How to Upgrade Security Server to Ubuntu 20.04 Using a Configuration Backup?

Owned by Petteri Kivimäki
Last updated: Jan 30, 2021
3 min read

This document describes the steps required for migrating a stand-alone Security Server from an existing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS host to a new Ubuntu 20.04 LTS host. The migration is done taking a backup of the security server configuration on the Ubuntu 18.04 host and restoring the backup on the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS host. Please read carefully through the whole document before starting the upgrade process.

This document assumes that you are using two different server hosts concurrently during the upgrade process: 

  • old server, which runs Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
  • new server, which runs Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Terms old server and new server will be used to refer to these.

It is also possible to upgrade to Ubuntu 20 with configuration backups, using just one server, but this document does not cover that method.

Alternative method: Security Server Ubuntu 18.04 to 20.04 In-place Upgrade

Preparation

If upgrading a system that uses a hardware security module: Please verify that the HSM is compatible with Ubuntu 20.04 and check the HSM module documentation for upgrade instructions. Connecting a hardware security module (HSM) to a new server may require additional steps that are not covered by these instructions.

  • Ensure that the X-Road software is at version 6.25.0

  • On the old server, use the admin UI to take a backup of the security server configuration and download it to a safe location.

    • Note that the backup does not include X-Road admin user account(s) or /etc/xroad.properties (database admin credentials; needed when using a remote database). You need to take care of moving these to the new server manually.
  • In order to route traffic to the new server after the upgrade is complete, prepare to update your network configuration.
    • After the upgrade, you may need to change the new server's public IP address(es) to match the old public addresses and/or update DNS,  firewall, NAT, or other network configuration so that other security servers and your information systems can reach the new server. The exact steps depend on your network setup and are not covered in this guide. Note that if the publicly visible IP address of the upgraded security server changes, you may need to contact your X-Road Instance operator and/or other members for firewall rule changes.

Upgrade process

  • Do a clean install of security server software version 6.25.0 on Ubuntu 20.04 (see the X-Road Security Server Installation Guide for Ubuntu) to the new server.
    • The admin UI and internal TLS certificates created during the installation process will be overwritten by the ones restored from the backup.
    • The X-Road admin user is not included in the backup (must be created manually).


  • Restore the security server configuration from the backup.
    sudo -iu xroad /usr/share/xroad/scripts/restore_xroad_proxy_configuration.sh -F -f <backup file>


  • Optionally, copy the messagelog database and archived log records from the old server
    • On the old server, stop the xroad-proxy and dump message log data using pg_dump (note that the size of the messagelog database can be large, so this can take time and a space).
      sudo systemctl stop xroad-proxy
      sudo -iu postgres pg_dump -d messagelog -Fc -f <dump_file>
      (see https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/app-pgdump.html for more information about creating a database dump)

    • Copy the dump to the new server and restore the database on the new server:
      sudo systemctl stop xroad-proxy
      sudo -iu postgres pg_restore -d messagelog -c <dump_file>
      (see https://www.postgresql.org/docs/12/app-pgrestore.html for more information about restoring a dump)

    • Optionally, copy the archived message records (in /var/lib/xroad) to the new server.


  • Optionally, copy the operational monitoring database from the old server (if xroad-opmonitoring is installed)
    • On the old server, stop xroad-opmonitor and dump the database:
      sudo systemctl stop xroad-opmonitor
      sudo -iu postgres pg_dump -d "op-monitor" -F c -f <dump_file>
    • Copy the dump to the new server and restore the database on the new server:
      sudo systemctl stop xroad-opmonitor
      sudo -iu postgres pg_restore -d "op-monitor" -c <dump_file>
      sudo systemctl start xroad-opmonitor


  • Switch over to the new server (stop the old server and update your network configuration accordingly).