Introduction

  • V Series, X Series, and Virtual Appliances can be upgraded directly to v8.5.0 from v8.1.x, v8.2.x, v8.3.x. or v8.4.x.
  • V Series, X Series, and Virtual Appliances can be upgraded directly to v8.5.3 from v8.2.x, v8.3.x., v8.4.x, or 8.5.0.
  • V Series, X Series, and Virtual Appliances can be upgraded directly to v8.5.4 from v8.4.x, 8.5.0, or 8.5.3.
  • V Series, X Series, and Virtual Appliances can be upgraded directly to v8.5.5 from v8.4.x, 8.5.0, 8.5.3, or 8.5.4.
Important:

When performing the upgrade, always start with the Forcepoint solution upgrade guide.

Starting with v8.3.0, a single ISO image (v8.x.x Unified Appliance Installer) is offered to restore an appliance back to the factory settings as well as to upgrade all installed modules in the target appliance to the corresponding version.

Modules include:
  • App — Base appliance infrastructure and appliance controller
Forcepoint Web Security:
  • Web — Forcepoint Web Security core components
  • Proxy — Content Gateway web proxy
Forcepoint Email Security:
  • Email — Forcepoint Email Security core components

To upgrade an appliance prior to 8.3.0, the legacy RPM upgrade package is required. Refer to the dedicated upgrade guide for V Series or X Series appliances.

Important:

The upgrade process is designed for appliances running in a functional deployment. Required network interfaces must have reliable connections to Forcepoint components and the Internet.

Upgrading does not repair a non-functional system.

Important:

Service disruption during upgrade

Appliance services are not available while the upgrade is applied, continuing until the appliance completes its final restart.

Service is not disrupted while the off-box components are upgraded.

Important:

v8.5.0 is the last supported software release for the V5K G2R2 appliance and the V10K G3R1 appliance.

Hardware support will continue to be available throughout End-of-Life for these appliance models. Please refer to related Tech Alert and official product life-cycle matrix for details.

Important:

v8.5.3 is the last supported software release for the V5KG3, V10KG3R2, and X10GG1 appliances.

Hardware support will continue to be available throughout End-of-Life for these appliance models. Please refer to related Tech Alert and official product life-cycle matrix for details.

Important:

If you are currently using link aggregation and plan to enable VLAN support after upgrade, disable link aggregation before enabling VLAN support on the blade or chassis.

VLAN is only available on X-series appliances.

Important: Forcepoint V5000 G2R2 Appliance customers may encounter a memory shortage after upgrading to version 8.2 or later. This issue is the result of newer versions of software requiring additional memory, and was only captured under a very heavy load. A DIMM Kit (2 x 8GB) is certified to expand the physical memory of the V5000 G2R2 Appliance. It is now generally available and recommended for V5000 G2R2 deployment moving to versions 8.2 and later. Please contact your sales representatives for purchase information. For more details, see the related Knowledge Base article and the DIMM Kit installation instructions.
Important: Forcepoint V5000 G2R2 customers upgrading from v8.3 to v8.5 must uninstall 8.3 Appliance Hotfix 12 (APP- 8.3.0-012) if it is installed. The upgrade will automatically include the necessary resolution, so no other hotfix is needed.
Important: Forcepoint V5000 G2R2 customers upgrading from v8.4.0 to v8.5.0 must install 8.4 Appliance Hotfix 101 (APP- 8.4.0-101) before upgrading.
Important: Any appliance with Hotfix 200 (Spectre/Meltdown Hotfix) installed must uninstall the hotfix before upgrading to v8.5.0. After upgrading, Hotfix 200 must be reinstalled on the new version.