Downgrade from 2.2 to 2.1.5
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Is it possibile to downgrade from 2.2 to 2.1.5?
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Reinstall the server and restore the backup file.
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If you made a full backup in the UI when you did the upgrade then rolling back is simple, just make sure you have the restore set to use the old config.xml as those typically can't be rolled back across versions. I did this to the backup box in a CARP pair the other day because I didn't see the warning in the middle of the page about CARP systems not working properly with limiters.
Note to the devs: If you're going to release code that you know doesn't work for some people, intentionally or otherwise, put those warnings at the TOP of the blog post or find a way to bake a compatibility check into the upgrade process. Also, in the case of the FTP ALG being removed, it would have been nice if that warning was actually included in the release notes. Yes, we all know that FTP shouldn't be used any more, but for 95% of us that actually use pfSense in a business environment there really isn't a choice. It is still the primary method of exchanging large user files & performing daily data loads between different companies.
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If you made a full backup in the UI when you did the upgrade then rolling back is simple, just make sure you have the restore set to use the old config.xml as those typically can't be rolled back across versions. I did this to the backup box in a CARP pair the other day because I didn't see the warning in the middle of the page about CARP systems not working properly with limiters.
Note to the devs: If you're going to release code that you know doesn't work for some people, intentionally or otherwise, put those warnings at the TOP of the blog post or find a way to bake a compatibility check into the upgrade process. Also, in the case of the FTP ALG being removed, it would have been nice if that warning was actually included in the release notes. Yes, we all know that FTP shouldn't be used any more, but for 95% of us that actually use pfSense in a business environment there really isn't a choice. It is still the primary method of exchanging large user files & performing daily data loads between different companies.
Let me understand better. I have the full backup made in Diagnostics->Backup/Restore. I only need to restore the backup???
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YesNo, I mean System > Firmware > Restore Full Backup (there is a an option to generate a backup when you upgrade). Make sure you tell it to use the old config.xml, not the one for the current running system. -
You can restore the last backup that you did on a 2.1.5 system to a new 2.1.5 system without a problem.
You can restore a backup from a 2.2 system to a new 2.1.5 system but the restore process will display warnings saying that you should expect problems and restore the default factory config instead.
It is possible to do a diff between your last 2.1.5 backup and your last 2.2 backup and manually edit the differences file to create a patch. The patch file can be applied to a copy of the last 2.1.5 backup to create a hybrid restore file. I did this and it works really well, a lot quicker than configuring the whole thing by hand again.
I don't know what happened between 2.2RC and 2.2 Release for the i386 build, but my test box that is now the only machine I have on 2.2 Release has started having problems mostly with Squid3 and the WebConfigurator since release day. I am having to frequently restart PHP-FPM just to view the Dashboard.
I have just downloaded the 2.2 Live-CD so that I can start from scratch with the test box with a hand made config to see if my problems have been caused by upgrades from 2.1 through 2.1.5 .
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You can restore the last backup that you did on a 2.1.5 system to a new 2.1.5 system without a problem.
You can restore a backup from a 2.2 system to a new 2.1.5 system but the restore process will display warnings saying that you should expect problems and restore the default factory config instead.
It is possible to do a diff between your last 2.1.5 backup and your last 2.2 backup and manually edit the differences file to create a patch. The patch file can be applied to a copy of the last 2.1.5 backup to create a hybrid restore file. I did this and it works really well, a lot quicker than configuring the whole thing by hand again.
I don't know what happened between 2.2RC and 2.2 Release for the i386 build, but my test box that is now the only machine I have on 2.2 Release has started having problems mostly with Squid3 and the WebConfigurator since release day. I am having to frequently restart PHP-FPM just to view the Dashboard.
I have just downloaded the 2.2 Live-CD so that I can start from scratch with the test box with a hand made config to see if my problems have been caused by upgrades from 2.1 through 2.1.5 .
I've chosen the first thing. I've restored old 2.1.5 backup on a new machine with a clean install of 2.1.5. More simple!
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You can restore the last backup that you did on a 2.1.5 system to a new 2.1.5 system without a problem.
You can restore a backup from a 2.2 system to a new 2.1.5 system but the restore process will display warnings saying that you should expect problems and restore the default factory config instead.
It is possible to do a diff between your last 2.1.5 backup and your last 2.2 backup and manually edit the differences file to create a patch. The patch file can be applied to a copy of the last 2.1.5 backup to create a hybrid restore file. I did this and it works really well, a lot quicker than configuring the whole thing by hand again.
I don't know what happened between 2.2RC and 2.2 Release for the i386 build, but my test box that is now the only machine I have on 2.2 Release has started having problems mostly with Squid3 and the WebConfigurator since release day. I am having to frequently restart PHP-FPM just to view the Dashboard.
I have just downloaded the 2.2 Live-CD so that I can start from scratch with the test box with a hand made config to see if my problems have been caused by upgrades from 2.1 through 2.1.5 .
I've chosen the first thing. I've restored old 2.1.5 backup on a new machine with a clean install of 2.1.5. More simple!
Wait… so the fact that 2.2 is now running a distinct OS build has nothing to do with the version of pfSense running? I mean, I understand from the release notes that the OS version ALSO upgraded from FreeBSD 8.3 to 10.1, but should I be running a 2.1.5 version of my pfSense configs on FreeBSD 10.1?
Would it not make the most sense to re-install pfSense 2.1.5, (which installs on FreeBSD 8.3 rather than 10.1), and then restore your 2.1.5-specific configs? As per your first option, which you say works fine, the only real way to revert from 2.2 back to 2.1.5. is this method.
In case this helps - this is the link I found to download 2.1.5 - https://files.pfsense.org/mirror/downloads/
admin edit: replaced non-official URL with official one
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Configs cannot go backwards. A 2.2 config can't be used on 2.1.x, a 2.1.5 config can't be used on 2.1.4 or earlier, etc. Restoring to a newer version is always fine, a 1.2 or 2.0 or 2.1 config can be restored directly to 2.2 no problem.
Wait… so the fact that 2.2 is now running a distinct OS build has nothing to do with the version of pfSense running? I mean, I understand from the release notes that the OS version ALSO upgraded from FreeBSD 8.3 to 10.1, but should I be running a 2.1.5 version of my pfSense configs on FreeBSD 10.1?
I'm not sure what you're getting at there. Ignore what FreeBSD version is the base, as far as you're concerned from a user perspective, the base FreeBSD version is irrelevant. If you're running 2.2, it's on 10.1. If you're running 2.1.x, it's on 8.3. The OS is a part of the package as a whole, you can't pick and choose which you want.
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Let me understand better. I have the full backup made in Diagnostics->Backup/Restore. I only need to restore the backup???
Nope. That's a config file backup not a full backup which I believe is causing some confusion here. If you checked the box to make a full backup when you ran a firmware update it should appear in System > Firmware. See:
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Full_BackupSteve
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Let me understand better. I have the full backup made in Diagnostics->Backup/Restore. I only need to restore the backup???
Nope. That's a config file backup not a full backup which I believe is causing some confusion here. If you checked the box to make a full backup when you ran a firmware update it should appear in System > Firmware. See:
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Full_BackupSteve
Bingo. Well, for me at least.
Might it make help to have "all" backup/restore options available in the same page of the GUI?
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Wait… so the fact that 2.2 is now running a distinct OS build has nothing to do with the version of pfSense running? I mean, I understand from the release notes that the OS version ALSO upgraded from FreeBSD 8.3 to 10.1, but should I be running a 2.1.5 version of my pfSense configs on FreeBSD 10.1?
I'm not sure what you're getting at there. Ignore what FreeBSD version is the base, as far as you're concerned from a user perspective, the base FreeBSD version is irrelevant. If you're running 2.2, it's on 10.1. If you're running 2.1.x, it's on 8.3. The OS is a part of the package as a whole, you can't pick and choose which you want.
Looks like I was confused about the about how the application backups map to the firmware backups (since they don't). Since the installs are more of an 'appliance' approach in nature, where the app version is very closely tied to the OS, I now see how it works. I think.
Thanks!
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Moving stuff around in the menus (even when it makes sense) will generate comments! However a link on the Diagnostics > Backup/Restore page so it's obvious there's more than one place to look seems like a good idea.
Steve
