Upgrade my Virtual Firewall on version 2.1.2-RELEASE
-
Hi Everyone!
I have old pfsense firewall which i havent upgraded! :-( (i know naughty me!) The reason i havent touched it, is because as you know! Pfsense is floorless! its a brilliant product and it just works! No down time etc. Just pure amazing!
So… i am looking to upgrade! Not sure of the best approach!
The firewall is on i386 (i could use x64) not sure why i didnt at the time! the gui is recommending me to upgrade to 2.3.5-RELEASE
So two questions!
-
If i just upgrade.. Will it break anything! Im not using any plugins or anything fancy, just whats out the box!
-
Should i use this opportunity to move to x64 and jump onto version 2.4.2. I could export the config file, and do a restore! But again will that work?
Really not sure what to do! Have i left this upgrade too long now!
I know you guys dont want to hear this! but on some of customers i have used EdgeMax UBNT! at the time of version 2.1.2 in those days, there was no such thing as netgate and hardware etc, but i have been using UBNT for customers that needed some hardware and its been used every since! Again just works! (not as good functionality as pfsense, but works!)
I am a strict lover of pfsense, but where it makes sense! UBNT is pretty cool as well! in terms of performance etc! Thin OS, based on Vyetta! some commands any guru would recognize!
So im on the fence with what i should do!
Any advice! anyone? It would be appreciated!
-
-
"2.1.2".
Don't worry, you are good for a "scary 15 minutes".
Take a backup of your settings - take note of the fact that statistics won't make it, even when you exported them**.
Switch your VM to "64 bits".
Install a nice, clean 2.4.2. You just left the "32 bit" age, you're entering "64 bits". This one will be there for a moment, no one is talking about "128 bits" yet.
Activate LAN - set up WAN.
Import your settings.
Check if most if not all functionality is back.
Done (and try to check for an upgrade a little bit more often ;) )
** this might not be true, didn't check.
Btw : if this took more then 15 minutes then you should typing and clicking faster, or thinking about upgrading hardware.
-
Hi thank you for your quick response!
Has this been tested at all?
I mean can i just export the settings on 2.1.2 or should i upgrade the 32 bit version to the latest? And then do an export to 64 bit on a fresh image?
-
…
Has this been tested at all?I'm pretty sure that no-one from pfSense keep a very old version running some where in a locker to see if it upgrades fine to the latest and greatest.
One of the major advantages of pfSense is : all the config is in one exportable file.
If there were problems with importing ancient config files, that would have been know.Btw : I still advise you to read the release infos that came out with every version (I only remember the latest one).
You decided to back of, the road to the finish is still the same, it just became longer.I mean can i just export the settings on 2.1.2 or should i upgrade the 32 bit version to the latest? And then do an export to 64 bit on a fresh image?
That's also a way to go.
-
The config upgrade code steps nicely through each upgrade step 1 at a time, and each step deals separately, in time order, with config format/data changes required for a particular new feature/fix. I reviewed it all "some time ago" for any bits that might go wrong, and it is all good as far is I could see. You can restore an old config from any old pfSense version (and even an old m0n0wall config) and the system will reboot and apply all the needed upgrade steps.
So choose whichever path you like -
- upgrade the existing 32-bit system to 2.3.5 then save the config, install a 64-bit system and restore the config; or
- save the existing "old" config, install a 64-bit system and restore that old config
either will work equally well.
