Release of the QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 ISO (7.3.1.20171206222136)

Content

What's new

For information on what's new in QRadar products for version 7.3.1, see the following information: https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SS42VS_7.3.1/com.ibm.qradar.doc/c_qradar_ov_whats_new_731.html

About this upgrade

These instructions are intended to assist administrators with updating appliances from QRadar 7.2.8 to QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 using an ISO file. This ISO can update QRadar, QRadar Risk Manager, QRadar Vulnerability Manager products from 7.2.8 to version 7.3.1. These instructions inform administrators how to update their deployment to the latest version.

QRadar 7.3.1 uses an ISO file to update hosts to the latest software version. A minimum of QRadar 7.2.8 Patch 1 (or later) is required to be able to upgrade to QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1. Each host must be updated individually.

Current Version	ISO Upgrades to QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1?
QRadar 7.2.8 Patch 3 or later	Yes, use these release notes to complete this process. NOTE: That QRadar Incident Forensics and QRadar Network Insights use the same ISO file to upgrade from 7.2.8 to 7.3.1.
QRadar 7.3.0 (any patch version)	See the QRadar 7.3.1 SFS release notes.

Figure 1: Administrators on QRadar Network Insights 7.2.8 versions are not required to install each ISO to update to the latest version.

Administrator notes

1. The QRadar Console must be updated before you update your QRadar Network Insights appliance.
2. If you have a software install, you need your Red Hat Enterprise ISO and the QRadar Network Insights ISO. Administrators with software installations on your own hardware MUST read the QRadar Network Insights Install Guide to understand how to partition their systems appropriately.
3. QRadar Network Insights administrators much be on QRadar 7.2.8 Patch 3 or later to upgrade.
4. The upgrade from QRadar 7.2.8 Patch 3 to QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 will use a .ISO file. In the past, support has stated that ISOs are for new appliance installs only, but QRadar 7.3.1 is an exception to this rule because of the Red Hat kernel update requirements.
5. The ISO must be mounted to the appliance and run locally on each host.
6. The 7.3.1 upgrade will take longer than expected due to the kernel changes to Red Hat 7 Enterprise. Early upgrade customers are reporting 2 to 2.5 hours to upgrade the Console appliance. Administrators should be aware of this longer time frame to plan their maintenance windows.
7. Utilities or custom scripts that power users might have created for their QRadar deployment should be copied off of the system. During the 7.3.1 update a warning is displayed that only data in /store is going to be preserved. After the appliance reboots, any scripts, 3rd party accounts, or utilities in /tmp, or /, or /root will be deleted. This does not impact ISO files mounted initially using /root as the this clean up only occurs later in the installation procedure.
   

Before you upgrade

Ensure that you take the following precautions:

• Back up your data before you begin any software upgrade and verify that you have recent configuration backups that match your existing Console version. If required, take an on demand configuration backup before you begin. For more information about backup and recovery, see the IBM QRadar Administration Guide.
• All appliances in the deployment must be at the same software & patch level in the deployment.
• Verify that all changes are deployed on your appliances. The update cannot install on appliances that have changes that are not deployed.
• A QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 ISO is available for administrators to want to upgrade from QRadar 7.2.8 Patch 3 or install a new appliance or virtual machine. Administrators who want to complete a new install need to review the QRadar Network Insights Installation Guide.
• If you are unsure of the IP addresses or hostnames for the appliances in the deployment, run the utility /opt/qradar/support/deployment_info.sh to get a .CSV file with information about the QRadar deployment. The CSV file will contain a list of IP addresses for each managed host.
• If you are unsure of how to proceed when reading these instructions or the documentation, it is best to ask before starting your upgrade. To ask a question in our forums, see: http://ibm.biz/qradarforums.

Part 1. Staging files and pretesting your deployment (required)

It is important that administrators pretest their deployment to ensure that they will not experience unexpected issues when updating to QRadar 7.3.1. A pretest is a common precaution that should be taken by all administrators before they install an update to locate potential issues. The pretest does not restart services and can be completed without scheduled downtime. The pretest typically takes between 3 to 5 minutes to complete on each appliance. If for some reason your SSH session is disconnected, you can reconnect to the remote host using screen.

Procedure
The pretest should be completed on all hosts by the administrator before you attempt to upgrade to QRadar 7.3.1.

1. Download the QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 ISO (5+ GB) from the IBM Fix Central website: http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/swg/quickorder?parent=IBM%20Security&product=ibm/Other+software/IBM+QRadar+Network+Insights&release=7.3.0&platform=Linux&function=fixId&fixids=7.3.1-QRADAR-QIFFULL-2017_20171206222136&includeSupersedes=0&source=fc
   
   NOTE: QRadar Incident Forensics and QRadar Network Insights use the same ISO for both products to upgrade from 7.2.8 to 7.3.1.
   

2. Using SSH, log in to your Console as the root user.
3. Type the following command: screen
4. To make the directory for the update, type: mkdir -p /media/cdrom
5. To verify you have enough space (5.5GB), type: df -h /root /var/log | tee diskchecks.txt
   
• Best directory option: /root
  It is available on all appliance types, is the best option to host the ISO file.
• 2nd best directory option: /var/log
  This directory is available on all appliances, but there might not be the required space available.
• DO NOT USE: /tmp, /store/tmp, or /store/transient for your ISO upgrade. These directories are partitioned as part of the upgrade and administrators cannot use them as storage locations or mount points for the ISO file.
  
  If the disk check command fails, retype the quotation marks from your terminal, then re-run the command. This command returns the details to both the command window and to a file on the Console named diskchecks.txt. Review this file to ensure that all appliances have at minimum 5.5 GB of space available in a directory to copy the ISO before attempting to move the file to a managed host. If required, free up disk space on any host that fails to have less that 4GB available.
  
  Reminder: Utilities or custom scripts that administrators have created for QRadar should be copied off of the system. During the 7.3.1 update a warning is displayed that only data in /store will be preserved. Therefore, scripts, 3rd party utilities in /tmp, or /, or /root will be deleted during the upgrade.
  

6. If there is not 5.5GB of space in /root or /var/log, the administrator must make directory space for the ISO file.
7. Using WinSCP or SCP, copy the ISO to the /root or /var/log directory on the QRadar Network Insights appliance with 5.5GB of disk space for the ISO file.
8. To mount the ISO on all appliances, type mount -o loop /root/Rhe764forensics7_3_1_20171206222136.stable-7-3-1.iso /media/cdrom
9. To pretest the Console appliance, type: /media/cdrom/setup -t
   The pretest output will be written to the command window. Review this output after the pretest completes.
10. Using SSH, open an SSH session to the other appliances in your deployment. QRadar Support recommends that all administrators run the pretest on each host to identify issues before the update begins.
11. To pretest the managed host, type: /media/cdrom/setup -t
    
    Results
    If an appliance in your deployment fails the pretest, the administrators can take the recommended action from the pretest utility. The issue must be resolved before the update to 7.3.1 begins to prevent downtime for specific appliances. If there are messages you do not understand or want to discuss further, you can use our forums http://ibm.biz/qradarforums to get advice. Alternately, administrators can open a ticket directly with QRadar Support (http://ibm.biz/qradarsupport).

Part 2. Installing the QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 ISO

These instructions guide administrators through the process of upgrading an existing QRadar Network Insights install at 7.2.8 Patch 1 or later to QRadar software version 7.3.1. The update on the Console must be completed first, before you attempt to update QRadar Network Insights.

Procedure

1. Using SSH, log in to the Console as the root user.
2. Using SSH, log in to the QRadar Network Insights appliance.
3. To run the ISO installer on the Console, type the following command: /media/cdrom/setup
   
   Important: Upgrading from QRadar Network Insights 7.2.8 Patch 1 or later to QRadar Network Insights 7.3.1 can take approximately 1 to 2 hours.
   

4. Wait for the update to complete.

Results
A summary of the ISO installation advises you of any issues. If there are no issues, administrators can now SSH to managed hosts and start the installer on each host to run the setup in parallel.

Part 3. Installation wrap-up

1. After all hosts are updated, administrators can send an email to their team to inform them that they will need to clear their browser cache before logging in to the QRadar SIEM interface.
2. To unmount the /media/cdrom directory on all hosts, type: umount /media/cdrom"
3. Administrators can delete the ISO from all appliances.
4. Review any static routes or customized routing. As mentioned in the administrator notes, all routes were removed and will need to be reconfigured after the upgrade completes.
5. Any iptable rules configured should be reviewed as the interface names have changed in QRadar 7.3.1 due to the Red Hat Enterprise 7 operating system updates. Any iptables rules that use Red Hat 6 interface naming conventions will need to be updated.

Resolved issues

Some APAR links in the table below might take 24 hours to display properly after a software release is posted to IBM Fix Central.