Upgrade Azure Stack HCI OS, version 22H2 to version 23H2 via other methods

Article
11/19/2024

Applies to: Azure Local, versions 23H2 and 22H2

This article describes how to upgrade the operating system (OS) from version 22H2 to version 23H2 on your Azure Local using manual methods such a SConfig and performing an offline upgrade.

While you can use these other methods, PowerShell is the recommended method to upgrade the OS. For more information, see Upgrade the Azure Stack HCI OS, version 22H2 to version 23H2 via PowerShell.

Throughout this article, we refer to Azure Stack HCI OS, version 23H2 as the new version and Azure Stack HCI OS, version 22H2 as the old version.

Important

To keep your Azure Local service in a supported state, you have up to six months to install this new OS version. The update is applicable to all the Azure Local instances running version 22H2. We strongly recommend that you install this version as soon as it becomes available.

High-level workflow for the OS upgrade

The Azure Stack HCI operating system update is available via the Windows Update and via the media that you can download from the Azure portal.

To upgrade the OS on your system, follow these high-level steps:

Complete prerequisites.
Connect to your system.
Install new OS using one of the other methods:
1. Manual upgrade of a Failover Cluster using SConfig.
2. Offline manual upgrade of all machines in a system.
Check the status of the updates.
Perform post-upgrade steps, after the OS is upgraded.

Complete prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure that:

You have access to an Azure Local running version 22H2.
The system is registered in Azure.
Make sure that all the machines in your Azure Local are healthy and show as Online.
You have access to the Azure Stack HCI OS, version 23H2 software update. This update is available via Windows Update or as a downloadable media. The media is an ISO file that you can download from the Azure portal.
You have access to a client that can connect to your Azure Local. This client should be running PowerShell 5.0 or later.

Step 1: Connect to your system

Follow these steps on your client to connect to one of the machines on your system.

Important

To perform a manual upgrade using SConfig, you must log in directly to the machines. You can use remote PowerShell to control system actions, or you can run the commands directly from each machine when performing the update.

Run PowerShell as Administrator on the client that you're using to connect to your system.

Open a remote PowerShell session to a machine on your Azure Local. Run the following command and provide the credentials of your machine when prompted:

$cred = Get-Credential
Enter-PSSession -ComputerName "<Computer IP>" -Credential $cred

Here's a sample output:

PS C:\Users\Administrator> $cred = Get-Credential

cmdlet Get-Credential at command pipeline position 1
Supply values for the following parameters:
Credential
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Enter-PSSession -ComputerName "100.100.100.10" -Credential $cred 
[100.100.100.10]: PS C:\Users\Administrator\Documents>

Step 2: Install new OS using other methods

Depending upon your requirements, you can manually update the OS using SConfig or update all the machines of the system at the same time. Each of these methods is discussed in the following sections.

Method 1: Perform a manual OS update of a failover cluster using SCONFIG

To do a manual feature update of a failover cluster, use the SConfig tool and Failover Clustering PowerShell cmdlets. For more information about SConfig, see Configure a Server Core installation of Windows Server and Azure Local with the Server Configuration tool (SConfig).

For each node in the cluster, run these commands on the target node:

Suspend-ClusterNode -Node <Node Name> -Drain
1. Check suspend using Get-ClusterGroup. Nothing should be running on the target node.
2. Run the SCONFIG option 6.3 on the target node.
3. After the target node has rebooted, wait for the storage repair jobs to complete by running Get-Storage-Job until there are no storage jobs or all storage jobs are completed.
Resume-ClusterNode -Node <Node Name> -Failback

When all the nodes are upgraded, you can perform the post-installation steps.

Method 2: Perform a fast, offline OS update of all machines in a system

This method allows you to take all the machines in a system down at once and update the OS on all of them at the same time. This saves time during the update process, but the tradeoff is downtime for the hosted resources.

If there's a critical security update that you need to apply quickly or you need to ensure that updates complete within your maintenance window, this method could be for you. This process brings down the Azure Local, updates the machines, and brings it all up again.

Plan your maintenance window.
Take the virtual disks offline.
Stop the system to take the storage pool offline. Run the Stop-Cluster cmdlet or use Windows Admin Center to stop the system.
Set the cluster service to Disabled by running the PowerShell command below on each machine. This prevents the cluster service from starting up while being updated.
```
Set-Service -Name clussvc -StartupType Disabled
```
Apply the Windows Server Cumulative Update and any required Servicing Stack Updates to all machines. You can update all machines at the same time: there's no need to wait because the system is down.
Restart the machines and ensure everything looks good.
Set the cluster service back to Automatic by running the PowerShell command below on each machine.
```
Set-Service -Name clussvc -StartupType Automatic
```
Start the system. Run the Start-Cluster cmdlet or use Windows Admin Center.
Give it a few minutes. Make sure the storage pool is healthy. Run Get-StorageJob to ensure all jobs complete successfully.
Bring the virtual disks back online.
Monitor the status of the virtual disks by running the Get-Volume and Get-VirtualDisk cmdlets.

You're now ready to perform the post-upgrade steps for your system.

Next steps

Learn how to perform the post-upgrade steps for your Azure Local.

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