How to Upgrade Security Server to Ubuntu 24.04 Using a Configuration Backup?

This document describes the steps required for migrating a stand-alone Security Server from an existing Ubuntu 22.04 LTS host to a new Ubuntu 24.04 LTS host. The migration is done taking a backup of the Security Server configuration on the Ubuntu 22.04 host and restoring the backup on the Ubuntu 24.04 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 22.04 LTS

  • new server, which runs Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

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

It is also possible to upgrade to Ubuntu 24 with configuration backups, using just one server, but this document does not cover that method.

Preparation

If upgrading a system that uses a hardware security module: Please verify that the HSM is compatible with Ubuntu 24.04 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 7.5.0.

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

  • 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 7.5.0 on Ubuntu 24.04 (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.

    • For example uninitialized Security Server can be restored:

      • The new Security Server's gpg key must be manually created before restoring the backup:

        sudo -iu xroad /usr/share/xroad/scripts/generate_gpg_keypair.sh /etc/xroad/gpghome <Security Server ID>
      • Then the backup can be restored with command:

        sudo -iu xroad /usr/share/xroad/scripts/restore_xroad_proxy_configuration.sh -F -P -N -f <backup file>.tar
      • The encrypted backup archive can be unencrypted with command:

        sudo -iu xroad gpg --homedir /etc/xroad/gpghome --output <backup file>.tar --decrypt <backup file>.gpg

        where /etc/xroad/gpghome keyring must contain the old server encryption keys.

Reducing the size of the message log database dump: By default the message log database keeps 30 days of message records but one can (temporarily) change the retention time in order to reduce the number of records in the database, thus reducing the size of the database dump. Changing the setting has no immediate effect since by default the message log cleanup is run twice a day (noon and midnight). See Security Server User Guide: 11.1 Changing the Configuration of the Message Log for more information.

 

  • 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.

    • For example, change the new server's IP address(es) to match the old addresses and/or update DNS, firewall, NAT, or other network configuration.