[OpenShift Container Platform][IBM Cloud Pak for Integration]

Upgrading to an IBM MQ Operator channel latest security release on Red Hat OpenShift

Upgrading the IBM® MQ Operator allows you to upgrade your queue managers.

Before you begin

Important: This task is for upgrading deployments of the IBM MQ Operator on Red Hat® OpenShift® to the latest Security Release on the deployment's Channel.

About this task

There are different procedures, depending on the catalog source used to deploy the IBM MQ Operator that is being upgraded.

Option 1: Specific catalog source for the IBM MQ Operator

A new IBM MQ Operator version becomes available in an OpenShift cluster only after you update the catalog source. This process effectively gives you manual control of upgrades, so you do not need to use the Manual option for the Update approval setting for operators. The Manual option forces all possible upgrades to be done at the same time and can block upgrades, so use the Automatic option only.

To use this option, skip to Upgrade with the specific catalog source for the IBM MQ Operator.

Option 2: IBM Operator Catalog

With this option, new operator versions become available and are applied without any intervention from you. So, use this option only for online installations where you want automatic upgrades of the IBM MQ Operator, and where deterministic installations are not needed. This option can be useful for proof-of-concept environments but it is not suitable for production environments.

To use this option, skip to Upgrade with the IBM Operator Catalog.

To move from using the IBM Operator Catalog to using the specific catalog source for the IBM MQ Operator, which give you greater control over upgrades, see Moving to the specific catalog source for the IBM MQ Operator.

Procedure

  • Upgrade with the specific catalog source for the IBM MQ Operator
    1. Mirror images (air-gap only).

      If your cluster is in a restricted (air-gapped) network environment, you must mirror the IBM MQ images.

      Important: From version 3.5.0 the IBM MQ CASE has changed, now containing only a single queue manager version. The image mirroring process runs considerably faster, but might need to be run multiple times; once for each version of the queue manager that is being installed.

      For more information, see IBM MQ CASE for air-gap install and upgrade.

      You must look up which IBM MQ CASE versions contain the operator and queue manager versions you require, and repeat the air-gap mirror process for each. See the IBM MQ CASE Lookup Tables for the version mappings.

      For example, when following the instructions linked below to mirror images, you install the latest operator and single corresponding queue manager version by using the following values:

      export OPERATOR_PACKAGE_NAME=ibm-mq
export OPERATOR_VERSION=3.9.0

      For information about the contents of the IBM MQ CASE, which is used for air-gap installs and upgrades, see IBM MQ CASE for air-gap install and upgrade.

      To create mirror images, see Mirroring images for an air-gapped cluster.

    2. Apply the latest Catalog source.

      Follow the instructions under "Add specific catalog sources for the IBM MQ Operator" in Adding the IBM MQ Operator catalog source.

    3. Upgrade the IBM MQ Operator.
      If the Update approval status for the IBM MQ Operator is set to Automatic, your operator upgrades. Otherwise, manually upgrade the IBM MQ Operator:
      1. From the navigation pane, click Operators > Installed Operators.

        All installed Operators in the specified project are displayed.

      2. Select the IBM MQ Operator
      3. Navigate to the Subscription tab
      4. Click Upgrade available
      5. Click Preview InstallPlan
      6. Click Approve to complete the upgrade
      The operator upgrades to the new version.
    4. Upgrade any IBM MQ queue managers.

      Follow the instructions in Upgrade IBM MQ queue managers.

  • Upgrade with the IBM Operator Catalog
    1. Upgrade the IBM MQ Operator to a newer version.
      If you have automatic upgrades set, then upon the release of a new Security Release your IBM MQ Operator completes an upgrade. Otherwise, manually approve your IBM MQ Operator upgrade:
      • If there is an upgrade available, the Upgrade Status might be "Upgrade available".
      • In this case, there might be an available control that you can use to approve the InstallPlan that upgrades the IBM MQ Operator.
    2. Upgrade any IBM MQ queue managers

      Follow the instructions in Upgrade IBM MQ queue managers.

  • Upgrade IBM MQ queue managers.

    You should upgrade any IBM MQ queue managers to a newer version after upgrading the IBM MQ Operator. The following table describes the latest version of the IBM MQ queue manager for each active Operator channel. Using the relevant version, follow the procedure in Upgrading an IBM MQ queue manager using Red Hat OpenShift.

    Operator channel Latest IBM MQ queue manager
    v3.2 (SC2) 9.4.0.17-r2
    v3.9 (CD) 9.4.5.0-r1