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ScyllaDB Docs ScyllaDB Open Source ScyllaDB for Administrators Upgrade ScyllaDB Upgrade ScyllaDB Open Source ScyllaDB 6.0 to 6.1 Upgrade Guide Upgrade ScyllaDB from 6.0 to 6.1

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Upgrade ScyllaDB from 6.0 to 6.1¶

This document describes a step-by-step procedure for upgrading from ScyllaDB 6.0 to ScyllaDB 6.1 and rollback to version 6.0 if necessary.

This guide covers upgrading ScyllaDB on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu. See OS Support by Platform and Version for information about supported versions.

It also applies when using ScyllaDB official image on EC2, GCP, or Azure.

Before You Upgrade ScyllaDB¶

Ensure Consistent Topology Changes Are Enabled

In ScyllaDB 6.1, the Raft-based consistent topology changes feature is mandatory.

  • If you enabled the feature after upgrading from 5.4 to 6.0 or created your cluster with version 6.0, no action is required before upgrading to 6.1.

  • If you did not enable the feature after upgrading from 5.4 to 6.0, you must enable the feature before upgrading to 6.1 by following the Enable Consistent Topology Updates procedure.

To verify if the consistent topology changes feature is enabled on your cluster, see Verifying that Raft is Enabled - Consistent Topology Changes.

Upgrade Your Driver

If you’re using a ScyllaDB driver, upgrade the driver before you upgrade ScyllaDB. The latest two versions of each driver are supported.

Upgrade ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack

If you’re using the ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack, verify that your Monitoring Stack version supports the ScyllaDB version to which you want to upgrade. See ScyllaDB Monitoring Stack Support Matrix.

We recommend upgrading the Monitoring Stack to the latest version.

Check Feature Updates

See the ScyllaDB Release Notes for the latest updates. The Release Notes are published at the ScyllaDB Community Forum.

Upgrade Procedure¶

A ScyllaDB upgrade is a rolling procedure that does not require full cluster shutdown. For each of the nodes in the cluster, serially (i.e., one node at a time), you will:

  • Check that the cluster’s schema is synchronized

  • Drain the node and backup the data

  • Backup the configuration file

  • Stop ScyllaDB

  • Download and install new ScyllaDB packages

  • Start ScyllaDB

  • Validate that the upgrade was successful

Apply the following procedure serially on each node. Do not move to the next node before validating that the node you upgraded is up and running the new version.

During the rolling upgrade, it is highly recommended:

  • Not to use the new 6.1 features.

  • Not to run administration functions, such as repairs, refresh, rebuild, or add or remove nodes.

  • Not to apply schema changes.

Upgrade Steps¶

Check the cluster schema¶

Make sure that all nodes have the schema synchronized before the upgrade. The upgrade procedure will fail if there is a schema disagreement between nodes.

nodetool describecluster

Drain the nodes and backup data¶

Before any major procedure, like an upgrade, it is recommended to backup all the data to an external device. In ScyllaDB, backup is performed using the nodetool snapshot command. For each node in the cluster, run the following command:

nodetool drain
nodetool snapshot

Take note of the directory name that nodetool gives you, and copy all the directories having that name under /var/lib/scylla to an external backup device.

When the upgrade is completed on all nodes, remove the snapshot with the nodetool clearsnapshot -t <snapshot> command to prevent running out of space.

Backup the configuration file¶

Back up the scylla.yaml configuration file and the ScyllaDB packages in case you need to rollback the upgrade.

sudo cp -a /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml.backup
sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list ~/scylla.list-backup
sudo cp -a /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml.backup
sudo cp /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo ~/scylla.repo-backup

Gracefully stop the node¶

sudo service scylla-server stop

Download and install the new release¶

Before upgrading, check what version you are running now using scylla --version. You should take note of the current version in case you want to rollback the upgrade.

  1. Update the ScyllaDB deb repo (Debian, Ubuntu) to 6.1.

  2. Install the new ScyllaDB version:

    sudo apt-get clean all
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla
    

Answer ‘y’ to the first two questions.

  1. Update the ScyllaDB rpm repo to 6.1.

  2. Install the new ScyllaDB version:

    sudo yum clean all
    sudo yum update scylla\* -y
    

If you’re using the ScyllaDB official image (recommended), see the Debian/Ubuntu tab for upgrade instructions.

If you’re using your own image and installed ScyllaDB packages for Ubuntu or Debian, you need to apply an extended upgrade procedure:

  1. Update the ScyllaDB deb repo (Debian, Ubuntu) to 6.1.

  2. Install the new ScyllaDB version with the additional scylla-machine-image package:

    sudo apt-get clean all
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade scylla-machine-image
    
  3. Run scylla_setup without running io_setup.

  4. Run sudo /opt/scylladb/scylla-machine-image/scylla_cloud_io_setup.

Start the node¶

sudo service scylla-server start

Validate¶

  1. Check cluster status with nodetool status and make sure all nodes, including the one you just upgraded, are in UN status.

  2. Use curl -X GET "http://localhost:10000/storage_service/scylla_release_version" to check the ScyllaDB version. Validate that the version matches the one you upgraded to.

  3. Check scylla-server log (by journalctl _COMM=scylla) and /var/log/syslog to validate there are no new errors in the log.

  4. Check again after two minutes, to validate no new issues are introduced.

Once you are sure the node upgrade was successful, move to the next node in the cluster.

Rollback Procedure¶

Warning

The rollback procedure can be applied only if some nodes have not been upgraded to 6.1 yet.As soon as the last node in the rolling upgrade procedure is started with 6.1, rollback becomes impossible. At that point, the only way to restore a cluster to 6.0 is by restoring it from backup.

The following procedure describes a rollback from ScyllaDB 6.1.x to 6.0.y. Apply this procedure if an upgrade from 6.0 to 6.1 fails before completing on all nodes.

  • Use this procedure only on the nodes you upgraded to 6.1.

  • Execute the following commands one node at a time, moving to the next node only after the rollback procedure is completed successfully.

ScyllaDB rollback is a rolling procedure that does not require full cluster shutdown. For each of the nodes you rollback to 6.0, serially (i.e., one node at a time), you will:

  • Drain the node and stop ScyllaDB

  • Retrieve the old ScyllaDB packages

  • Restore the configuration file

  • Reload systemd configuration

  • Restart ScyllaDB

  • Validate the rollback success

Apply the procedure serially on each node. Do not move to the next node before validating that the rollback was successful and the node is up and running the old version.

Rollback Steps¶

Drain and gracefully stop the node¶

nodetool drain
nodetool snapshot
sudo service scylla-server stop

Restore and install the old release¶

  1. Restore the 6.0 packages backed up during the upgrade.

    sudo cp ~/scylla.list-backup /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list
    sudo chown root.root /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list
    sudo chmod 644 /etc/apt/sources.list.d/scylla.list
    
  2. Install:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get remove scylla\* -y
    sudo apt-get install scylla
    

Answer ‘y’ to the first two questions.

  1. Restore the 6.0 packages backed up during the upgrade procedure.

    sudo cp ~/scylla.repo-backup /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo
    sudo chown root.root /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo
    sudo chmod 644 /etc/yum.repos.d/scylla.repo
    
  2. Install:

    sudo yum clean all
    sudo rm -rf /var/cache/yum
    sudo yum downgrade scylla-\*cqlsh -y
    sudo yum remove scylla-\*cqlsh -y
    sudo yum downgrade scylla\* -y
    sudo yum install scylla -y
    

Restore the configuration file¶

sudo rm -rf /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml
sudo cp /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml-backup /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml

Reload systemd configuration¶

You must reload the unit file if the systemd unit file is changed.

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Start the node¶

sudo service scylla-server start

Validate¶

Check the upgrade instructions above for validation. Once you are sure the node rollback is successful, move to the next node in the cluster.

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On this page

  • Upgrade ScyllaDB from 6.0 to 6.1
    • Before You Upgrade ScyllaDB
    • Upgrade Procedure
    • Upgrade Steps
      • Check the cluster schema
      • Drain the nodes and backup data
      • Backup the configuration file
      • Gracefully stop the node
      • Download and install the new release
      • Start the node
      • Validate
    • Rollback Procedure
    • Rollback Steps
      • Drain and gracefully stop the node
      • Restore and install the old release
      • Restore the configuration file
      • Reload systemd configuration
      • Start the node
      • Validate
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