Upgrade Commander VM Access Proxy

The following section provides information on how to upgrade your VM Access Proxy.

Commander permits the use of multiple VM Access Proxies running different versions. Therefore, in cases where it is vital to minimize downtime, you can deploy a new VM Access Proxy alongside your current production VM Access Proxy. This allows you to confirm the new VM Access Proxy functions as expected before you decommission the previous VM Access Proxy.

To download the latest version of the VM Access Proxy, go to the Downloads page.

Version compatibility

The following table lists the versions of the VM Access Proxy that can be used with a specific version of Commander. It also lists major VM Access feature updates.

It is recommended that you upgrade to version 3.13 or 3.11, which include Apache Tomcat security updates.

Upgrade to VM Access Proxy 3.13

1. In the directory where the docker-compose.yml file is located, shut down the previous version of the VM Access Proxy with the docker-compose command:

   docker-compose down

2. Upgrade Docker engine to 25.0+ and Docker compose to v1.20.0+. Note this is not required when upgrading from VM Proxy 3.13+.

   sudo apt update

   sudo apt install –y docker.io docker-compose

3. Log in to Snow Commander Support Downloads, download the SnowAccessProxy-3.13.zip file, and extract.
4. Go to the SnowAccessProxy-3.13/ directory that contains the docker-compose.yml file for the new VM Access Proxy version.
5. Ensure that the docker engine is up to date:

   docker –version

   If the Docker Engine version is lower than 25, upgrade it:

   sudo apt update

6. Update and start the VM Access Proxy Docker containers with the docker-compose command:

   docker-compose up -d

Upgrade to VM Access Proxy 3.4 to 3.11

1. In the directory where the docker.compose.yml file is located, shut down the previous version of the VM Access Proxy with the docker-compose command:

   docker-compose down

2. Log in to Snow Commander Support Downloads, download the SnowAccessProxy-3.11.zip file, and extract.
3. Go to the SnowAccessProxy-3.11/ directory that contains the docker-compose.yml file for the new VM Access Proxy version.
4. Update and start the VM Access Proxy Docker containers with the docker-compose command:

   docker-compose up -d

Redeploy an upgraded VM Access Proxy

To upgrade the VM Access Proxy from version 3.3 or lower, perform the following steps:

1. If you want to access the old VM Access Proxy to copy the configuration or roll back the upgrade, keep the old server running.
2. Disable or disconnect the network card on the old VM Access Proxy server.
3. Deploy the new version of the VM Access Proxy alongside your old version. For details, see Set up host server and install VM Access Proxy.

   Use the same IP address and DNS/FQDN name for the version 3.3 or lower VM Access Proxy server.

4. Apply the SSL and customized configurations that you applied to the old server to the new server.

   For VM Access Proxy 3.3 and lower, the configuration folder is /var/lib/tomcat/conf; for VM Access Proxy 3.4 and higher, the configuration folder is /var/data/conf.

5. Restart the new VM Access Proxy server with the following command:

   sudo docker-compose restart

6. In Commander, configure the VM Access Proxy to point to the FQDN of the new VM Access Proxy server. See Add VM Access Proxies to Commander.
7. Make sure you can open a secure console session through the VM Access Proxy.
8. Power off the old VM Access Proxy server until you are ready to decommission it.