IMG 1010 - Gracefully Upgrade IMG software in SS7 network

Overview:

Feature 1404 "Graceful Upgrade IMG software in SS7 Network" adds to the IMG the ability to easily upgrade the IMG System Software in a Network that consists of an SS7 Primary Node, SS7 Secondary Node, and SS7 Remote Nodes. Previously, upgrading system software would require bringing all the nodes down at once, upgrading software, reconfiguration, and then start processing calls again. Feature 1404 adds the ability to upgrade the software in each individual IMG in a step by step process which will limit the number of calls lost during this process. Feature 1404 supports upgrading the IMG for up to two CI (Controlled Introduction) releases back. For example, anyone running software 10.5.0 or 10.5.1 can take advantage of this feature when upgrading to 10.5.2 software. The procedure below explains the steps required to accomplish the upgrade with a minimal amount of downtime.

Related Topics:

IMG 1010 - Graceful Upgrade Manager

SS7 Network Diagram:

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Procedure:

Step 1 - Obtain software from Excel Support Site (ExcelBBS):

• Before starting the upgrade process, set all tags on IMG. To do this, hit the "Query All Tags" button on any object pane in ClientView. This will display a dialog box with the state of each tag as well as set each tag. Select OK to close the dialog box.

  • The updated software files will need to be obtained from the support website. Refer to instructions below.

Step 2 - Transfer files:

• Transfer the GCEMS and IMGUserInterface files to the /home/excelsw/ftpBuilds directory on the Linux GCEMS server. Transfer all files as binary files.

• Once transferred, change the permissions to both these files using the commands displayed below.

Step 3 - Install GCEMS software:

• In ClientView go to File > Save Configuration File. This will save the latest configuration file that will be used to re-configure the IMG. Once saved shut down the ClientView application by selecting File > Exit.

• Shut down GCEMS application by double clicking on the desktop icon StopGCEMS.
  
  

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• Once these two applications have been closed then the newest versions of these applications can be loaded. Go to ftpBuilds folder and install the latest versions of IMG and IMGUserInterface which were just transferred. For information on installing these two files refer to IMG 1010 - Installing GCEMS Software

Step 4 - Transfer IMG System Software

Once the ClientView and GCEMS software have been installed, the system software file can now be transferred and installed. Depending on your existing system will determine where to transfer the System Software file too. If using the GCEMS server as an FTP Server, transfer the System Software File to the /home/excelsw/ftpBuilds directory. If loading software from the SD Card, transfer the file to the SD Card. In both instances, transfer the files using the binary format.

Step 5 - Update links to load IMG system software and restart GCEMS:

If loading the system software file using FTP functionality on the GCEMS server, modify the links located in the /home/excelsw/ftpBuilds folder so that FTP will load the newest software once the upgrade process is started. This can be done using lnimg (link img) script or manually using the ln -sf command. For information on changing the links refer to IMG 1010 - Configure GCEMS and Start Linux Services

If, however, the System Software File is being loaded using the SD Card, the bootup.cfg file on the SD Card must be modified. Refer to IMG 1010 - Downloading System Software from SD Card

Once the links have been updated, the GCEMS and ClientView applications can be restarted. Follow instructions below.

• If required, transfer any new licensing files to the /opt/dialogic/common/license folder.

• Restart GCEMS and ClientView. When restarting GCEMS select "No" when asked "Would you like to begin a new Configuration?"

• Allow ClientView to configure itself with latest file saved earlier.

Step 6 - SS7 Primary/Secondary Node Software Upgrade:

Once all the initial setup has been accomplished, the upgrade process can begin. A ClientView Graceful Upgrade Manager was created to facilitate the remaining steps of the Upgrade Procedure and to display node information relevant to the Upgrade process, in one location. The Graceful Upgrade Manager pane displays the states of the SS7 servers while the Graceful Upgrade Manager table, located at bottom of the pane, displays all nodes in the Logical IMG and their relevant information. See Graceful Upgrade Manager screen capture below.

• Right Click on the Logical IMG object and select New Graceful Upgrade Manager.
  
  

• The Graceful Upgrade Manager will get created with information about the current SS7 Network. For more information on this pane, see IMG 1010 - Graceful Upgrade Manager
  
  

• Disable any backup nodes that would be part of an N+1 Setup.

• Optional:
  Before starting the upgrade process, note that there is an optional step that can be performed that will allow you to gracefully take the standby Out of Service ensuring there are no more calls being processed before proceeding. To accomplish this, Right Click on the node in the Graceful Upgrade Manager table and select Graceful Out Of Service.” See IMG 1010 - Graceful Shutdown of IMG for more information on the Feature.

• To begin the upgrade process the "Upgrade SS7 Nodes" button will need to be pressed. This will bring up a dialog box that will allow you to reset the SS7 Standby Node.

• Once you are ready to start the procedure, click the "Upgrade SS7 Nodes" Button in the Graceful Upgrade Manager Pane. The following dialog box will appear. Read the dialog and verify you have accomplished everything in the dialog box.
  
  

• Once satisfied everything in dialog box list has been accomplished, hit the "Reset Standby" button.

The SS7 Secondary/Standby Node will reset and load the newest build. Information on the reset will be added to the Graceful Upgrade Dialog Box. Allow the Secondary/Standby node to come back into service and then re-configure. The Dialog box will look like below when the configuration of Secondary/Standby is complete. Also note that the Graceful Upgrade Manager Pane will display the upgraded software build loaded in the SS7 Secondary/Standby Node in the "Software Revision" Column

• Important Information:
  At this point in the process the following is true:

  • The GCEMS and ClientView software has been upgraded to newest revision.

  • The Secondary/Standby node just reset is now in the Offline state.

  • There is no SS7 redundancy in the current setup. Any CICs on the Secondary/Standby SS7 node are now considered remote CIC's.

  • Any links that were configured on the Secondary/Standby SS7 node are now considered remote links. They are no longer in the Redundancy configuration. SS7 Redundancy is now not configured

• To finish the process of upgrading the software on the SS7 Primary/Active Node, hit the "Switch Over" button on the Graceful Upgrade Dialog Box. Once this is done the Primary/Active SS7 Node will reset and load the newest revision build. Once this happens, the following is true:

  • The Secondary/Standby SS7 Node which was in the Offline state will now become the Secondary/Active SS7 node.

  • The Primary/Active SS7 Node will reboot and take on the newest load. Once finished loading it will get configured as the SS7 Primary/Standby Node.

  • The two SS7 nodes have swapped redundancy states so that the Original Primary/Active is now the Primary/Standby Node and the Original Secondary/Standby node is now the Standby/Active node.

  • SS7 Redundancy has now been restored.

  • Any calls that were up will stay up. The IMG system will not process any new calls until the Secondary/Active and Primary/Standby nodes have re-configured.

• At this point the Secondary/Active and Primary/Standby nodes have had there software up-graded and will be processing calls. Select OK to close the Graceful Upgrade dialog box. Note that the Graceful Upgrade Manager now reflects the current configuration. See screen capture below displaying the Primary/Standby and Secondary/Active nodes after software upgrade.
  
  

Step 7 - Remote Node Software Upgrade:

Now each individual node running remote CIC's can be upgraded one at a time. From the Object Table under the Graceful Upgrade Manager Pane select one of the remote nodes to upgrade software on. Again, there are two ways of accomplishing this, The first way would be to take the Remote Node Out of Service Gracefully then reset the node. The second way is to just reset the node. The procedure below will follow the first choice and take the spans and channels Out Of Service Gracefully first.

• In the Object Table under the Graceful Upgrade Manager pane, select a remote node. Right Click and select "Graceful Out of Service" as shown below. See Graceful Shutdown of IMG link above for more information.
  
  

   

• Allow the node to finish processing calls and go Out Of Service.

• Once Out Of Service, select the remote node from the Object Table as shown above and select "Reset Node". The node will now reset and load latest revision software loaded earlier and ClientView will re-configure remote node and start to process calls again.

• Continue upgrading remote nodes until all remote nodes have been upgraded.

Step 8 - Nodes outside of Logical Node Group Upgrade:

Once finished upgrading the software on all nodes within the Logical Node Group, you can now upgrade the nodes outside the Logical Node Group. These nodes will not be part of the Object table and would have to be upgraded using the "Clear Software" command. See IMG 1010 - Clearing Software from IMG for information on accomplishing this.
 

Additional Information:

• Within the IMG SS7 Network, multiple nodes can coexist in the same network running different loads of software except the SS7 Primary and SS7 Secondary nodes. The upgrade process must be complete on these two nodes so they are both running the same version software. The remote nodes can be upgraded at a later date if so chosen

• If the SS7 Primary and SS7 Secondary server nodes are running different software, they will not be synchronized and SS7 redundancy will not function. Always upgrade software on both nodes as explained in bullet above.

• When installing updated GCEMS file (IMG_10.5.2.xxx.bin) be sure to select NO when asked "A previous installation has been detected. Do you want to backup the configuration?"

• Before starting Upgrade, disable any N+1 clusters to prevent unnecessary switch-overs.