Directory servers are not backward-compatible. Perform this procedure if you are upgrading Security Center with multiple Directory servers to the latest version or release.
Before you begin
- Read the Security Center Release Notes for important information when upgrading to Security Center 5.12.
- You need a maintenance window to upgrade all the Directory servers. This period should be scheduled at a time when it’s acceptable to run the system with a minimum set of features.
- Back up the Directory database, all role databases, and configuration files.
- Make sure to note and apply the same settings in the InstallShield that you used for your previous installation: passwords, database, ports, general properties, and so on.
- The Config Tool and the Directory must be of the same version.
- If Config Tool and the Directory are on different machines, upgrade the Config Tool before you upgrade the Directory.
- Don’t change the Directory failover configuration before upgrading; that is, don’t remove the secondary Directory servers from the list of Directory servers.
What you should know
- During the upgrade, the Directory role is stopped. Therefore, Config Tool and most Security Desk features are not available. However, video that is displayed before the Directory service goes offline continues to be streamed in the Security Desk Monitoring task and saved to the Archiver. For example, video walls continue to display video streams. Access control continues to work as well, but operators are unable to use Security Desk to manually open doors, and so on.
- During the upgrade, each Directory server is upgraded separately. Therefore, the failover feature isn’t available.
- License upgrades are necessary only for major version upgrades (for example, from version 5.x to 5.12). It isn’t necessary to upgrade the license for minor version upgrades (for example, from 5.12.x.0 to 5.12.y.0).
Procedure
-
On each of the secondary Directory servers in the Directory server list, stop
the Genetec™ Watchdog service from
the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Service window.
The secondary Directory servers are indicated with the expansion server icon (
). Do not stop the main server (
).The Genetec™ Server service is stopped on the secondary Directory servers. All roles that run only on secondary Directory servers are offline. Usually each Directory server is responsible for an equal share of the role and client connections. After the secondary Directory servers are stopped, any roles or clients previously connected to one of the secondary Directory servers are forced to reconnect to the primary Directory server. The clients briefly show the "Connection is lost..." message during this process. The roles and their entities appear as offline until they are reconnected. -
Upgrade the primary Directory server as
the main server.
The primary Directory server, also known as the main server (), is the only server that is still active
before you start the upgrade process. While the main server is being upgraded,
no Directory service is available on the system. Only some features remain
functional.Security Center Installer automatically stops the Genetec Server service on the main server, and restarts it after the upgrade.
-
(Applies only to major version upgrades) Activate your Security Center 5.12 license by doing one of the following:
- If you have internet access, use web activation.
- If you don’t have internet access, use manual activation.
During the license activation, a message warning you that the failover functionality will be broken is displayed.Don’t worry. The failover functionality will be restored later. Click I have read and I understand the above statement and click Continue.
The Directory service is online. All expansion servers (except the secondary Directory servers) and client workstations that aren’t yet upgraded run in backward compatibility mode. Directory failover and load balancing aren’t yet available. -
From Config Tool, connect to the
main server. Check that all roles, servers, and units are running as
expected.
The secondary Directory servers are still stopped (in red
). Any roles that
run only on the secondary Directory servers are still offline.
After you finish
IMPORTANT: Adding backward-compatible
connections slows down the performance of the Directory. It is recommended only as a
temporary solution before you can upgrade all servers and workstations.