In-place component update for Cloud services via Kubernetes

Overview

This guide provides instructions for running an in-place update to a new release of CAST Imaging i.e. using the Helm Chart scripts provided in com.castsoftware.castimaging-v3.kubernetessetup  for Cloud services via Kubernetes:

• on one single machine
• or via a distributed deployment (multiple machines)

This process will update the following installed components and retain all existing data (applications, results, etc.):

• imaging-services
• imaging-viewer
• analysis-node
• dashboards

In addition, the guide covers the update of your existing applications to a new Core release (the analysis engine installed on each of your analysis-node instances).

Supported update paths

Requirements

• Local administrator privileges (user in the sudoers list / ability to Run as administrator)
• All existing containers should be left running during the update (the update script will stop and restart them automatically)
• Sufficient local disk space for the new images
• A previous CAST Imaging installation should exist on the target machines
• In a distributed deployment scenario all components MUST be updated to the same new release (i.e. you cannot update just the analysis-node component or just the imaging-services component)

Update process

Step 1 - Clone target release branch

Clone the target release Git repository branch (i.e. matching the release of CAST Imaging you want to update to) of com.castsoftware.castimaging-v3.kubernetessetup . For example to clone the 3.3.0-funcrel release branch use:

git clone -b 3.3.0 https://github.com/CAST-Extend/com.castsoftware.castimaging-v3.kubernetessetup

Step 2 - Update *.yaml files

Update any *.yaml files in the newly cloned branch with the exact same values as used in the currently deployed release of CAST Imaging, e.g.:

• values.yaml
• templates/console-authenticationservice-configmap.yaml

Step 3 - Run the update

Run the Helm update script:

helm upgrade castimaging-v3 --namespace castimaging-v3

Step 4 - Verify update success

• Verify services in the CAST Imaging admin panel:
  • Navigate to the Services settings page
  • Confirm all services show green status indicators:

Step 5 - Check Core release

CAST regularly publishes new releases to CAST Imaging Core - the analysis engine used by your analysis-node(s). These releases provide new features and updates which improve the value of the platform.

In a Linux via Docker/Kubernetes installation (), CAST Imaging Core is provided as a Docker image as part of the analysis-node service, therefore it cannot be downloaded and installed manually (as is the case for a Microsoft Windows installation). Instead, when you update to new release of CAST Imaging, you may also receive an updated release of the CAST Imaging Core image for your analysis-node component(s). The following table lists CAST Imaging releases and the release of CAST Imaging Core they include:

You should therefore always check the release of CAST Imaging Core installed in your analysis-node components after performing an in-place update to a new release of CAST Imaging. To do so, login to CAST Imaging with a user that has the default Admin profile or a custom profile with the Administrator role (see User Permissions) - then use the CAST Imaging Services settings UI. In the image below, the analysis-node is using CAST Imaging Core 8.4.3:

Then check the Applications settings UI. In the image below, we can see that the application “JEE” was most recently analyzed with Core 8.4.2 - this means that this application needs updating (see the next step below) before it can be re-analyzed. The other application has already been updated (or was created after the update):

Step 6 - Update application to new Core release

Following an update to CAST Imaging Core on your analysis-node(s) (see previous step) the next step is to perform an application update to ensure the new release of CAST Imaging Core will be used. This update process is performed in the CAST Imaging UI, using the Applications panel - see also Update.

All actions listed below are performed in the UI of your CAST Imaging instance:

• Login to CAST Imaging with a user that has the default Admin profile or a custom profile with the Administrator role - see User Permissions.
• Determine the Assessment Model upgrade strategy - in the majority of scenarios leave the setting at the default Preserve Assessment Model but enable new rules.
• Browse to the Applications panel - the Core upgrade available column will indicate all applications that need to be updated (those whose results were originally imported into CAST Imaging from CSV will not be eligible). Perform the application update by selecting an application then clicking the icon highlighted below:

• When the update is complete, check the Core version column to ensure that it is showing the new release:

• Finally, run a new analysis on the freshly upgraded application - this will also generate and make available new results (structural flaws and views):

What actions does CAST Imaging perform during an application update?

• An automatic backup of the Application’s Management, Analysis and Dashboard database schemas and its Delivery folder is performed automatically - see Backups for details.
• An update of the application schemas and the Delivery folder to the new CAST Imaging Core release.

What happens if the update fails?

If the update fails for any reason, an automatic roll back of the application update (schemas and delivery folder) will be performed using the backup taken automatically at the start of the update process.

What about extensions?

As a general rule, any extensions installed during the most recent analysis will NOT be automatically updated, even if a more recent version of an extension is available on CAST Extend  or in Extend Local Server.

Done…

That’s it you’re done and your installation and applications are now up-to-date.