Repeat this process for the msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar file and name the saved file: msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar file.sha512sum.

Step 5

Untar the following signature files:

  • msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.sig.tar

  • msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.sig.tar
Step 6

Validate the binaries and container signature files (*.sig) as follows:

  • MSX Isolated Binaries Commands

    
gpg --import rel.gpg
gpg --verify msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar.sha512sum.sig msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar.sha512sum

    Verified Command Output Example:

    
gpg: Signature made Fri Oct 25 22:38:26 2019 UTC
gpg:                using RSA key ED1B8D57539285B2
gpg: Good signature from "MSX Release Code Signing (MSX.rel) <mail_id@cisco.com>"
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 8B6D 9385 B8E2 BFEB 2DAC  8BF1 ED1B 8C22 5392 85B2

  • MSX Container Image Commands

    
gpg --import rel.gpg
gpg --verify msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar.sha512sum.sig msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar.sha512sum

    Verified Command Output Example:

    
gpg: Signature made Fri Oct 25 24:45:22 2019 UTC
gpg:                using RSA key ED1B8D65439285B2
gpg: Good signature from "MSX Release Code Signing (MSX.rel) <mail_id@cisco.com>"
gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!
gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.
Primary key fingerprint: 8B7F 9455 B8E2 BFEB 2DAD 8BF1 ED1B 8D34 5392 79B5

Preparing the Container

Procedure

Step 1

Copy the msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar and msx-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar to the host where you plan on installing MSX.
Step 2

Use SSH to connect to the host where you will install MSX.

Step 3

Run this command on the host to load the MSX container image: 


[root@CentOS localadmin] # docker load -i MSX-container-3.9.0-xxx.tar
Step 4

Extract msx-binaries-3.9.0-xxx.tar to /vms-binaries-mount-source.
Step 5

Get the <docker_image_ID> using the command: 


[root@CentOS localadmin] # docker images
REPOSITORY          TAG                 IMAGE ID            CREATED             SIZE
<none>              <none> 	    e94ad25e65a9         5 days ago          383 MB
Step 6

Spin up the 3.9.0 container with the vms-backup-mount-source folder attached as a volume:


docker run --name <3.9.0-Container_Name> -v <vms-container-mount-source>:/msx-3.9.0/ansible/repo -v <vms-backup-mount-source>:/msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup <docker image id> -it /bin/bash
Step 7

Copy the required files as shown: 


cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/inventory-active /msx-3.9.0/ansible/inventory/inventory
cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/ssh.cfg-active /msx-3.9.0/ansible/ssh.cfg
cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/external_addresses.yml-active /msx-3.9.0/ansible/group_vars/all/external_addresses.yml
cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/<openrc> /msx-3.9.0/ansible/<openrc>
Step 8

Create a folder to copy the keys into and perform the copy operation: 


mkdir /msx-3.9.0/ansible/keys
cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/id_rsa /msx-3.9.0/ansible/keys
cp /msx-3.9.0/ansible/vms-backup/infra/id_rsa.pub /msx-3.9.0/ansible/keys
Step 9

Edit /msx-3.9.0/ansible/ssh.cfg to replace all instances of "msx-3.8.0" with "msx-3.9.0".
Step 10

Make the required changes in group_vars/all/main.yml, using the backed up main.yml as a reference.

Note 

Do not replace the MSX 3.9.0 variable file with the MSX 3.8.0 variable file. We recommend that you manually update the variables that were changed during MSX 3.8.0 deployment, including vms_domain, and vms_subdomain.

Step 11

Edit main.yml to set the auto_generate_password variable to 'false'. This is the path to the file:/msx-3.9.0/ansible/group_vars/all/main.yml
Step 12

Create a vault_password file with the same password used in MSX 3.8.0 and export the path as specified:


export ANSIBLE_VAULT_PASSWORD_FILE=<path to vault_password file>
Step 13

(OpenStack Only) Source the V3 OpenStack configuration file to enable access to your OpenStack project, which will use the values within the openrc file: 


source <path-to-openrc>
Step 14

Navigate to the msx-3.9.0/ansible folder. All playbooks must be run from this folder after this.

Step 15

Execute the MSX prerequisites playbook to prepare the new MSX 3.9 container for an upgrade. The playbook will perform password, security group-related, and other updates as required. This process should take approximately 5 minutes. 

ansible-playbook upgrade-prereq.yml --extra-vars @vms-backup/infra/passwords.yml --skip-tags vnfoutside,csr_route_upgrade
Step 16

Verify that the nodes and services in your upgraded deployment are healthy. If any part of the system is unhealthy, then do not perform the MSX upgrade until issues are remedied and a system check successfully passes. This process should take approximately 5 minutes. 

ansible-playbook checks/check-vms.yml

Upgrading MSX

At a high level, the process of upgrading MSX involves running old and new systems in parallel with all traffic being routed to the old system. When the Network Service Orchestrator is updated, any service updates or provisioning will be queued until the update is complete. Afterwards, traffic will be redirected to the new MSX version and the old instance will be deleted. The following section details the in-service upgrade process and provides additional explanations where necessary.

Procedure

Step 1

Navigate to the msx-3.9.0 Ansible folder. 

cd /msx-<version>/ansible
Step 2

Create an Ansible vault password file with the same password used in MSX 3.8.0 and export the path as specified: 


export ANSIBLE_VAULT_PASSWORD_FILE=<path_to_vault_password_file>
Step 3

(OpenStack only) Source the V3 OpenStack configuration file to enable access to your OpenStack project, which will use the values within the openrc file: 

source <path-to-openrc>
Step 4

Upload the MSX isolated binaries to your S3 (AWS) / minio (OpenStack) bucket. This process should take approximately 15 minutes. 

ansible-playbook upload-isolated-binaries.yml
Step 5

Edit /msx-3.9.0/ansible/group_vars/all/main.yml to change the mode variable from “FreshInstall” to "Upgrade".

Step 6

Upload the service packs that you require. For all Service Packs, this process should take approximately 30 minutes. 

ansible-playbook upload-all-servicepacks.yml
Step 7

Run the following script from the 3.9 container to perform a data backup of the MSX instance that is in service. The data backup process allows you to take a backup of all persistent MSX data, such as Cassandra, Elasticsearch, and NSO data. This process is useful in cases where you might need to recover lost or corrupted MSX data from a backup. This process should take approximately 30 minutes. 

ansible-playbook vms-backup.yml --extra-vars backup_tag=backup-tag-name

This command creates a backup that is tagged with the current timestamp under the vms-backup folder. Optionally, you can use --extra-vars backup_tag=specify-name-of-backup (For example: ansible-playbook vms-backup.yml --extra-vars backup_tag=pre-3.9-upgrade). This ensures that the same backup is created for every run, thus enabling you to automate the restore process.

If the vms-backup.yml playbook fails, you should not proceed with the next steps. Instead, contact Cisco technical support for further guidance.

Step 8

Edit each Service Pack deployment variables file so that it matches your deployment requirements. Additionally, set the schema_mode variable to "Upgrade". The Service Pack variable files are located at: /msx-3.9.0/ansible/group_vars/all/servicepack_name_variables.yml

Step 9

Upgrade the Infra Services to update the infrastructure components for the Platform Microservices and Service Packs. This process should take approximately 20 minutes. 

ansible-playbook upgrade-infra-services.yml
Step 10

Run the Blue/Green platform Microservice update, which will upgrade the Platform and Service Packs. Both 3.8.2 and 3.9.0 Microservices will be running in parallel, however all traffic will be routed to 3.8.2 at this stage. Additionally, all Microservices will be running in non-HA mode. 

ansible-playbook blue-green-ms-upgrade.yml
Step 11

Perform an upgrade of the Network Service Orchestrator (NSO) component. At this point, any updates to existing services or the provisioning of new services will be queued (and delayed) until the NSO upgrade has completed. 

ansible-playbook bg-nso-upgrade.yml
Step 12

Run the switch-ms-routing.yml playbook. This will redirect traffic from MSX 3.8.2 to 3.9, enable HA mode, and will delete all 3.8.2 Microservice instances once complete. 

ansible-playbook switch-ms-routing.yml
Step 13

Upgrade the MSX user interface for the Platform and Service Packs. 

ansible-playbook upgrade-ui.yml
Step 14

Upgrade Action Orchestrator and the Workflow engine. The Workflow engine will be placed in maintenance mode, so no new Workflows can be created or updated during this time. This process should take approximately 40 minutes. 

ansible-playbook upgrade-ao.yml
Step 15

Upgrade OS and Kubernetes. This will update Kubernetes and the underlying Operating System kernel, security components, and any other required system updates. This upgrade will be performed one node at a time starting with the Kubernetes Master nodes. 

ansible-playbook os-k8s-rolling-upgrade.yml
Step 16

Verify that the nodes and services in your upgraded deployment are healthy. This process should take approximately 5 minutes.

ansible-playbook checks/check-vms.yml

Verifying an MSX Upgrade

Log in to the MSX portal and ensure that all Microservices and UI components in Settings > Component Versions appear in 3.9.0. See Logging into the Portal for more details.

Recovering from Upgrade Issues

In the case of a failed upgrade, you can roll the system back to a known good state, using the rollback process.

Before You Begin:

Ensure that the required conditions are met for restoring the backup in the target environment.

  • The specified ansible variables are the same as the original environment:

    vms_domain

    vms_subdomain

    deployment_mode

    deployment_mode_env

  • The group_vars/all/passwords.yml is the same as the original environment and auto_generate_password is set to false.

  • The target environment has the same set of service packs deployed.

Upgrade Notes for SAML-Based SSO

For enhanced security, the following SAML-based SSO parameters in MSX 3.9 are turned on by default:

  • security.auth.saml.want-authn-request-signed

  • security.auth.saml.encrypt-assertion

Due to this change, if you had configured SAML-based SSO in the previous versions of MSX, SSO may stop working after the upgrade.

To avoid this issue, perform the following procedure after the upgrade:

Procedure

Step 1

Import Service Provider metadata into MSX.

Download service provider SAML metadata file.

To download Cisco SD-WAN (vManage) metadata, do the following:

  • In vManage, click Administration > Settings > Identify Provider Settings > Edit.

  • Click Enabled.

  • Navigate to Click here to download the SAML metadata and save the content in a file (for example: vmanage_metadata.xml).

  1. Save the metadata file to the following location in the Kubernetes node:

    /data/vms/heapdumps/usermanagementservice/vmanage_metadata.xml

    MSX Usermanagement services maps the above Kubernetes location to the following:

    /data/conf/vmanage_metadata.xml

    Specify the location (/data/conf/vmanage_metadata.xml) as the metadata file location while importing the file into MSX.

  2. Log in to the Cisco MSX Portal.

  3. In the main menu, go to Settings > SSO Configuration.

  4. In the Add SSO Client’s section, select the SAML service provider client ID (vManage in this case) and click the Edit icon.

    In the Attributes section, specify the vManage metadata file location (from step a) in the Metadata Source field. The metadata source field takes a URL or a file path.

    Note 

    Metadata fields appear only if you have selected SAML service provider client ID.
Step 2

[Applicable only for Cisco SD-WAN] Turn off the SAML security settings.

By default, the following SAML security parameters in MSX are set to true:

  • security.auth.saml.want-authn-request-signed

  • security.auth.saml.encrypt-assertion

For SAML service provider integration with MSX, if the above security parameters are set to ‘True,’ the auth request from the service provider must be signed, and the assertion sent back by MSX will be encrypted.

To turn off this default settings, do the following:

  1. Log in to Inception VM and access the kubernetes master node.

    ssh -i id_rsa centos@_INCEPTION_FLOATING_IP_ADDRESS_ -t ssh _kubernetes-master-1_IP_ADDRESS

  2. Use the following cURL commands:

    curl --request PUT -g -k -v -H "X-Consul-Token: {consul_token_value}" --data 'false' https://localhost:8500/v1/kv/userviceconfiguration/defaultapplication/security.auth.saml.want-authn-request-signed
    curl --request PUT -g -k -v -H "X-Consul-Token: {consul_token_value}" --data 'false' https://localhost:8500/v1/kv/userviceconfiguration/defaultapplication/security.auth.saml.encrypt-assertion
    Note 

    Replace {consul_token_value} with your actual consul token value from the passwords.yml file.

  3. Save the above consul entries. To save, restart the UserManagement microservices from the Kubernetes master node using the following commands: 

    kubectl -n vms delete -f /etc/kube-manifests/usermanagementservice-rc.yml
kubectl -n vms create -f /etc/kube-manifests/usermanagementservice-rc.yml

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