How do you upgrade (really!) ?

[John M. Długosz]

I'm trying to apply the update to the current version from 9.2.1.8. I read the note about wanting larger USB sticks for the boot device, or a pair of them (?), but looking for more details I just saw

If you are not currently on 9.3, then simply grab the GUI or ISO update image and update in the usual way; this is the last time you will need to do so!​

So... I guess the new feature set offers a way to add another or larger USB flash drive before the number of boot configurations gets large, is that what you're implying?

But...

Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + : +:::::::::[[[fff
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + . /etc/rc.subr
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + [ -z : ]
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + : /etc/directoryservice/NT4/ctl
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + [ ! -d /.zfs ]
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + /sbin/glabel status
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + sed -e 's,s1a$,,g'
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + diskinfo /dev/da2
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + [ 2021654016 -lt 3699999744 ]
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + [ -x /usr/bin/logger ]
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: bin/install_worker2.sh: WARNING: Root device too small!
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort root: + exit 1
Apr 7 12:02:14 Oort manage.py: [middleware.exceptions:38] [MiddlewareError: The update failed: Command '['bin/install_worker.sh', 'install']' returned non-zero exit status 1]​

It doesn't work.

Where's the real instructions? It's not like I can install fresh on a new USB stick and then copy the config database over, since no machine other than the FreeNAS is capable of mounting the partitions in this new scheme of things.

 

[danb35]

It's not like I can install fresh on a new USB stick and then copy the config database over, since no machine other than the FreeNAS is capable of mounting the partitions in this new scheme of things.

Sure you can. Download your config from your current installation, install 9.3 to a new USB stick, boot from that, and upload your config. Done. Where's the problem you're seeing?

 

[dlavigne]

Detailed instructions are at http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_install.html#upgrading.

 

[John M. Długosz]

Download your config from your current installation, install 9.3 to a new USB stick, boot from that, and upload your config. Done. Where's the problem you're seeing?

Well, that would seem dodgy: run it before it knows the configuration? It won't eat my existing disks? It will understand the network settings well enough?

What's apparent to you is only so because you are familiar with the program. I'm not about to "just try it first to see what happens" with my precious NAS data!

 

[dlavigne]

The config is separate from the OS which is separate from the data stored on disks. This is on purpose, so that an upgrade or a lost config does not destroy stored data.

 

[anodos]

Well, that would seem dodgy: run it before it knows the configuration? It won't eat my existing disks? It will understand the network settings well enough?

What's apparent to you is only so because you are familiar with the program. I'm not about to "just try it first to see what happens" with my precious NAS data!

I've done this procedure about a half dozen times. No problems.

 

[danb35]

No, it won't eat your existing disks. It will understand network settings "well enough" in that it will detect available network interfaces and try to configure them using DHCP. If you'd previously configured a static IP address for your server on the server itself (rather than via a DHCP reservation), the fresh installation won't know that until you upload the config file--you may need to look at the console screen (which you can do via IPMI, of course) to confirm the IP address it's using. Once you upload the config file, your settings will be restored, including any network settings.

 

[John M. Długosz]

Detailed instructions are at http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_install.html#upgrading.

Thank you very much!

The moderators might consider updating the sticky post with corrected information: Just updating the GUI-image in the usual way will not work since even on an oversized USB stick the previous installs used the standard size partitions it was build for.

 

[cyberjock]

Umm, that IS how it works. So the question is "what are you using for the boot device". Various answer's I'm expecting are:

Something that is 4GB or smaller.
Some brand I've never heard of.
Something like a microsd card with adapter.
A device that is failing.
Some combination of the above.

It doesn't care about the old partition tables, at all. It works around them.

 

[danb35]

The silence is deafening...