The upgrade timeline describes the common stages that occur during an upgrade. By understanding the common stages of an upgrade, you can determine how much time you need for an upgrade.
The timeline incorporates the entire process from the time that you first start planning for an upgrade until the time you have finished preparing the target server for production. Listed next to each stage are more detailed descriptions about what the stage entails and what needs to be accomplished when you have finished the stage. In the right column of the table, you see an estimated amount of time it takes to complete that stage. This estimate applies to situations where there are resources dedicated to the tasks. For complex upgrades or situations where there are not dedicated resources, your upgrade might take longer.
For additional information on estimating the time to install your i5/OS® software and other licensed programs, see Estimates for software installation time.
Your unique upgrade might include some or all of the upgrade stages.
| Stage | Stage description | Time it will take |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Develop a detailed project plan. Focus your plan on items such as a solution, a task list, a timeline, and a project schedule. Determine the hardware, software, and the services that are required for your new server as a result of your desired solution. You must also determine the prerequisites that are required to support your new hardware and software. You should consider such items as backup and recovery, time you can afford to be down for the upgrade, and whether or not side-by-side services will be needed. | 2 weeks |
| Order | Analyze your detailed plan that you developed in the planning stage with your reseller or IBM®. Consider whether your upgrade is feasible, the risk involved with your upgrade, and whether your requirements will be met. If everything appears acceptable after analyzing your detailed plan, place your order. | 1 day |
| Preparation | Prepare your server for an upgrade. Tasks in this stage
include:
|
2 weeks |
| Preinstallation | Examine what you have done so far and determine whether you are now ready for the upgrade. You must also gather all necessary server information for the authorized service provider. Determine if you need to complete any remaining work items. If you determine that you are ready, your next step is to establish a meeting with your authorized service provider. In this meeting, you can then display all pertinent information to them such as your target server configuration. | 1 day |
| Installation | One of the first tasks required is to install your software. Install the software on your source server several weeks before the hardware upgrade. Nearly all of the responsibilities for planning, ordering, preparing, and preinstalling are customer responsibilities. If you need assistance with these stages of the upgrade, services are available to assist you. When you have completed these stages, the authorized service provider performs the hardware upgrade at this time. Following the hardware upgrade, you are presented with the new server and its physical configuration for review. |
1 day |
| Postinstallation | After you have reviewed your new server and the physical configuration, configure your target server. This includes configuring your Hardware Management Console, migrating existing logical partition configurations, rearranging hardware as needed for logical partitions, and setting up and changing your logical partitions. You must also migrate any applications and data at this time. After you have completed the preceding items, finish your upgrade by testing your server as detailed in your test methodology plan. | 1–2 days |
Common deviations
There are many reasons or situations that could change the previous timeline. The following list includes a few of the more common deviations that might affect your timeline.
- Unassigned resource
Ensure that you have the appropriate people and skills assigned to the correct upgrade tasks. If the resources are incorrectly assigned to the upgrade tasks, your upgrade will take longer.
- Logical partitions
The preparation and installation time increase with each logical partition on the server. With proper planning and preparation, this might not be a problem; however, servers with multiple logical partitions will require a longer timeline than servers with fewer partitions or servers with only one partition.
- Unsupported I/O devices
If you do not plan for the removal or replacement of unsupported I/O devices, but realize during the upgrade that you have unsupported I/O devices, you must remove those devices, and perhaps replace those devices with supported I/O devices, which will increase the time it takes to complete your upgrade.
- Unsupported software
It is imperative you understand what software is compatible with your server and hardware features. For example, if you are changing a hardware feature before upgrading your server, you might need to upgrade your software prior to making the hardware feature change depending on the requirements and compatibility of that hardware feature. If you do not need to upgrade your software during the preparation stage, you might need to during the installation stage as a requirement prior to upgrading your server. If your software is not properly planned, it might add several unexpected hours by forcing you to reschedule the upgrade to another time, or require that your upgrade be removed and rescheduled, which might result in additional costs.