Managing DNS/DHCP Server Updates - Adaptive Applications - BlueCat Gateway - 22.1

BlueCat Server Update Services Administration Guide
Locale
English
Product name
BlueCat Gateway
Version
22.1

Once you have DNS/DHCP Servers within BlueCat Server Update Services (BSUS), you can apply updates, security patches, and hotfixes on managed DNS/DHCP Servers immediately, or schedule them to be applied on a future date and time. When applying updates, you can select multiple updates to be applied in a single event. However, it is important to specify the correct order of updates to prevent errors during the update process.

You can manage the update files within the Server Updates tab. You can only upload zipped files (.zip) that are released for DNS/DHCP Servers.

Before applying an update, BSUS:
  • Validates the integrity of the update file with the respective MD5 checksum.
  • Checks the DNS/DHCP Servers to make sure there is sufficient disk space to perform the update.
  • Verifies that no existing Server Batch update process is in progress.
  • Checks the selected Server Batches to make sure no scheduled update will overlap with the current update.
  • Verifies that the Server Batch's DNS/DHCP Servers are online and available for the update.

    If a Server is unreachable or unavailable, BSUS provides details and asks the user to confirm the selected action.

  • Verifies that the order in which patches are to be applied is correctly set.

    If the order is incorrect and a patch is dependent on another patch (that is, it requires another patch to be installed first), the dependent patch will not be applied.

  • Verifies that the patch is not yet installed on the DNS/DHCP Server.

    If the patch is already applied on a Server, BSUS skips that Server during the installation phase.

If these checks pass, the system applies the pre-upgrade customization script on the target server (if one is configured), then applies the update. After

Uploading DNS/DHCP Server update files



  1. Click the Server Updates tab within the BlueCat Server Update Services workflow.
  2. Click the Available Updates tab.
  3. Click . The Upload screen appears.
  4. In the Upload screen, enter the following information:
    • Patch MD5—enter the MD5 checksum value of the update file. You can retrieve this value by running an MD5 check on the file locally or by retrieving the MD5 check from the announcement article in the BlueCat Care Portal.
    • Type—select the type of update that you are uploading. The type can be Patch, Upgrade, BIND Hotfix, or Cumulative Security Patch.
      Important: You must set the correct update type for the item that you are applying. If you are applying an upgrade, such as DNS/DHCP Server v9.3.0, you must select the Upgrade update type to ensure the upgrade is successfully applied to the DNS/DHCP Servers. Selecting an incorrect update type can result in a validation failure, causign the update to fail.
    • Release Date—select the date that the update file was published. This helps you organize files and updates based on the update release date.
    • Click Browse to locate the update file that you are uploading.
  5. Click Upload to begin uploading the update file. During the upload process, the screen is grayed out and an activity icon appears on the screen.

    Attention: Do not close the window while the upload is in progress. A confirmation box appears when the update file is successfully uploaded.

    Once the upload has completed, the update appears in the Available Updates tab.

  6. Click the Enable toggle switch to make the update available for application to DNS/DHCP Servers.

Manually applying a DNS/DHCP Server update



  1. Click the Available Updates tab.
  2. Select the checkbox next to one or more update files.
  3. Click and select Apply. The Apply screen appears.
  4. Under Select Batch, select one or more Server Batches to apply the updates to.
  5. To apply each Server Batch's customization package (if any) to its servers, click to select the Apply checkbox.

    Customization packages are customized sets of bash scripts and support files that back up and restore server settings that might be lost during an upgrade. For more details, see Working with upgrade customization packages.

  6. When you're done, click Next.
  7. Under Selected Patches, drag the names of the update to change the order in which updates are applied.
  8. Under Order Batches, drag the names of the Server Batches to change the order in which updates are applied to each Server Batch.
  9. When you're done, click Apply.

BlueCat Server Update Services begins applying the updates to the selected Server Batches. You can monitor the update progress from the Scheduled Updates tab.

Schedule a DNS/DHCP Server update

You can schedule a downloaded update so that DNS/DHCP Server updates are applied at a specific date and time. After you configure a scheduled update, BlueCat Server Update Services immediately uploads the update files to the DNS/DHCP Servers in the selected Server Batches, then applies the updates at the scheduled date and time.

BlueCat Server Update Services periodically checks the DNS/DHCP Servers to ensure that the update files are still available on the DNS/DHCP Servers before the scheduled update. If BlueCat Server Update Services cannot find the files on the DNS/DHCP Servers, a message appears in the BlueCat Server Update Services UI indicating that the update files cannot be found on the DNS/DHCP Server. If the files cannot be found, you can re-stage the files by clicking and selecting Re-Stage. BlueCat Server Update Services then re-uploads the update files to the selected DNS/DHCP Servers to ensure that the files are available for the scheduled update.



  1. On the Server Updates page, click the Available Updates tab.
  2. Select the checkbox for one or more update files.
  3. Click the gear icon () and select Schedule. The Schedule screen appears.
  4. Under Select Batch, select the Server Batches to which you want to apply the patch.
  5. To apply each Server Batch's customization package (if any) to its servers, click to select the Apply checkbox.

    Customization packages are customized sets of bash scripts and support files that back up and restore server settings that might be lost during an upgrade. For more details, see Working with upgrade customization packages.

  6. When you're done, click Next.
  7. Under Selected Patches, drag the name of the update to change the order in which updates are applied.
  8. Under Order Batches, drag the name of the Server Batch to change the order in which the updates are applied to the Server Batches.
  9. Under Date Upgrade, select the date in which the update will be applied.
  10. Under Time Upgrade, select the time of day when the update will be applied.
  11. Click Schedule.

BlueCat Server Update Services creates the scheduled update. You can view a list of scheduled updates from the Scheduled Updates tab.

Deleting DNS/DHCP Server update files

Attention: Deleting a DNS/DHCP Server update file does not stop any updates that are currently in progress. Deleting the update file only prevents any future updates from being applied.
  1. Click the Available Updates tab.
  2. Select the checkbox next to one or more update files.
  3. Click and select Delete Selected.