How To: Upgrade N-able N-central

Last Modified

Wed Jul 12 15:20 GMT 2023

Description

  • This article describes how to upgrade your N-able N-central server.

Environment

  • N-able N-central,.

Solution

  • Prior to your upgrade, please visit the Software Downloads page for the version you are upgrading to, and make sure any bulletins are reviewed.
  • Prior to your upgrade, please visit the Release Notes. 
  • Read all release notes for the upgrade, as well if you are skipping versions that you review the N-able N-central version in-between the upgrade, and Known Issues.

Rollback Plan

Be sure to capture a backup of your N-able N-central server. The steps below are also in the Release Notes and in the online help.

To capture a backup of the server:

  1. Login as productadmin@n-able.com (Default Account, considered the System Account).
  2. Access Administration > System Backup and Restore > Download Backups in the left menu.
  3. There is an option in here to run the backup now, select this and allow to complete.
  4. Copy the backup to another location for recovery, if required.
  • Once any Agents or Probes upgrade in the field, if you decide to roll back to a previous version of N-able N-central you will need to manually remove the updated Agent/Probe on the device and install the previous version.
  • This is a very involved task and often is a barrier to being able to rollback versions.

Upgrade Plan

Step 1 – Upgrade Preparation

  • ACTION: Ensure that a copy of a N-able N-central backup is copied to a location off of your server (as noted above), including the digest file.
  • The digest (SHA1) of the backup file should match the value contained in the corresponding *.sha1 file.
  • This validates that the transfer was successful.
  • RECOMMENDATION: Ensure that all Agents and Probes are set to “Never” upgrade:
  1. Login as a SO Admin or Product Admin.
  2. Navigate to Administration > Defaults > Appliance Settings (renamed to 'Agent & Probes Settings' in 12.1)
  3. Select the Upgrade tab.
  4. Select the dropdown for both Agent and Probes to Never.
  5. Select the Propagate check box.
  6. Select Save at the bottom of the page when complete.
  • Additional tip: You may also want to disable notifications on the N-able N-central server to avoid any unnecessary notifications.
  • This can be done from the SYSTEM level, under the settings Administrations > Mail Network Setting > Outbound Communication, and set the slider to off.

Step 2 – Upgrade to the latest version of N-able N-central – (Time depends on planned version, and server performance.  15min - 1 hour is typical).

  • If performing a Multi-Step upgrade, it is a good idea to allow 5 hours for most servers to ensure database changes to complete.
  • Most Supported versions of N-able N-central can upgrade directly to the latest release.
  1. Access the Software Download Center and download the upgrade version.
  2. To verify your current version from N-able N-central: Help > Version Information.
  3. Download the backup to your local system.
  4. Access your N-able N-central Administration Console.
  5. a. https://<FQDN-or-IP_ADDRESS> :10000 or https://<FQDN-or-IP_ADDRESS>/admin.
  6. Use the product admin account to login.
  7. Access the Version Management link and follow the steps on the screen.
  8. Select Install upgrade remotely.
  9. Browse to the file you downloaded in step 1.
  10. Enter an email address that you want to be notified on when the upgrade is complete.
  • Notification will not be sent out if outbound communication is disabled as recommended in step 1.
  1. Click Install
  2. The file will upload to the server.  Once it is complete, you will see a page that asks if you want to begin the upgrade.  Click OK.
  • At this point the upgrade will begin and the UI will be inaccessible for the duration of the upgrade
  • Please be patient and do not reboot the server without speaking to someone in N-able Support first, if concerned about how long the upgrade is taking.
  • Please be advised the server may reboot during the upgrade process in order to upgrade the Linux kernel, if part of the upgrade.
  • The server may also reboot once the upgrade is complete, if required.
  • Once you receive the completion email, you can log back into N-able N-central.
  • If at any time you suspect there to be a problem, contact N-able Support for assistance and we can login to verify the status of the upgrade.
  • Please also note, you will need to clear your browser cache after the upgrade in order to avoid the incorrect display of status icons.
  • If you receive a notification about the upgrade failing please contact N-able Support and open an EMERGENCY case as soon as possible.
  • Please leave the server as is and do not reboot the server.
  • Many times the issue can be resolved by technical support, but a reboot can drastically reduce this possibility.

Step 3 – Upgrade Probes and Agents

  • There is a 1 hour delay on upgrading agents and probes after upgrade. 
  • This allows N-able N-central to process the changes, and update the agents modules to allow for continued monitoring.
  • On a customer by customer basis, go to Administration > Defaults > Appliance Settings > Upgrades. Set both options to Always and check off both of the Propagate boxes.
  • Click Save. ('Appliance Settings' renamed to 'Agent & Probes Settings' in 12.1)
  • For more Information on Upgrading Agents and Probes, see: Tips on Upgrading Agents and Probes
  • We recommend doing this site by site to prevent overloading the N-able N-central server with upgrade requests.