Telestra App Note

ACE Software Upgrade to 4.2x and Later (#78)

This application note describes the steps required to upgrade ACE platforms and ACU hardware to the latest software versions. Please note, ACE software version 4.2x or later is RHEL 5, and requires a cold start from previous releases. The Red Hat license number will be listed on the RHEL5 DVD.

The four main steps for the ACE software upgrade are:

1. Backing up system configuration and projects
2. Cold starting platforms
3. Restoring system configuration and projects
4. Upgrading ACU firmware

Backup System Configurations and Projects

Complete the following steps in ACE Studio:

1. Open a browser and navigate to RMS. Login as:

   Username: admin
   Password: astirules

2. Navigate to Backup Restore > Backup System Configuration.
3. Click "Check All" then "Start Backup".

4. Left-click on the new archive .tgz file (named telestraConfigxxxx.tgz) and save it to the local machine. If you are backing up multiple Targets, you may want to rename the file to match the Target's hostname for easy identification.

   Note: Make sure this backup file is copied to a machine other than the ACE Studio workstation or copied to removable media. The following step is to cold start the ACE Studio workstation which will erase the entire hard disk.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for each ACE Target.

Cold Start ACE Studio and Target

Follow the ACE Studio Cold Start Procedure and ACE Target Cold Start Procedures.

Restore the System Configurations and Projects

1. Set up networking

   1. If the Targets are on a network with a DHCP server:

      1. Login to the Linux console / terminal as root. If you do not know the default login credentials for the ACE Target system, please reference section 3.0 of the Telestra Quick Start Guide.

      2. Enter ifconfig eth0 and note the IP address.

   2. If the Targets are on a network without a DHCP server, set the IP address manually:

      1. Login to the Linux console / terminal as root. If you do not know the default login credentials for the ACE Target system, please reference section 3.0 of the Telestra Quick Start Guide.

      2. Enter ifconfig -a eth0 <ip_address> netmask <subnet>, where <ip_address> is the desired IP address for the Target, and <subnet> is the appropriate subnet mask for the network.

2. Copy the Target backup files to the ACE Studio workstation.

3. Open the Firefox browser, and type the Target's IP address in the address bar.

   1. Login to RMS as "admin". If you do not know the RMS login credentials, please reference section 3.0 of the Telestra Quick Start Guide.
   2. Navigate to Backup Restore > Restore System Configuration.
   3. Browse for the backup file on the hard disk and click "Upload Backup File".
   4. Next to the backup file click "restore now".
   5. Click "Check All" then "Start Restoration".

   6. Once restoration is complete, follow the links to reboot the system.

      Note: If the configured IP address of the Target (see step 1) does not match the original IP address that was previously backed up, you'll need to point the browser at the original IP address after the Target has finished rebooting.

   7. Repeat steps 1-3 for all Targets.

Upgrade ACU Firmware

Note: Always upgrade ACUs to the latest available firmware version.

1. In RMS, navigate to ACUs > Update ACU Firmware.

2. Follow the upgrade instructions displayed in RMS except for the changes below:

   You may put all ACUs in boot mode at the same time, but only select one ACU at a time to upgrade. Do not simply click "Check All" and upgrade them all at once, this may adversely affect the stability of the ACUs.

   Update all of the ACUs on the Targets' local ACENet to the same firmware level. Do not mix ACUs with different firmware levels on the local ACENet.