One of the primary tasks required to perform a successful ZENworks upgrade is identifying what requirements have changed between your installed ZENworks version and the target current version so that you know what steps you will need to take to account for those changes.
The following sections identify the major ZENworks components whose requirements you need to consider and plan for. Once you know these requirements, the upgrade instructions will help you meet them in the appropriate order.
3.1 Primary Server Operating System
The supported operating systems, resources, and hypervisors required to run the ZENworks Primary Server have changed from ZENworks 2017.x versions to the current ZENworks 2020.2 release. You need to ensure that you understand the requirements for both the ZENworks 2020 version and the ZENworks 2020.2 version so that you can correctly determine how to meet them and at which point in the ZENworks upgrade process you will need to implement the required changes.
NOTE:If you are using the ZENworks Virtual Appliance for your Primary Servers, refer to ZENworks Virtual Appliance for the requirements you need to consider before upgrading.
For a detailed listing of Primary Server requirements for ZENworks 2020.2, see Primary Server Requirements.
Operating System
If you find that you need to upgrade a Primary Server’s operating system, consider the following:
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In-place upgrades between major operating system versions are not supported. For example, you cannot upgrade from Windows Server 2016 to Windows Server 2019 with the Primary Server on the system as it will most likely result in issues with the Primary Server. Likewise, on SLES, you cannot upgrade from SLES 12 SP5 to SLES 15.
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If the Primary Server is on SLES, you can perform in-place upgrades of minor operating system versions. For example, you can upgrade from SLES 15 to SLES 15 SP3.
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Depending on how old your Primary Server operating system is, it might not be supported on ZENworks 2020 -- the first version to which you upgrade on your path to the current version. If this is the case, you will need to upgrade to an operating system supported by both your 2017.x version and the 2020 version. For example, this would be the case if your Primary Server operating system version is Windows Server 2008.
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If you want to upgrade to an operating system version that is supported in ZENworks 2020.2 but not in ZENworks 2020, you will need to upgrade to a version that is supported in ZENworks 2020.2 and then continue the upgrade.
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If you are interested in moving to the ZENworks Virtual Appliance for your Primary Servers, once you are on ZENworks 2020 Update 2 you can move a Windows or Linux Primary Server to the Appliance. For information, see Moving from a Windows or Linux Primary to Appliance.
Virtual Hypervisors
If you are hosting any Primary Servers in a virtual hypervisor, ensure that you can meet the supported hypervisor requirements at each stage of the upgrade.
3.2 ZENworks Virtual Appliance
The following table lists the requirements you need to consider if you are using the ZENworks Virtual Appliance for any Primary Servers. For a detailed listing of ZENworks Virtual Appliance for ZENworks 2020.2, see Virtual Appliance Requirements.
3.3 Database
The following tables list the supported database types and versions. For a detailed listing of the database requirements for ZENworks 2020 Update 2, see Database Requirements.
NOTE:Support for Sybase has been discontinued from ZENworks 2020 onwards. You will not be able to upgrade a ZENworks 2017 zone with Sybase to ZENworks 2020 before migrating the database to PostgreSQL.
If you find that you need to upgrade the database, consider the following:
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If you are using the Sybase database, migrate to the PostgreSQL database first. For information, see Database Migration from Sybase to PostgeSQL.
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If you are using an external database, you need to upgrade or migrate the external database to the supported latest version before upgrading the Primary Server.
3.4 Satellites
A Satellite must meet the minimum requirements for a managed device. Refer to the Managed Devices section for those requirements.
In addition, be aware that:
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For the first upgrade (2017.x to 2020), the Satellite must be running a 2017.x version of the ZENworks agent.
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For the second upgrade (2020 to 2020.2), the Satellite must be running the 2020 version of the ZENworks agent. This requires that the Satellite be upgraded to version 2020 as part of the first upgrade (2017.x to 2020).
For a detailed listing of the Satellite requirements for ZENworks 2020 Update 2, see Satellite Requirements.
3.5 Managed Devices
The following sections show the operating systems supported as Windows, Linux, and Mac managed devices. For a detailed listing of managed device requirements, see Managed Devices section in System Requirements.
3.6 User Sources and Certificates
In general, you should not encounter any requirements issues related to user sources and certificates as you move through the upgrade. The following table summarizes key requirements. For a detailed listing of user source requirements, see LDAP Directory Requirements.
3.7 Reporting Server
The following table shows the Reporting Server versions provided in each release and the ZENworks versions supported by each Reporting Server.
As you plan your upgrade, note that ZENworks Reporting does not support the PostgreSQL database until ZENworks 2020.
