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.

  • 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. More about remote database credentials could be found in Security Server Installation Guide for Ubuntu: 2.6 Remote Database Setup

• 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.

• 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/14/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/16/app-pgrestore.html for more information about restoring a dump)
    
    

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

    • Note that some of the logged messages might not have been archived yet and exist only in the database.

• 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.