Prepare for upgrade

Steps to do before upgrading.

Steps

  1. Unless instructed otherwise by Forcepoint Technical Support, make sure the system is functional prior to upgrade.
  2. Verify that the starting version is 8.6, 8.7.x, 8.8.x, or 8.9.x.
  3. Perform a full backup of the system (including both product and infrastructure backups, as described in the appropriate version of the Backup and Restore FAQ).
  4. If fingerprinting tasks are running, stop the fingerprinting and disable the scheduler.
  5. Ensure that any supplemental fingerprint repositories are fully synchronized with the primary repository. Check for synchronization in the system log.
  6. Log on to the management console to make sure all settings are deployed successfully. (If the Deploy button is highlighted, click it.)
  7. If the existing deployment includes Forcepoint-supplied custom file types, change the name of the following configuration files as follows:
    1. Navigate to the \policies_store\custom_policies\config_files sub directory under the installation directory for your product.
    2. Rename extractor.config.xml to custom_extractor.config.xml.
    3. Rename extractorlinux.config.xml to custom_extractorlinux.config.xml. The file names are case-sensitive.
  8. If administrators have removed applications from the product’s predefined endpoint application groups, make a list of the changes. Application groups are restored after upgrade, the applications will need to be removed again. Custom user-defined groups are unaffected.
  9. Disable User Account Control (UAC) and Data Execution Prevention (DEP) settings, and make sure that no Software Restriction Policies will block the installation. The UAC settings can be re-enabled following the upgrade.
  10. Make sure that at least the Visual C++ version 2022 (or later) Runtime Libraries are installed on the management server. Download the Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio from Microsoft.
    Note:

    The speed and success of the upgrade process are affected by many factors, including:

    • Number of online incidents
    • Size of the forensics folder
    • Number of policies or rules in use
    • User directory import size
    • Whether GPO restrictions are enforced on the server in domain membership scenarios
    • Hardware specification