Upgrading a Vocera Voice Server Cluster

Learn how to migrate your data and any custom configuration files with minimal downtime.

This topic describes how to upgrade from a Vocera cluster to a Vocera 5.2.0 cluster. For additional support, refer to the Vocera Cluster Upgrade Checklist.
  1. If Vocera Report Server is running, shut it down:
    1. On the Vocera Report Server computer, choose Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Services. The Services window appears.
    2. Stop the Tomcat service.
    3. Close the Services window.
  2. Make sure Vocera badges are configured with the correct comma-separated list of IP addresses in the Vocera Voice Server IP Address property. If necessary, use the Badge Properties Editor to update the badge.properties file on every cluster node. For details, see the Vocera Badge Configuration Guide.
  3. Shut down the standby Vocera Voice Server to make it inactive. If there are multiple standby Vocera Voice Servers, shut down ALL of them. This action does not affect the active Vocera Voice Server.
    In the Vocera Control Panel, choose Run > Exit, or hold down the Alt key and press X.
  4. Upgrade the Vocera Voice Server on the inactive node as follows:
    1. Uninstall the Vocera 4.x or Vocera 5.1.0 software on the inactive node.
    2. Install the 5.2.0 Vocera Voice Server software.
      Important: At the end of the installation program, do not reboot.
    3. If your Vocera installation had a modified Properties.txt file, merge the changes into the corresponding file on your new server. See Upgrading Properties Files.
    4. Reboot the server you are upgrading.
      Important: After the Vocera Voice Server starts, it initially comes up as an active node, and then within a minute it rejoins the cluster and performs a remote restore. DO NOT proceed to the next step until after the remote restore finishes. With a large database, a remote restore can take several minutes. After the remote restore finishes, the server comes online as a standby node.
  5. Shut down the Vocera Client Gateway and the Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway, as appropriate.

    To shut down Vocera Client Gateway:

      1. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. The Services dialog box appears.
      2. Right-click the VCG Launcher service, and select Stop.
    • To shut down Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway: Double-click the VSTG Service Stop shortcut icon on the Windows desktop.
    Note: If the active node is running Vocera version 4.x then learned names and learned commands may not be synchronized from the active Vocera server to the standby 5.2.0 server.
  6. In the Vocera Control Panel on the active node of the cluster, choose Run > Exit. In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

    Make sure the Vocera Voice Server node that has been updated to version 5.2.0 is now active.

    Note: When the updated server becomes the active node, there is a service interruption as badges connect to the server and are updated. The badge update completes in approximately 5 minutes.
  7. Upgrade the Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway and Vocera Client Gateway to version 5.2.0, as appropriate.
    Component Details
    Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway See Upgrading Vocera SIP Telephony Gateway.
    Vocera Client Gateway See Upgrading Vocera Client Gateway.
  8. Update other standby node(s) to version 5.2.0:
    1. Uninstall the Vocera software on the inactive node.
    2. Install the 5.2.0 Vocera Voice Server software.
      Important: At the end of the installation program, do not reboot.
    3. If your earlier Vocera installation had a modified Properties.txt file, merge the changes into the corresponding file on your new server.
    4. Reboot the server you are upgrading.
      Important: After the Vocera Voice Server starts, it initially comes up as an active node, and then within a minute it rejoins the cluster and performs a remote restore. With a large database, a remote restore can take several minutes. After the remote restore completes, the server comes online as a standby node.
  9. Upgrade Vocera Report Server as appropriate.
  10. Perform the post-installation tasks to completely migrate your data to Vocera 5.2.0: