Pre-upgrade requirements

Best practices

For a successful upgrade, it is important that you are prepared well in advance. Make sure that a good current backup is onsite prior to attempting an upgrade. Before performing an upgrade, ensure that you have the following:

CD/DVD of the current software release and/or Operating System.
Current Service Pack on application.
The required applications on the computer to perform the upgrade.
Monitor, Mouse, and appropriate keyboard to connect to the server.
Recent backup of configuration files.
Paper copy of IP addresses and Naming information.
Paper copy of worksheets.

By instituting this best practice, you have the highest probability for a successful restore if for any reason you need to revert back to the initial software release.

Hardware requirements

You need the following hardware to complete the upgrade process:

One of the following servers running Messaging Release 6.0 or Release 6.0.1.
- S8800 Server
- Dell™ PowerEdge™ R610 Server
- HP ProLiant DL360 G7 Server
For more information on server specification, see Server specifications.
Required Ethernet CAT5 cables.
Blank DVDs on which you burn the iso images.

Software requirements

Before you upgrade Messaging, confirm that the version of System Platform you are running is compatible with Messaging Release 6.1.

To obtain information on the supported version, see Avaya Aura® Messaging Release Notes on the Avaya Support Web site at https://support.avaya.com/css/Products/P0792.
To verify currently installed version of System Platform, see Verifying the version of System Platform.

If the software on your system does not match the software components in the release notes, you must download the needed software before proceeding.

You need to download the following software:

System Platform from the Product Licensing and Delivery System (PLDS). For more information, refer to the Software download section of Implementing Avaya Aura® Messaging.
The Messaging templates from PLDS. For more information, refer to the Software download section of Implementing Avaya Aura® Messaging.
Service packs available on the Avaya Support Web site, https://support.avaya.com/css/Products/P0792.

After upgrading the System Platform software, you must update the System Platform software with the latest approved patches and service packs. Ensure that these patches and service packs are verified for use with Messaging. You can download the latest patches from the Avaya support Web site.

For information on the latest patches, see Avaya Aura® Messaging Release Notes available on the Avaya support Web site, https://support.avaya.com/css/Products/P0792.

For more information on downloading and installing patches and Service Packs, see Installing patches.

Alarms

Before you upgrade Messaging, make sure that there are no active alarms in the system.

To view current alarms, see Viewing current alarms.
For Messaging alarms repair procedure, see Avaya Aura® Messaging Alarms and Events.
For System Platform alarms and events, see Administering Avaya Aura® System Platform.

Language packs

Record the currently installed language packs that you need to re-install after the upgrade process. For more information, see Recording the installed language packs.
Download the required language packs before the upgrade. You can download language packs from https://support.avaya.com/css/Products/P0792. Ensure that these language packs are compatible with the software that you are upgrading. See Administering Avaya Aura® Messaging for information about the language packs.

Application requirements

You must install the following applications on your computer:

Internet Explorer 7.x browser.
Firefox 2.x or 3.x browser (supported by System Platform only).
A Secure Shell application such as PuTTY.