Upgrade to SQL database

When upgrading from an older version of ControlSuite, the existing distributed database (DDB) needs to be migrated to an SQL database. During the upgrade process, DDB data is detected and imported to SQL. Security Framework Service (SFS) should be upgraded before any other ControlSuite components.

Most ControlSuite deployments have multiple nodes including several SFS nodes. SFS is a highly available solution, and each node can be upgraded without interruption and continues to function without any downtime. The upgrade process temporarily allows for a mixed environment of upgraded and non-upgraded SFS nodes.

Upgrades cannot be done in parallel. Each node should be fully upgraded before starting to upgrade another node.

During configuration after the upgrade, Configuration Assistant detects the installed DDB and switches to upgrade mode. The Authentication & Security page provides the option of which node will be the first to upgrade. Any SFS node can be the first, as there is no required order. When the first SFS node is upgraded, the SQL database is initialized. Upgrading subsequent SFS nodes is like adding a new node to an existing security framework. The SQL database connection will be received from the already upgraded node and the DDB data is imported, parsed, and exported on each SFS node and stored in SQL database. At this point, the data in DDB and SQL is in-sync. Any changes in DDB will be passed to SQL database, but no changes in SQL database will be passed to DDB.

During the upgrade process, the ControlSuite deployment may have some upgraded SFS nodes while others are still running with the old node configuration. Older clients can communicate with both old SFS and new SFS nodes until the upgrade is complete, while new clients can only communicate with the upgraded SFS nodes.