Sequencing Rules and Time Requirements

Upgrade Sequence and Time Requirements

The sequence in which you perform upgrade procedures depends on your deployment, and on how you want to balance the level of user impact with the amount of time required to complete the upgrade. You must identify the sequence that you will follow before you are ready to perform the upgrade process.

The information in this section applies only if you are performing a direct upgrade using either the Unified CM OS Administration interface or the PCD Upgrade task. PCD Migrations do not require this step.

We recommend that you follow the sequences that are outlined in this section when you plan your upgrade. Choose one of the following options, based on your business needs:

If you do not follow one of the recommended sequences, you must ensure that your upgrade plan meets the requirements listed in Sequence Rules

Recommended Sequence for the Least Time

Use the information in this section if you want to perform a direct upgrade that takes the least amount of time. This approach will have the greatest service impact on your network.

To perform an upgrade in the least amount of time, you can upgrade all Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes in parallel; with this option, all phones will be out of service for the duration of the upgrade. You can reduce the impact on phone service by organizing the subscriber nodes into subgroups. Upgrade the subscriber nodes within each subgroup in parallel, but upgrade each subgroup sequentially. This will reduce the impact to your phone service but will add time to the upgrade process.

The tables below list the sequence to follow for direct refresh upgrades and direct standard upgrades. Plan to perform the tasks in the order shown in the appropriate table below. You must always begin an upgrade with the Unified Communications Manager nodes. You can perform upgrade procedures on the IM and Presence Service nodes in parallel with Unified Communications Manager nodes only as indicated in the table below. Any tasks that are listed on the same row in the table are ones that you can perform in parallel.

If you are upgrading Unified Communications Manager nodes to a Maintenance Release (MR) or an Engineering Special (ES) Release and you are not upgradingIM and Presence Service nodes, you must reboot all IM and Presence Service nodes after the Unified Communications Manager upgrade is complete.

Refresh Upgrades

Use the table below to plan a refresh upgrade when your priority is to perform the upgrade in the least amount of time. If you are unsure whether you need to perform a refresh upgrade or a standard upgrade, review the information in Direct Upgrades.

Table 1. Recommended Sequence for Performing Refresh Upgrades in the Least Amount of Time

Sequence

Unified Communications Manager Nodes

IM and Presence Service Nodes

1

Upgrade the publisher node to the new software version. The new software is inactive.

—

2

Upgrade the subscriber nodes in parallel. The new software is inactive.

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node in parallel with the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes.

3

—

Upgrade the subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

4

Switch the software version on the publisher node and reboot it. The new software is active.

—

5

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them.

—

6

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes before proceeding.

—

7

—

Switch the software version on the database publisher node and reboot it. The new software is active.

8

—

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

9

—

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes.

Standard Upgrades

Use the table below to plan a standard upgrade when your priority is to perform the upgrade in the least amount of time.

Table 2. Recommended Sequence for Performing Standard Upgrades in the Least Amount of Time

Sequence

Unified Communications Manager Nodes

IM and Presence Service Nodes

1

Upgrade the publisher node to the new software version. The new software is inactive.

—

2

Upgrade the subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node in parallel with the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes.

3

—

Upgrade the subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

4

Switch the software version on the publisher node and reboot it. The new software is active.

—

5

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

Switch the software version on the database publisher node and reboot it.

6

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes before proceeding.

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them.

7

—

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes.

Recommended Sequence for the Least Impact

Use the information in this section if you want to perform a direct upgrade that has the least impact on your network and you can accept the completion of the upgrade over a longer period.

The tables below list the sequence to follow for direct refresh upgrades and direct standard upgrades. Plan to perform the tasks in the order shown in the appropriate table below. You must always begin an upgrade with the Unified Communications Manager nodes. You can perform upgrade procedures on the IM and Presence Service nodes in parallel with Unified Communications Manager nodes. Any tasks that are listed on the same row in the table are ones that you can perform in parallel.

If you are upgrading Unified Communications Manager nodes to a Maintenance Release (MR) or an Engineering Special (ES) Release and you are not upgradingIM and Presence Service nodes, you must reboot all IM and Presence nodes after the Unified Communications Manager upgrade is complete.


Note

In addition to following the recommended sequence, you must also verify that your phones and devices are configured for redundancy through the use of Cisco Unified CM Groups (CMGs) with primary subscriber nodes and backup subscriber nodes. As part of your upgrade planning, ensure that you have assigned nodes and devices to CMGs so that when one of the nodes in the CMG is unavailable, the remaining nodes within the CMG can support all of the devices that are assigned to the CMG. This configuration allows you to ensure availability throughout the upgrade. For more information about CMGs, see the chapter "Configure Core Settings for Device Pools" atSystem Configuration Guide for Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

Refresh Upgrades

Use the table below to plan a refresh upgrade when your priority is to perform the upgrade with the least impact on phone services.

Table 3. Recommended Sequence for Performing Refresh Upgrades with the Least Impact

Sequence

Unified Communications Manager Nodes

IM and Presence Service Nodes

1

Upgrade the publisher node to the new software version. The new software is inactive.

—

2

Verify that phones are registered to primary subscriber nodes in CMGs. Upgrade the secondary subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node in parallel with the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes.

3

Verify that phones are registered to secondary subscriber nodes in CMGs. Upgrade the primary subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

Verify that phones are registered to primary subscriber nodes in CMGs.

Upgrade the subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

4

Switch the software version on the publisher node and reboot it. The new software is active.

—

5

Switch the software version on the secondary subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

—

6

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all secondary subscriber nodes.

—

7

Verify that phones are registered to secondary subscriber nodes in CMGs. Switch the software version on the primary subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them.

—

8

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all primary subscriber nodes.

—

9

—

Switch the software version on the database publisher node and reboot it. The new software is active.

10

—

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

11

—

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes.

Standard Upgrades

Use the table below to plan a standard upgrade when your priority is to perform the upgrade with the least impact on phone services.

Table 4. Recommended Sequence for Performing Standard Upgrades with the Least Impact

Sequence

Unified Communications Manager Nodes

IM and Presence Service Nodes

1

Upgrade the publisher node to the new software version. The new software is inactive.

—

2

Upgrade the primary and secondary subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node in parallel with the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

3

—

Upgrade the subscriber nodes. The new software is inactive.

4

Switch the software version on the publisher node and reboot it.

—

5

Verify that phones are registered to primary subscriber nodes in CMGs. Switch the software version on the secondary subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

Switch the software version on the database publisher node and reboot it.

6

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all secondary subscriber nodes.

Switch the software version on the subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them. The new software is active.

7

Verify that phones are registered to secondary subscriber nodes in CMGs. Switch the software version on the primary subscriber nodes in parallel and reboot them.

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all subscriber nodes.

8

Ensure that database replication is complete and functioning between the publisher node and all primary subscriber nodes. Verify that phones are registered to primary subscriber nodes in CMGs.

—

Sequence Rules

When you are planning to perform an upgrade using either the Unified CM OS Admin interface or the PCD upgrade task, you must ensure that your plan takes the following sequencing rules into account.

  • The Unified Communications Manager publisher node must be the first node that you upgrade. The new software is installed as an inactive version.

  • You can begin upgrading Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes as soon as the publisher node has been upgraded with an inactive version of the new software.

  • You must switch the Unified Communications Manager publisher node to the new software version and reboot it before you switch the version on any subscriber nodes. The publisher node must be the first node to switch to the new software version and reboot.

  • If you upgrade a group of subscriber nodes, after you switch the software version and reboot, you must wait for database replication to complete on all subscriber nodes before proceeding with any COP file installs or configuration changes.

  • If you are upgrading Unified Communications Manager nodes to a Maintenance Release (MR) or an Engineering Special (ES) Release and you are not upgrading IM and Presence Service nodes, you must reboot all IM and Presence nodes after the Unified Communications Manager upgrade is complete.

  • If you are upgrading IM and Presence Service nodes in addition to Unified Communications Manager nodes:

    • The IM and Presence Service database publisher node must be the first IM and Presence Service node that you upgrade. The new software is installed as an inactive version.

    • You can begin upgrading IM and Presence Service subscriber nodes as soon as the publisher node has been upgraded with an inactive version of the new software.

    • You can wait until all of the Unified Communications Manager nodes are upgraded to an inactive version before you upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node, or you can choose to upgrade in parallel. If you upgrade in parallel, start upgrading the IM and Presence Service database publisher node at the same time that you upgrade the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes.

    • You must switch to the new software version and reboot all Unified Communications Manager nodes, starting with the publisher node, before you can switch versions on the IM and Presence Service nodes.

    • You must switch the IM and Presence Service database publisher node to the new software version and reboot it before you switch the software version on any IM and Presence Service subscriber nodes.

    • If you upgrade a group of IM and Presence Service subscriber nodes, after you switch the software version and reboot, you must wait for database replication to complete on all subscriber nodes before proceeding.

  • If you are upgrading IM and Presence Service nodes to a Maintenance Release (MR) or an Engineering Special (ES) Release and you are not upgrading Unified Communications Manager nodes, the following additional sequencing rules apply:

    • For upgrades using the Unified CM OS Admin interface, you must upgrade the Unified Communications Manager publisher node and then upgrade the IM and Presence Service nodes to the Maintenance Release (MR) or an Engineering Special (ES) Release.

    • If you are using the Prime Collaboration Deployment migration task, you must select the Unified Communications Manager publisher node in addition to the IM and Presence Service nodes.

    • If you are using the Prime Collaboration Deployment upgrade task, you do not need to select the Unified Communications Manager publisher node as long as the first 3 digits of new version of IM and Presence Service match the first 3 digits of the currently installed version of Unified Communications Manager.

Upgrade time requirements

The time required to upgrade the software is variable and depends on a number of factors. Use the information in the following sections to understand the steps you can take to optimize the upgrade process. The following sections also provide information and examples to help you to estimate the time requirements for an upgrade.

Factors that Affect Upgrade Time Requirements

The table below lists the factors that impact the amount of time that an upgrade requires. You can reduce the amount of time needed for an upgrade by ensuring that your system meets these conditions.

Table 5. Factors that Affect Time Requirements

Item

Description

External Services and Tools

Time requirements are reduced when external services and tools, such as NTP servers, DNS servers, LDAP directories, and other network services are reachable with response times as short as possible with no dropped packets.

We recommend that you configure the ESXi server and the Unified Communications Manager publisher node to point to the same NTP server.

Accessibility of upgrade images

Save time by ensuring that ISO images are on DVD, or are already downloaded and staged on the same LAN as the Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service virtual machines (VM).

System health

The virtual machine configuration impacts the time requirement for an upgrade. Use the virtual machine specifications that are correct for your deployment size. If your database exceeds the virtual machine's configuration limits, the upgrade process will take longer to complete or fail. For example, having too many devices for the VM configuration will impact the upgrade.

Low memory or memory leaks will impact the upgrade.

Round Trip Times (RTT) between nodes will extend the time required.

Ensure that there are no OutOfSynch (OOS) tables in the database.

Ensure that there are no SD link out-of -service events on the node. These events typically indicate a network problem, which you must address before you begin the upgrade process.

System errors can impact upgrade time. In the Real Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) interface, double-click Alert Central in the left navigation pane and ensure that there are no errors.

Physical and virtual hardware infrastructure

Upgrade time is reduced when your infrastructure is configured for high-capacity and low-latency, and when there is low contention from other traffic. For example, you can optimize the upgrade process by ensuring that:

  • There are no infrastructure bottlenecks from VMs sharing same ESXi host, the same Direct Attached Storage (DAS) volume, the same Logical Unit Number (LUN), or the same congested network link.

  • Storage latencies meet the requirements specified at ../www.cisco.com/go/virtualized-collaboration.

  • The physical CPU cores and the virtualization design comply with virtualization requirements of Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service. Do not oversubscribe CPUs by having VMs share the host resources; use logical cores or resource reservations

  • Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service virtual machines are on same hosts, or on hosts wtih 1GbE LAN between them with low contention from other traffic.

  • If the cluster is over a WAN, ensure that you follow all bandwidth and latency rules listed in the Cisco Collaboration Systems Solution Reference Network Designs (SRND) for at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-system/products-implementation-design-guides-list.html.

System capacity

Reduce the upgrade time by purging unnecessary files, such as:

  • Call Detail Recording (CDR) records

  • Outdated files, such as TFTP files, firmware, and log files

Throttling

On IM and Presence Service nodes, the system throttles the upgrade process to preserve system stability during upgrades. Throttling may increase the time required to complete the upgrade. Although you can disable throttling to decrease the time it takes to perform the upgrade, doing so may degrade system performance.

Factors that Affect Upgrade Time Requirements

The table below lists the factors that impact the amount of time that an upgrade requires. You can reduce the amount of time needed for an upgrade by ensuring that your system meets these conditions.

Table 6. Factors that Affect Time Requirements

Item

Description

External Services and Tools

Time requirements are reduced when external services and tools, such as NTP servers, DNS servers, LDAP directories, and other network services are reachable with response times as short as possible with no dropped packets.

We recommend that you configure the ESXi server and the Unified Communications Manager publisher node to point to the same NTP server.

Accessibility of upgrade images

Save time by ensuring that ISO images are on DVD, or are already downloaded and staged on the same LAN as the Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service virtual machines (VM).

System health

The virtual machine configuration impacts the time requirement for an upgrade. Use the virtual machine specifications that are correct for your deployment size. If your database exceeds the virtual machine's configuration limits, the upgrade process will take longer to complete or fail. For example, having too many devices for the VM configuration will impact the upgrade.

Low memory or memory leaks will impact the upgrade.

Round Trip Times (RTT) between nodes will extend the time required.

Ensure that there are no OutOfSynch (OOS) tables in the database.

Ensure that there are no SD link out-of -service events on the Unified Communications Manager node. These events typically indicate a network problem, which you must address before you begin the upgrade process.

System errors can impact upgrade time. In the Real Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) interface, double-click Alert Central in the left navigation pane and ensure that there are no errors.

Physical and virtual hardware infrastructure

Upgrade time is reduced when your infrastructure is configured for high-capacity and low-latency, and when there is low contention from other traffic. For example, you can optimize the upgrade process by ensuring that:

  • There are no infrastructure bottlenecks from VMs sharing same ESXi host, the same Direct Attached Storage (DAS) volume, the same Logical Unit Number (LUN), or the same congested network link.

  • Storage latencies meet the requirements specified at ../www.cisco.com/go/virtualized-collaboration.

  • The physical CPU cores and the virtualization design comply with virtualization requirements of Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service. Do not oversubscribe CPUs by having VMs share the host resources; use logical cores or resource reservations

  • Unified Communications Manager and IM and Presence Service virtual machines are on same hosts, or on hosts wtih 1GbE LAN between them with low contention from other traffic.

  • If the cluster is over a WAN, ensure that you follow all bandwidth and latency rules listed in the Cisco Collaboration Systems Solution Reference Network Designs (SRND) for at http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unified-communications-system/products-implementation-design-guides-list.html.

System capacity

Reduce the upgrade time by purging unnecessary files, such as:

  • Call Detail Recording (CDR) records

  • Outdated files, such as TFTP files, firmware, and log files

Throttling

On IM and Presence Service nodes, the system throttles the upgrade process to preserve system stability during upgrades. Throttling may increase the time required to complete the upgrade. Although you can disable throttling to decrease the time it takes to perform the upgrade, doing so may degrade system performance.

Estimating the Minimum Time Requirements

The table below lists the minimum amount of elapsed time to expect for each task in the upgrade process under ideal conditions. Your upgrade may take longer than the times listed in this table, depending on your network conditions and on the upgrade sequence that you follow.


Note

Once you begin the upgrade process, you cannot make configuration changes until the upgrade is complete and you have performed all of the post-upgrade tasks. Configuration changes include:

  • changes made through any of the Unified Communications Manager or IM and Presence Service graphical user interfaces (GUI), the command line interface (CLI), or the AXL API

  • LDAP synchronizations, including incremental synchronizations that are pushed to Unified Communications Manager from an Oracle LDAP

  • automated jobs

  • devices attempting to autoregister
Table 7. Minimum Time Required for Upgrade Tasks

Task

Minimum Time

Service Impact

Upgrade the Unified Communications Manager publisher node to an inactive version

2 to 4 hours

Add 1 hour if a refresh upgrade

Refresh upgrades: no access to the UI

Upgrade the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes to an inactive version

1 to 2 hours

Refresh upgrades: phones are unavailable if no backup subscribers are configured

Switch the Unified Communications Manager publisher node to the new software version and reboot

30 minutes

—

Switch the Unified Communications Manager subscriber nodes to the new software version and reboot

30 minutes

Standard upgrades: phones are unavailable if no backup subscribers are configured

Unified Communications Manager database replication

30 minutes for deployments with small clusters or small databases

2 hours for megaclusters or large databases

Note 

WAN latency of 80ms or more can significantly lengthen these times

Phones are available with dial tone but end-user features are unavailable until upgrade is complete

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service database publisher node to an inactive version

2 to 4 hours

Add 1 hour if a refresh upgrade

At the time of L2 upgrade neither phone services nor IM and Presence should be impacted

IM and Presence should be impacted only in the case of Refresh Upgrade

Upgrade the IM and Presence Service subscriber nodes to an inactive version

1 to 2 hours

During the switch version , irrespective of L2 or Refresh Upgrade phone services should continue to work while IM and Presence is impacted

Switch the IM and Presence Service publisher node to the new software version and reboot

30 minutes

IM and Presence high availability is disabled

Jabber is unavailable

Switch the IM and Presence Service subscriber nodes to the new software version and reboot

30 minutes

IM and Presence high availability is disabled

Jabber is unavailable

IM and Presence Service database replication

30 minutes for deployments with small clusters or small databases

2 hours for megaclusters or large databases

Note 

WAN latency of 80ms or more can significantly lengthen these times

IM and Presence high availability is disabled

Jabber is unavailable

Examples

The examples in this section are based on the following upgrade scenario:

  • a megacluster that includes Unified Communications Manager nodes as well as Instant Messaging and Presence nodes

  • 75,000 users

  • a system that is healthy and that has been optimized for the upgrade, as described in Factors that Affect Upgrade Time Requirements