Updating WebSphere Automation from 1.7.5 to 1.8.x

You can update to WebSphere Automation 1.8.x from version 1.7.5. Instructions are provided for both network-connected installations and installations in air gap environments.

Before you begin

If your WebSphere Automation installation is version 1.7.5, use the following instructions to update it to version 1.8.x.

If your WebSphere Automation installation is between versions 1.7.0 and 1.7.4, inclusive, you can update version 1.7.x to 1.7.5.

If your WebSphere Automation installation is version 1.6.4, you can update version 1.6.4 to 1.7.x.

If your WebSphere Automation installation is earlier than version 1.6.4, you must instead update it to version 1.6.4, then update version 1.6.4 to 1.7.x.

Updating a network-connected installation

To update a network-connected installation, follow these instructions.
  1. Update the data store.
    1. Download the update-datastore.sh script by using the following commands. If you have previously downloaded this script, download it again to make sure that you have the most recent instance. The script is occasionally updated.
      curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/ibm-websphere-automation/main/scripts/datastore/update-datastore.sh > update-datastore.sh
chmod +x update-datastore.sh
    2. Run the update-datastore.sh script.
      ./update-datastore.sh --instance-namespace WSA_INSTANCE_NAMESPACE

      Where WSA_INSTANCE_NAMESPACE is the namespace where the WebSphere Automation instance is located (for example, websphere-automation).

      The --instance-namespace flag is a required parameter.

  2. Ensure that you are using the latest compatible version of IBM Cloud Pak foundational services by updating IBM Cloud Pak foundational services to version 4.9.
  3. Update the update channel for the WebSphere Automation operator to v1.8. For more information, see Changing the update channel for an operator External link icon in the Red Hat® OpenShift® documentation.

    For patch updates, if the operator was configured with the Automatic update approval strategy, no action is needed. The WebSphere Automation operator automatically upgrades your installation.

    If the operator was configured with the Manual update strategy, follow the instructions for Manually approving a pending operator upgrade External link icon.

Updating an installation in an air gap environment

To update an installation of WebSphere Automation in an air gap environment, follow these instructions.
Note: Many of these steps link to steps in the airgap installation instructions. When you complete such a step in the airgap installation instructions, return to this page to find the next step in the updating process. Do not continue to the subsequent steps in the airgap installation instructions.
  1. Update the data store.
    1. Download the update-datastore.sh script by using the following commands. If you have previously downloaded this script, download it again to make sure that you have the most recent instance. The script is occasionally updated.
      curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/IBM/ibm-websphere-automation/main/scripts/datastore/update-datastore.sh > update-datastore.sh
chmod +x update-datastore.sh
    2. Run the update-datastore.sh script.
      ./update-datastore.sh --instance-namespace WSA_INSTANCE_NAMESPACE

      Where WSA_INSTANCE_NAMESPACE is the namespace where the WebSphere Automation instance is located (for example, websphere-automation).

      The --instance-namespace flag is a required parameter.

  2. Ensure that your cluster still meets all of the prerequisites for an air-gapped deployment.
  3. On your Red Hat OpenShift cluster, set the environment variables and download CASE files.
  4. Mirror the updated images to the offline registry.
  5. Configure ImageContentSourcePolicy and create a global pull secret.
  6. Update the catalog source.
  7. Update the update channel to v1.8. For more information, see Changing the update channel for an operator in the Red Hat OpenShift documentation.

    For patch updates, if the operator was configured with the Automatic update approval strategy (the default), no action is needed. The WebSphere Automation operator automatically upgrades your installation.

    If the operator was configured with the Manual update strategy, follow the instructions for Manually approving a pending operator upgrade External link icon.

  8. Update the prerequisites for WebSphere Automation 1.8.x.
  9. Validate the installation.

Updating custom roles

If you created custom roles with the can_view_websphere_inventory permission in a previous version, you must change them to use a different permission. Using the UI with such a custom role in a later version results in an error when the UI displays some of the pages.

For instructions on updating the custom roles, see The MyCustomRole role includes an invalid permission: can_view_websphere_inventory.

What to do next

Validate the installation and access the WebSphere Automation UI.

If your installation stalls during an update, you might need to update the WebSphereSecure custom resource (CR) to use a storage class that supports ReadWriteMany (RWX) access mode. For more information, see Installation stalls during an update.