Upgrading Avaya Enterprise Linux using an ISO image file

Last Updated : Jun 05, 2026 |

About this task

Use this procedure to upgrade Avaya Enterprise Linux using an ISO image file. The upgrade is initiated from AvayaLinux-RH8*.iso, which is the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image file that you must copy or move to the /var directory during the course of the upgrade process.

This upgrade method is non-interactive and provides an automatic upgrade of Avaya Enterprise Linux.

Note:

For OVA based systems, in-place upgrades of Experience Portal 6.x or 7.x OVA deployments to 8.x are not supported. You must deploy fresh Experience Portal 8.x OVAs.

Before you begin

  • The upgrade requires 2GB free space in the /var directory to copy temporary files for the operating system upgrade. This space requirement is in addition to the space that is required for the database upgrade and migration of data, and will be proportional to the pre-upgrade volume of data. If the free space is not available in the /var directory, the installer does not proceed with the operating system installation.

  • Note the Fully Qualified Filename (FQFN) of the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image. During the installation process, the installer may prompt for the FQFN of the ISO image.

  • Ensure that no network cable is connected to the maintenance port (eth1) of the server. The installer runs the autoupgrade utility while upgrading Avaya Enterprise Linux without media.

  • If you plan to use a direct connection to upgrade Avaya Enterprise Linux, connect a keyboard and monitor to the server.

Warning:

If the upgrade fails, you might require physical access to the server in order to return the server to a working state.

Important:

If you have installed a Tomcat application server on the Experience Portal server, the software on the Application server might get deleted during the operating system upgrade. Back up the configuration files, data files, Web applications, libraries, and binaries from the directory where the Application server is installed. For more information about the required backup files, contact the application developer.

Procedure

  1. Log in to Linux on the Experience Portal server.

    • If you upgrade through the console:

      • Log in to the local Linux console as a user with root privileges.

    • If you upgrade through a network connection to eth0 or log on remotely:

      • Log in to Linux as a non-root user, for example, cust, and then change to a user with root privileges by entering the su - root command.

  2. Copy the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image to a folder on the system, and mount the ISO image to the desired directory by entering the mount command.

    For example, run the mount -o ro,loop <AvayaLinux-RH8*.iso>/mnt/cdrom command, where:

    • <AvayaLinux-RH8*.iso> is the name of the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image

    • /mnt/cdrom is the mount point associated with the ISO image

  3. Run the bash /mnt/cdrom/Avaya/vpupgrade.sh command to run the Pre-upgrade tool.

    This tool prepares the system for the upgrade.

  4. Type y and press Enter to confirm that you want to run the tool.

    The tool confirms whether you want to upgrade the operating system without media.

  5. Type yes and press Enter to proceed with an autoupgrade without media.
  6. If you have performed an upgrade on the system earlier using the ISO image file, the upgrade script prompts if you want to delete the /var/avlupgrade directory.

    • If you do not want to delete the /var/avlupgrade directory, you will need to exit the upgrade process by performing the following steps:

      • Type no and press Enter.

      • At the Do you want to continue prompt, type y and press Enter to exit the installation process.

    • To delete the /var/avlupgrade directory and continue with the upgrade, type yes and press Enter.

    The upgrade script may prompt for the FQFN of the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image.

  7. If prompted, type the FQFN where:

    FQFN is the full filename, including path, to the Avaya Experience Portal 8.1 Linux Installer ISO image, which you have copied to the system at the beginning of the task.

  8. Press Enter.

    The upgrade script prompts you to copy or move the files from the ISO image to /var, the static partition.

  9. Type copy to copy the ISO files or type move to move the ISO files, and press Enter.

    The upgrade script copies/moves the files from the ISO image to the static partition.

  10. Type y and press Enter to confirm that you want the utility to prepare the system for the upgrade.
  11. Type y and press Enter to reboot the server.

    The upgrade process starts automatically after the server is rebooted.

  12. When the upgrade process is complete and the server responds to ping from a command line, log in to Linux on the Avaya Experience Portal server.
    Note:

    The network login root is disabled after upgrading Avaya Enterprise Linux.

    • Use cust account followed by su - or su - root.

    • If you upgrade through the console, log in to the local Linux console as root.

    • If you upgrade through a regular network connection to eth0, log in to Linux as a non-root user cust and enter the su — command to change to the user root.

    Avaya Enterprise Linux will enforce an Avaya First Login Experience. It will prompt for a new bootloader password and change the root and cust passwords. The sroot and craft password will be controlled via EASG as soon as Experience Portal is installed. You do not need to change them at this point.

    For more details, see State of identity variables in Master Software Image and on first boot.

  13. If the server is an MPP and you have moved the MPP logs to a new directory or a partition using the mppMoveLogs.sh script, add the mount point to the /etc/fstab file. For more information, see Administering Avaya Experience Portal.
  14. Configure the Avaya Enterprise Linux time settings.

    For more information, see Verifying server time synchronization.

Next Steps

After you upgrade Avaya Enterprise Linux, upgrade to Avaya Experience Portal 8.1.