Upgrading a Cluster

  • Before upgrading, be sure to read the release notes for the new version. The release notes contain a list of known issues, important compatibility information, supported upgrade paths, and module-specific data backup recommendations.
  • Apply all the latest updates available for your operating system, especially those that resolve issues with Java.
  • Important: We recommend that you create a backup before upgrading so that you can recover your flows, security settings, and other settings, if an error occurs during the upgrade process.
  • Note: If you have customized settings in the wrapper.conf file located in <SpectrumDirectory>/server/bin/wrapper, we recommend that you copy this file to a separate location before you upgrade the Spectrum Technology Platform server. After you complete the upgrade, compare the contents of wrapper.conf installed during the upgrade with the contents of the saved copy of the file. You can then manually copy customizations that you want to retain after the upgrade into the updated version of the file. This is particularly important for changes to the initial and maximum Java heap sizes.

This procedure is for upgrading a cluster where the Spectrum Technology Platform server and configuration database are installed on each node of the cluster. To upgrade a cluster, you upgrade one node at a time. The first node you upgrade is handled slightly differently than the other nodes because you must point the node to itself as a seed node since no other nodes will be running in the cluster when it starts up.

Note that these scenarios have special procedures for upgrading a cluster:
For this scenario... Use this information...
...separate clusters for server nodes and configuration database nodes Upgrading a Cluster with a Separated Database.
…upgrading a cluster for the Spatial Module only Upgrading a Cluster with the Spatial Module
...upgrading both Spectrum and Spatial Module clusters Upgrading a Cluster with the Spatial Module
...upgrading a cluster running the Data Hub Module Before shutting down all nodes, see "Upgrading a Cluster with the Data Hub Module" in the Spectrum Installation Guide.
If the above scenarios do not apply to you, follow this procedure to upgrade your cluster:
  1. Back up the server. For instructions on creating a backup, see the Administration Guide.
  2. Stop all the nodes in the cluster. For more information, see Stopping a Cluster.
  3. On the last node that you stopped:
    1. Upgrade the node. For more information, see Upgrading a Server.
    2. Open the file spectrum-container.properties in a text editor and configure the cluster properties. For more information, see Cluster Properties.
  4. Upgrade each of the other nodes, one at a time. Follow this procedure only when upgrading nodes other than the first node.
    Note: Be sure to back up your server before proceeding. This step is only applicable when upgrading from Spectrum Technology Platform versions 11.1 or older.
    1. Add or ensure that you have set spectrum.cluster.nodeID – Set this to "1" on the first node, and this value will increase for subsequent nodes.
    2. Delete this folder, if present: SpectrumDirectory\server\repository\store\databases.
    3. Upgrade the node. For more information, see Upgrading a Server.
    4. Open the file spectrum-container.properties in a text editor and configure the cluster properties. For more information, see Cluster Properties. Save and close the file when you are done.
  5. Start all nodes consecutively, after upgrading. Make sure that you start node 2 within only a few seconds after starting node 1, and repeat this for each remaining node.

You may find it necessary to stop nodes manually, as in the case of applying software updates. When you stop all nodes of the cluster manually, or if all nodes are down, you must start as a new cluster/session.