Update your XenServer hosts
XenServer 8 introduces a faster, more efficient release process designed to deliver updates faster than ever. New features, bug fixes, and performance improvements are frequently pushed to the content delivery network (CDN) as available updates for your XenServer hosts and pools. Each set of updates is cumulative, meaning they include the latest features and fixes along with all prior updates, ensuring your environment remains optimized with minimal effort.
Update methods
Updates can be applied to your XenServer hosts and pools through the following methods:
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Updates from the CDN: Requires internet access to automatically download and apply updates from the CDN.
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Offline Updates: Designed for air-gapped environments, allowing you to manually download and apply updates without internet access.
For advanced automation, you can also use the XenServer PowerShell module to script the upload and application of update bundles. For more information, see Update your XenServer hosts by using the XenServer PowerShell module.
Updates from the CDN
Updates from the CDN provide the easiest way to keep your hosts and pools up-to-date. This method relies on an internet connection to download updates directly from the content delivery network (CDN). To ensure that you are always on the latest and greatest update, there is no picking and choosing - when you apply updates to your pool, it is updated to the latest, fully tested state.
How updates from the CDN work:
- Updates are delivered through the secure content delivery network (CDN).
- Configure your pool to automatically synchronize with the Early Access or Normal update channel. For more information about the update channels, see Update channels and the CDN.
- All available updates are downloaded to the pool coordinator during synchronization.
- Use XenCenter or the xe CLI to view, download, and apply these updates seamlessly.
For more information on configuring updates from the CDN using XenCenter, see Updates from the CDN.
Updates from the CDN are suitable for environments with internet connectivity. For environments without internet access, use the Offline Updates method.
Offline Updates
Offline Updates are an alternative method for updating your XenServer hosts when internet connectivity is unavailable or restricted. Offline Updates are relevant in the following scenarios:
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You want to update your hosts but you have XenCenter installed on an air-gapped machine.
If you have XenCenter installed on an air-gapped machine, you can still apply updates by leveraging a separate, internet-connected machine. Use this dedicated machine to download update bundles and then transfer the update bundles to your air-gapped XenCenter. You can upload and apply the update bundle from XenCenter on your isolated system, ensuring your hosts are up-to-date without compromising security.
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You want to join a new host to an existing pool, but your pool and host are on different update levels.
Typically, when adding a host to an existing pool, both the pool and the joining host must be updated to the latest level of updates. However, Offline Updates allow you to download and apply an update bundle to the joining host that matches the pool’s current update state, simplifying the process of adding a host to a pool.
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You want to test updates before production rollout.
Offline Updates offer you the flexibility to test specific updates in a controlled environment before rolling them out to production pools. This approach minimizes potential disruptions by allowing you to evaluate the impact of updates in a test pool first.
How Offline Updates work:
- Download the latest update bundle from the following page using your dedicated internet-connected machine: Download XenServer update bundles.
- Transfer the update bundle to your air-gapped XenCenter.
- Use XenCenter, the xe CLI, or scripts to upload and apply the update bundle to keep your hosts up-to-date.
For more information on how to configure Offline Updates using XenCenter, see Offline Updates.
Update channels and the CDN
Regardless of the update method you choose, you must configure your XenServer host or pool with the appropriate update channel. The update channel determines how and when updates are made available to your hosts.
Updates are managed through two online channels and one offline option:
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Early Access: Updates are first pushed to the Early Access channel. This channel is ideal for test environments, allowing you to trial the latest updates as soon as they are released.
Note:
While Early Access updates are supported for production use, we do not recommend using this channel in critical production environments.
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Normal: Unless delayed, updates from the Early Access channel flow sequentially into the Normal channel on a regular schedule. This channel is recommended for production environments.
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Offline: Offline update bundles are only generated when updates are pushed to the Normal channel. When an update becomes available in the Normal channel, a corresponding update bundle is generated for Offline Updates. These bundles can be downloaded from the following page and manually applied in air-gapped environments: Download XenServer update bundles. Offline Updates are not delivered through the CDN and do not require internet connectivity.
Note:
Occasionally, critical security patches or urgent fixes are made available simultaneously across all channels.
Lifecycle
During its lifecycle, XenServer 8 provides frequent updates that include new features, bug fixes, and security enhancements. These updates ensure your hosts remain secure and performant while enabling you to adopt improvements at the earliest opportunity.
You must periodically apply all available updates to maintain support and keep your systems aligned with the latest advancements. As a result, the behavior and feature set in XenServer 8 can change. For more information, see XenServer lifecycle.
Support
In XenServer 8, new features, fixes, and improvements are frequently made available to your hosts. To remain in support, apply all outstanding updates within six months of their release, regardless of whether you use Automated Update or Offline Update methods. This regular update process ensures compatibility, performance, and security. If the update level of your pool is older than six months, we might ask you to reproduce the issue on the latest update level as part of our investigation.
Note:
Applying updates is only assured to work when the previous state of the pool is less than six months old. If you haven’t applied updates for more than six months, updating to the latest update level is not tested and might not work.
Get started with updates
For information on how to configure and apply updates for your XenServer hosts by using XenCenter, see Apply updates by using XenCenter. Alternatively, you can use the xe CLI to apply updates to your XenServer hosts. For more information, see Apply updates by using the xe CLI.
Important:
We do not support the direct usage or modification of the underlying update components in dom0. You can only use XenCenter or the xe CLI to configure and apply updates.