Software upgrades and image signing
The Software Upgrade page of the management console enables you to perform these software management activities:
• Enable and disable software image signing.
• View current and backup software versions.
• Switch from the currently running software version to the backup software version.
• Install a new software version.
• Schedule a software upgrade.
• View a history of previously installed software versions.
For most products, the Software Upgrade page is in the Administration section of the Management Console.
Managing software image signing certificates
Riverbed software images are now digitally signed, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of the image. Verifying an image is performed by comparing a public key, or image signing certificate, with the image signature. For details, including a copy of the public key and intermediate certificate, go to Knowledge Base article
S33657.
Image verification is enabled by default. We strongly recommend that it remain enabled at all times. Disable this feature only when absolutely necessary.
The feature requires a public key in a certificate to verify the digital signature of the software image. The certificate is automatically installed on the appliance, but you can import an updated version, if needed. During the verification process, the appliance compares the signature in the image with the Riverbed public certificate. If they match, the installation continues. If not, the system alerts you to a potential problem. As long as image signature verification is enabled, you cannot continue with an installation that cannot verify the image signature.
To enable software image verification or replace a certificate
1. Display the Software Upgrade page.
2. Under Image Signature Verification, select Image Signature Verification.
If you clear the Image Signing Verification check box, you disable this feature and a warning message appears indicating images will not be verified.
3. Expand the Image Signing Certificate section, and then ensure the appliance has a valid certificate.
You can use the certificate that is installed by default, or you can select the Import tab to replace an expired or revoked certificate. You can upload a PKCS #12, PEM, or DER format certificate or copy and paste a PEM certificate.
4. Click Import Image Signing Certificate to add the certificate to this appliance.
You can only use one certificate. The certificate information appears in the Details tab.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click Save to Disk to save your settings permanently.
Managing software upgrades
To find allowed upgrades between software versions and recommended upgrade paths, use the Software Upgrade tool for your product on the Riverbed Support site. The tool includes all of the recommended intermediate versions.
To upgrade the software on the AWS SteelHead-c, use the Riverbed Cloud Portal. For details, see the SteelHead (in the Cloud) User Guide.
The software images can be quite large; uploading the image to the appliance and installing it can take a few minutes. As the upgrade progresses, status messages appear.
After the installation is complete, the system reminds you to reboot the appliance to switch to the new version of the software. The appliance can take a few minutes to reboot. This behavior is normal because the software is configuring the recovery flash device.
Do not press Ctrl+C, unplug, or otherwise shut down the system during this first boot. There is no indication displayed during the system boot that the recovery flash device is being configured.
After the upgrade is complete, the Dashboard, Software Upgrade, and Help pages of the Management Console display the new software version.
You can use any of these methods to upload and install software upgrade packages.
From URL
Select this option and specify the URL. Use one of the following formats:
• http://host/path/to/file
• https://host/path/to/file
• ftp://user:password@host/path/to/file
• scp://user:password@host/path/to/file
From Riverbed Support Site
Select this option to download a delta image directly from the Riverbed Support site to the appliance. The downloaded image includes only the incremental changes. The smaller file size means a faster download and less load on the network.
Select the target release number from the drop-down list. The system uploads and installs the new image immediately after you click Install.
To upload and install the image later, schedule another date or time before you click Install.
From Local File
Select this option and specify the path to the image file, or click Browse to open a file browser.
To upgrade the software or schedule a software upgrade
1. Optionally, download the software image from the Riverbed Support site.
2. In the product’s management console, display the Software Upgrade page.
On most products, the upgrade page is under the Administration section.
3. Under Install Upgrade, select an upgrade method.
4. Optionally, schedule the upgrade for a later time.
5. Click Install.
Remember, you’ll need to reboot the product after the installation completes. To do that, select Administration > Maintenance: Reboot/Shutdown, and then click Reboot.
To switch to the backup version or to cancel a switch operation
1. Display the Software Upgrade page.
2. Under Software Upgrade, do one of these actions:
– Click Switch to Backup Version to switch to the backup version on the next reboot.
– Click Cancel to Cancels the software version switch on the next reboot.