Upgrading Faspex

Faspex is a file exchange application built upon IBM Aspera HST Server and other Aspera transfer products as a centralized transfer solution. In order to make transfers, Faspex communicates with a node through the Node API. The Node API is a daemon on the transfer server that offers REST-inspired file operations and a transfer management API.

If an older version of Faspex is already installed on your workstation, upgrade to the newest version.

Note: Aspera does not support a direct upgrade from Faspex versions prior to 3.1.1. Instead, first upgrade to 3.9.3 before upgrading to 4.0+.
Note: Before installing Aspera Faspex, make sure you disable SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) on your RedHat, CentOS or Fedora machine. SELinux, an access control implementation, causes the Faspex installation to fail with an error. Disable SELinux on your machine by following the instructions inDisabling SELinux.

Before You Begin...

Before beginning the installation process for Faspex, you must be logged into your computer as an admin .

  1. Download the latest version of IBM Aspera High Speed Transfer Server,Common Components and IBM Aspera Faspex installers from the following locations:
  2. Make sure your MySQL password are easily accessible.
  3. Run the latest HST Server installer.
    First see the "Before Upgrading" section in the IBM Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server Admin Guide.
    Then run the following command to upgrade HST Server to the latest version: 
    $ rpm -Uvh aspera-entsrv-version.rpm

Upgrading Faspex

  1. Back up your Faspex MySQL database by running the following asctl command: 
    # asctl faspex:backup_database

    The asctl command uses mysqldump to backup Faspex's three MySQL databases to the following directory:

    /opt/aspera/faspex/backup/time_stamp-version_number.revision_number
    For example, the directory name may be 2016-04-15_140547-Faspex.4.0.0.100400.

Warning: Faspex 4.2.0 uses a new version of MySQL. Upgrading to the new version requires the MySQL database to be empty. You cannot upgrade the Common Components until you have backed up and emptied your database. When upgrading Faspex, the upgrade script prompts you to provide a path to the back up. Do not continue until you have backed up your database.

  1. Stop all Faspex services.

    Before upgrading, stop all services related to Faspex, including Faspex, MySQL, and Apache. Use the following command:

    # asctl all:stop
  2. If your server is using a remote database, you must set the SKIP_MYSQL_UPGRADE environment variable to true to perform a successful upgrade. 
    # export "SKIP_MYSQL_UPGRADE=true"

    For more information about using a remote database, see Configuring Faspex to Use a Remote Database (Faspex + MySQL).

    Important: If you are using a local database, do not skip the MySQL upgrade.
  3. If your server is not using a remote database, you must clear your MySQL database before upgrading to upgrade successfully.
    Delete all the files and sub-directories in /opt/aspera/common/mysql/data.
  4. Install the IBM Aspera Common Components.

    Use the following commands with proper administrative permissions to run the installers (replacing version accordingly): 

    # rpm -Uvh ibm-aspera-common-version.rpm
  5. Launch the Faspex installer.

    Use the following commands with proper administrative permissions to run the installers (replacing version accordingly): 

    # rpm -Uvh ibm-aspera-faspex-version.rpm
  6. Run the asctl:upgrade command. 
    # asctl faspex:upgrade
  7. Faspex prompts you to provide the path to the database backup you made earlier: 
    Please provide the location of the Faspex database backup (e.g. backup/20XX-XX-XX_XXXXXX-Faspex.4.1.1.XXXXXX):
  8. Confirm that your previous Faspex settings are still applicable.
    Faspex prompts you to confirm if your previous Faspex settings are still applicable. Enter y to continue, n to change settings.
    Important: Faspex 4.2.0 and later allows you to install the HTTP gateway service. Before installing HTTP gateway, see HTTP Gateway [BETA] Service for more information and to determine if you should enable this beta service.
  9. If Faspex and HST Server are installed on the same server, restart the asperanoded service.
    Run the following commands to restart the asperanoded service:
    # service asperanoded restart

Logging In and Updating Your License

  1. Open a supported browser and enter the Faspex hostname or IP address followed by /aspera/faspex in the browser URL. For example:

    http://faspex.example.com/aspera/faspex

    or
    http://198.51.100.24/aspera/faspex
    Note: For security reasons, Faspex versions 4.0.3 and later by default only allow login using the hostname that is configured in the faspex.yml configuration file (the hostname you designated during installation). If you try to log in to the application from an unlisted hostname or perform a GET request with an unlisted hostname, Faspex returns the error, "Invalid hostname". To access Faspex from an alternate hostname, follow the instructions in Configuring the Faspex Web Server.
  2. Enter your login credentials and click Login.
  3. If your license is out-of-date or expired, you must first update the license before you can access Faspex.
    For more information on updating your license, see Updating Your License.
  4. If you are upgrading from a version of Faspex prior to 4.0.1 and you had SAML configured, you need to add your SAML configuration metadata to your SAML Identity Provider (IdP) again. Metadata URLs now contain numbers to support multiple SAML configurations.
Your Faspex upgrade is now complete.