Firmware updates

In this section, you will learn how to check which version of the firmware you currently have and how to download and install a newer version.

Before you update Jump to heading #

Before continuing, perform these steps:

• If you run two HAProxy ALOHA instances in active-standby mode, ensure that your current load balancer configuration has been pushed to the standby instance. Go to the Services tab and click the push button next to each service where it is shown.

• When updating to version 11.0 and beyond, first update the firmware to version 10.5. That version allows you to upload larger firmware packages, up to 25MB.

• When updating to version 14.5 and beyond, first update the firmware to the latest 13.5.x version (no lower than 13.5.16). That version raises the temporary partition to 64MB and prevents a filesystem size issue.

  Alternatively, raise the partition size to 64MB with the root mount command:

  nix
  root mount -o remount,size=64M /var

  nix
  root mount -o remount,size=64M /var

  Failure to increase the partition size before the update can result in errors like Request Entity Too Large or No space left on device.

Check your firmware version Jump to heading #

To obtain the current version of the firmware that you have installed:

1. In the web user interface, go to the Setup tab and find the firmware version number in the System information, where it is labeled Version.

Alternatively:

1. Log in to the HAProxy ALOHA command-line interface.

2. Read the file /usr/share/factory/version to see the version.

   nix
   cat /usr/share/factory/version

   nix
   cat /usr/share/factory/version

   output
   text
   Product: aloha
   Model: albva
   Branch: 13.0
   Version: 13.0.4
   Build: 1312
   Date: 2021-05-17 08:32:31
   URL: http://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/13.0

   output
   text
   Product: aloha
   Model: albva
   Branch: 13.0
   Version: 13.0.4
   Build: 1312
   Date: 2021-05-17 08:32:31
   URL: http://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/13.0

   The firmware version number is composed of three digits separated by dots, <major version>.<minor version>.<patch version>. Major and minor versions include new features and bug fixes, while patch versions include only bug fixes.

Install the new firmware Jump to heading #

Follow these steps to install the new firmware.

Download the latest firmware Jump to heading #

Follow these steps to download the latest version of the firmware.

1. Obtain your credentials for accessing HAProxy ALOHA downloads. You can create a new support ticket in the HAProxy Technologies Customer Portal to request your credentials.

   For virtual appliances, when updating to a new major version (for example 13.0, 14.0, 15.0), you will be given a new license key to install prior to the update. This will prevent the appliance from starting in evaluation mode. The new license will appear as invalid until you update the firmware. Licenses for hardware appliances are valid for all firmware versions.

2. Browse to the website https://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/16.0/. Enter your credentials to access the folder.

3. Go into the folder with the highest number and download the .bin file for your appliance model:

   Appliance type	File to download
   virtual appliance	file with albva prefix
   hardware appliance	file with alb<MODEL> prefix

You can update the HAProxy ALOHA firmware via user interface or the command line.

Install the firmware in the UI Jump to heading #

If you run two HAProxy ALOHA instances in active-standby mode, then updating one at a time is preferable to avoid downtime. Start with the standby instance, then once completed switch it into active mode so that you can update the current active instance.

To update the standby instance:

1. Export and save the existing configuration: go to the Setup tab, and in the Configuration section, click Export.

2. Begin the update: go to the Setup tab, and in the Firmware section, click Choose File to select the .bin file.

3. Click Update next to the .bin file name. The new version is added to the Next boot image list and selected. You could also roll back to a previous version.

4. Click Update next to the Next boot image list.

5. Click Reboot.

6. Promote the standby instance to be the active instance:

   • From the Services tab, click the Setup icon on the network service line.

   • Update the vrrp prio number to be greater than the current primary instance’s value. This will configure the VRRP group so that the system with the higher priority number will become the new primary instance, avoiding network disruptions during the firmware update process.

   • Click OK then Close.

     The standby becomes the new active instance and handles the traffic. We recommend monitoring HAProxy ALOHA until you are confident that it is functioning correctly.

     You can still swap the active and standby back by lowering the instance’s vrrp prio number to its original value. You can also revert by following the steps in the Roll back section below.

To update the other HAProxy ALOHA instance:

1. Go to the Setup tab, and in the Firmware section, click Choose File to upload the .bin file.

2. Click Update.

3. Click Reboot.

4. If you are running two HAProxy ALOHA instances, you can change the original standby instance to be on standby again:

   • On the standby instance, go to the Services tab, click the Setup icon on the network service line.

   • Lower the vrrp prio number to the value before the update.

   • Click OK then Close.

     At this stage, HAProxy ALOHA has been updated to the new firmware. During this update, the load balancer configuration may have been migrated to use newer keywords if older keywords were obsoleted.

     However, these configuration changes will not persist after a reboot. To make them persist, go to the Setup tab and click Save in the Configuration section. Do this when you are confident that you will not need to roll back the firmware.

Install the firmware in the CLI Jump to heading #

If you run two HAProxy ALOHA instances in active-standby mode, then updating one at a time is preferable to avoid downtime. Start with the standby instance, then once completed switch it into active mode so that you can update the current active instance.

The text editor available in Aloha via the CLI is vi.

1. Once you have downloaded the updated firmware as outlined above, copy it to /tmp using scp:

   nix
   scp firmware-file.bin admin@ALOHA_IP:/tmp

   nix
   scp firmware-file.bin admin@ALOHA_IP:/tmp

2. Type sudo su to complete the steps as root user:

   nix
   sudo su

   nix
   sudo su

3. In the file /etc/config.rc update the vrrp prio number to be greater than the current primary instance’s value. For example:

   config.rc
   text
   service network eth0
     ######### Interface eth0
     ip autoconfig
     ip address 192.168.0.200/255.255.255.0
     ip route default 192.168.0.1
     vrrp inst default prio 100

   config.rc
   text
   service network eth0
     ######### Interface eth0
     ip autoconfig
     ip address 192.168.0.200/255.255.255.0
     ip route default 192.168.0.1
     vrrp inst default prio 100

4. Apply changes:

   nix
   service network restart

   nix
   service network restart

5. Install the firmware using update-boot-image; replace firmware-file.bin with the name of the file:

   nix
   update-boot-image /tmp/firmware-file.bin

   nix
   update-boot-image /tmp/firmware-file.bin

6. Ensure the changes are saved:

   nix
   config save

   nix
   config save

7. The standby becomes the new active instance and handles the traffic. We recommend monitoring HAProxy ALOHA until you are confident that it is functioning correctly. You can still swap the active and standby back by lowering the instance’s vrrp prio number to its original value.

8. To update the other (now standby) instance, repeat the same steps.

9. Once done, you can change the original standby instance to be on standby again by editing the /etc/config.rc file and lowering the vrrp prio number to the value before the update.

Update additional modules Jump to heading #

If you previously installed any additional modules, then you should update them too to be compatible with version 16.0 of the firmware. Module updates may also contain new features and bug fixes.

Follow these links to find instructions for updating each of the modules:

• Data Plane API (Management package)
• Web Application Firewall (Security package)

Roll back an update Jump to heading #

A rollback will not revert the load balancer configuration if you have saved it on the Setup tab. In rare cases, it may be incompatible with the older firmware.

By default, HAProxy ALOHA stores two firmware images:

• The current running firmware.
• The firmware that was running before the last update.

Follow these steps to revert to the firmware that was running before the last update:

1. On the Setup tab, scroll down to the Firmware area.

2. Look for the Next boot image field. The box checked indicates the currently running firmware.

   

3. Check the other box pointing to the old image.

4. Click Update.

5. Click Reboot.