Introduction

In Hypervisor Version 1.XX the Virtual Machine Disk Format was based on Disk-Images in Qcow2 Format, these are easier to handle, but showed stability issues during runtime, which lead to Hypervisor crashes after a few days or week of productions. 

Thus we decided to change the Virtual Disk Format to Disk Volumes, which is not only stable in production, but also offers better performance. On the other hand the handling of those disks is a bit more complex (backups, market and so on), as the volumes need to be exported to file based disk images and imported back as well. 

Finally this means that the Updgrade from Version 1 to Version 2 requires to free up all the SSD VM Space in order to create a huge volume group, this means to destroy the VM storage partition. The upgrade path requires to:

1. Update to the last 1.03 Version
2. backup all existing VMs onto an external USB Backup Medium
3. Testing the backup
4. install the Version 2 Hypervisor via the recovery stick
5. reimport the VMs back to the Appliance

Upgrade Procedure

Requirements

You will need a USB stick with 8GB, formatted with fat32 in order to create the recovery stick.

You will also need a USB Medium with enough storage size which can be formatted, in order to temporary hold a backup of the VMs

NOTE: the VM and the Backup should not contain white-spaces! 

Upgrade the Hypervisor to Version 1.03

Version 1.03 introduces a new Backup Format which is compatible with the Hypervisor 2 Backup Format. Also it allows to start a VM directly from the Backup Medium, to find out if the VM Backup was successfull. 

The Update can be done via the GUI: Management → Update Hypervisor, here choose Version 1.03 or higher.

Backup all existing VMs onto an external USB Backup Medium

Make a Backup Space

Attach the external USB Medium and make it a Backup Space, this can be done via the GUI under Virtual Machines → Backup VMs. Click on "Scan for new Devices" and a device called "/dev/sdb" should be visible. If it is not a Backup Space click on "Format or Make Backup Space"  in order to Format the Drive and prepare it to hold the Backups. 

Backup the VMs

Now click on "/dev/sdb" and a new Page appears with the Tabs "RESTORE" and "BACKUP". Under "BACKUP", choose the VM you want to backup and then click the action: "backup"  for the VM. 

NOTE: this process can take very long, as the VMs disks can be quite large. Make sure to Backup the VMs sequentially! 

After the VM has been backed up it should appear in the "RESTORE" tab. 

Testing the Backup

Version 1.03 provides an elegant way to test if the Backups are working fine. The Backup can be started directly from the Backup Medium. In order to do that a link needs to be created from the storage space onto the Backup Space. 

rename original VM

Bit first of all the original VM needs to be renamed, as the Backups name is identical and would conflict with the VMs name. In the GUI under Virtual Machine → Manage VMs click on "Rename" and provide a different name to the VM that has been backed up. 

link backup

The Link can be created temporarly in the Backup "RESTORE" Tab. Go to Virtual Machines → Backup VMs, click on /dev/sdb and now click on the "link" action of the Backup that you want to test. 

After doing so go directly to the Dashboard or to "Virtual Machines" → Manage VMs. The Backup VM should be seen, now start the VM and make sure everything works as expected. 

If you delete the VM only the Link will be deleted, the backup will still be present. 

NOTE: As soon as you go back into the Backup & Restore GUI, the Link will be deactivated. You can always reactivate it by linking the Backup again. 

Install Hypervisor Version 2.XX via the recovery Stick

The upgrade Procedure via the recovery stick is described here: Factory Reset and Recovery - Appliance, BNTA20/BNTA21/BNTA22

please follow this instruction and Update to the latest 2.XX Version that you can download onto the Recovery stick. 

Reimporting VMs to the Appliance

After starting the Version 2.XX of the Hypervisor you can re-attach the backup Medium. Under Virtual Machines → Backup VMs, the previously generated backup should be present. Just click on "Restore" 

NOTE: the restore can take a long time as the Virtual Disks can be quite large.

After Restoring the VM should be able to start properly.