Upgrading vFabric GemFire

To upgrade vFabric GemFire, install the latest version of the software from either the JAR file or if using RHEL, by using RPMs. The migration from vFabric GemFire 6.5.X and later versions to the latest version of vFabric GemFire may require brief downtime of your system.

Note: If you obtain GemFire as part of a vFabric Suite package, first complete the vFabric License Server installation and license activation procedures in Getting Started with vFabric Suite.Then follow procedures in this document to set up your environment for GemFire and to complete any remaining GemFire-specific installation and configuration tasks.

Before You Upgrade

Review the following preparation notes before you begin your upgrade:

Read the vFabric GemFire Release Notes at https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vfabric-gemfire.html to familiarize yourself with all feature changes.
Know how to configure environment variables for your system.
Confirm that your system meets the requirements to run GemFire. See Supported Configurations and System Requirements.
Note: To check your current Java version, type java -version at a command-line prompt. You can download Sun/Oracle Java SE from the following location: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html.
If you are upgrading from a GemFire version earlier than 6.5, you will need to upgrade your disk files to be compatible with GemFire 6.6. Use the DiskConverter tool. See Disk File Converter for instructions on running the tool.

How to Upgrade

If you are currently running vFabric GemFire on the RHEL operating system, you have the option to upgrade by using vFabric RPM repository RPMs and the yum command. See RHEL: Upgrade vFabric GemFire from the VMware YUM Repository for instructions.

If you are currently running vFabric GemFire on any other operating system, you must upgrade your GemFire installation using the following procedure:Upgrade vFabric GemFire from a JAR File.

RHEL: Upgrade vFabric GemFire from the VMware YUM Repository
If your guest operating system is Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and you have installed a previous version of GemFire using yum and RPM, VMware recommends that you use yum to upgrade vFabric GemFire. You complete the upgrade procedure on every virtual and physical machine that will run GemFire.
Upgrade vFabric GemFire from a JAR File
For non-RHEL users, upgrade vFabric GemFire on every virtual and physical machine that will run GemFire.
Performing a Rolling Upgrade
A rolling upgrade allows you to keep your existing distributed system running while you upgrade your members gradually.
vFabric GemFire Version Compatibility Rules
This topic describes the compatibility rules for deploying different versions of vFabric GemFire.

Parent topic: Getting Started with vFabric GemFire