Easy, Automated Client and Server Upgrades with VxUpdate

Veritas NetBackup environments can range from a single server and a few agents, to a highly distributed infrastructure of servers and agents. NetBackup can be seen anywhere from the core data center, the edge, or cloud infrastructures. With all that flexibility and power, managing things like updates need to be easy, fast, and efficient.
To answer that need, Veritas has created NetBackup’s VxUpdate functionality. VxUpdate can fully automate upgrades, patches, and EEBs for client systems and servers. Not only that, but users can also arrange to do it on their terms. Everything from an on-demand upgrade of one or more hosts with a simple right-click, to a fully automated and scheduled environment upgrade process that can precheck, stage, and complete upgrades for even the largest environments. All of this uses the existing NetBackup communication protocols. There is no need to open additional ports or worry about any potential security impact.
Working from a single securely signed package per Operating System loaded onto a central repository, the updates can be securely delivered to targeted systems based on the user’s requirements. The update file contains everything needed to handle both server and client upgrades.

From a practical perspective, it really is that straightforward. Grab the update and register it with the repository. After that, it’s a matter of selecting the clients to upgrade.
When working with a larger environment, users can also get more specific about the behavior using Deployment Policies. Create Deployment Policies for clients or servers grouped by criteria such as region, application type, or simply just what time of day you want them to be updated. There are three schedule types, Precheck, Stage, and Install, which can all be scheduled based on your needs. The precheck can be used to ensure that upgrades are going to be successful before the heavy lifting starts and takes just a few seconds to run. Imagine that a precheck could run a while before the upgrade is planned, or as a lightweight check during the day.
The stage step delivers the signed packages to the server or client according to the components that are required on the host. This makes sure that everything that is needed for a successful upgrade is there and ready to go.
Finally, maybe later in the day or overnight, the install job can run. This will completely handle every step of the actual upgrade. These can all be planned with schedule windows that can be managed to make sure that there isn’t any unexpected impact on the environment.
Deployment jobs show up in the Activity Monitor like all other jobs, so it’s easy to track what is running and their success rates.

Looking for a simpler approach for quickly deploying an update package? That’s easy to do. When an update is available. Selected hosts can be prechecked, staged, or upgraded on-demand with a simple right-click, and an update job will start immediately.
With the addition of VxUpdate in NetBackup, upgrades at scale are anything but complex. With a practical way to launch, prep, and schedule updates from a central location, the server and client upgrades become an easy-to-manage, low-impact experience that ensures that updates can be delivered in a timely manner.
For a more hands-on perspective, check out this video on how to use VxUpdate for NetBackup Server and Client upgrades.