Before upgrading or downgrading

When upgrading or downgrading, the following preparation ensures a smooth process, minimal transfer disruption so that your original configuration is backed up in case of any problems.

Upgrading

  • The installer automatically checks for an older version of the product on your system. If an older version is found, the installer automatically removes it before the installation of the new version.
  • Although the installer performs your upgrade automatically, complete the following tasks before upgrading. If you do not follow these steps, you risk installation errors or losing your former configuration settings.
  • You cannot upgrade directly between different Aspera transfer products (such as from HSTE or HSTS). To upgrade, you need to back up the configuration, uninstall the product, and perform a fresh installation of the new version of the product.

Downgrading

Older installers do not check for newer versions of the application. You must prepare your machine as described below then uninstall the newer version before continuing with your downgrade.

Note: Installers of versions 3.7.4 and older do not support systemd. When downgrading to one of these versions on an OS that uses systemd, you must manually start Aspera services because the installer cannot start them automatically. Run the following commands to start the services:
# systemctl start asperacentral
# systemctl start asperahttpd
# systemctl start asperarund
# systemctl start asperanoded

Newer versions of the Redis database are not compatible with older versions of the application. Your downgrade process depends on whether a backup of the older Redis DB is available, either as a separate backup file or as part of your backup of the var directory from the older version.

  • With a backup: Follow these steps to prepare your machine. Uninstall the application (for instructions, see Uninstalling). Copy the older Redis DB file into the var directory before installing the older (downgrade) version.

    /opt/aspera/var/

  • Without a backup: Follow these steps to prepare your machine. Uninstall the application (for instructions, see Uninstalling) and delete the var and etc directories from your machine. Then, do a fresh installation of the older version. The configuration files in the etc directory might be compatible with older versions, but not all configurations might be read.

    /opt/aspera/var/

    /opt/aspera/etc/

Preparing for an Upgrade or Downgrade

  1. Verify the current version.
    The steps that are required to prepare for an upgrade depend on your version. To view the current product and version, click Tools > License in the GUI or run the following command:
    # ascp -A
  2. Review product release notes.
    Review the release notes for the versions that were released since your current version. In particular, the Breaking Changes section highlights changes that might require you to adjust your workflow, configuration, or usage.
  3. Stop or allow to complete any FASP transfers that were initiated by the computer that you are upgrading.
    FASP transfers cannot proceed during your Aspera product upgrade.
    • Close the application GUI.
    • Stop (and resume after upgrade) or allow to complete any Ascp, Ascp 4, or Aspera Sync transfers in the command line.
  4. Back up configuration and settings files.
    These files are found in the etc and var folders.
    • /opt/aspera/etc/ (contains server configuration, web configuration, user settings, license information)
    • /opt/aspera/var/ (contains Pre- and Post-Processing scripts)
  5. Back up the Redis database.
    The Redis database is backed up as part of backing up the var directory, but back it up separately to keep an extra copy as well, particularly if it is stored on a different machine.
    # sudo /opt/aspera/bin/asnodeadmin -b /filepath/database.backup
  6. If you modified the daemon startup scripts for Aspera Central and asperanoded (for example, as part of an Aspera API integration), back up the modified files. These files are overwritten during an upgrade and you will need to copy your modifications into the new files after upgrading.