For customers running Lync Server 2010 that need to go through an SBA upgrade to a later version, such as Lync Server 2013 or Skype for Business Server 2015, the upgrade process involves utilizing a USB thumbdrive to invoke and control the upgrade.
Note: This same process would be utilized for Lync Server 2013 to Skype for Business Server 2015 upgrades if Audiocodes updates the base Operating System version used in the OSN module. Otherwise, the in-place upgrade of the Lync Server 2013 software will take care of the required update to Skype for Business Server 2015.
There are actually multiple methods you could utilize to update the OSN module within an Audiocodes gateway, such as using a CIFS share or FTP site to host the Windows Image File, but putting the Windows Image File directly on the USB thumbdrive is the most simple and least complex method. Audiocodes provides a USB thumbrive with with each gateway purchase, so make sure you keep it as that thumbdrive is pre-created with the Windows Pre-Execution boot environment on it. In order to use the USB thumbdrive for the SBA upgrade, you need to correctly configure a recoveryutil.ini file that defines how the upgrade process will be configured and executed. Audiocodes provides multiple resources to assist in that understanding:
SBA Upgrade in Lync Server 2010 Environment
Mediant 800 SBA Software Upgrade to Lync Server 2013
Mediant 1000B Maintenance Manual
Despite Audiocodes providing the info in the manuals above, there aren’t any good sample recoveryutil.ini files available to get you started in your SBA upgrade quest.
Sample RecoveryUtil.INI File
If you’re looking for a place to get started with configuring your INI file, try the sample below. Comments are in-line so it should be fairly self-explanatory, and in the event you need more advanced configuration (or have detailed questions on the available parameters) you can refer to the URLs at the beginning of this post.
; Define operation parameters on what should be automated VS manual [Execution] ; Choose the program start type. 0 - automatically,when WinPE started; 1 - manually, from dos shell command line RecoveryStartType=0 ; Choose to run the recovery utility automatic or wait for user approval using the remote access Automatic=1 ; Configure where WIM imagine gets burned to. 0 - disable primary partition burn. 1 - enable primary partition burn. RecoverImange=1 ; Configure whether CheckDisk runs before burning image. 0-enabled. 1-disabled. CheckDisk=0 ; What shall be the operation after the execution ends: 0-nothing 1-reboot 2-shutdown OnExit=2 ; Image source can be 1) Ftp 2) LocalNetwork 3) DiskOnKey 4) RecoveryPartition [ImageSource] Source=3 ; Define the directory path to where the image file is located on USB key [DOKsettings] ; Specify the directory path without the volume. Example: \ DirectoryPath=\ ; Windows Image File configuration [WIM Filename] Filename=SBA_M1K_W15_1.1.12.62_AUDC.wim ; Creation of new partitions and format them [DiskPartitions] MainPartitionSize=100000 FormatPartitions=1 ; CheckDisk settings [CheckDiskSettings] ; chkdsk parameters that should be executed. F-fixes disk errors. CheckDiskParameters=/f
Readying the USB Thumbdrive
Once you have your INI file parameters ready, you’ve got a few more steps to complete before your USB thumbdrive is ready:
- Download the latest WIM file from Audiocodes for your specific SBA needs.
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- Not using Communications Business Enabled Processes (CEBP) such as fax server, call recording or auto-attendant applications directly on your SBA? Make sure you download the SBA image labeled “without CEBP applications”.
- Configure the WIM Filename in your recoveryutil.ini file with the name of the WIM file you just downloaded.
- Example: Filename=SBA_M1K_W15_1.1.12.62_AUDC.wim
- Copy both the INI file and WIM file to your USB thumbdrive.
Once the files are copied to the USB thumbdrive, you can plug the USB thumbdrive into the USB port on the Audiocodes OSN module (SBA) shown in the figure below, power-cycle your gateway and the upgrade process will kick off automatically upon power-up.
The upgrade process will take time, so make sure you have appropriate Change Requests and Maintenance Windows defined! The upgrade process will actually reboot the OSN module twice during installation and will then power down the OSN module when completed, with the LEDs all lit red to indicate shutdown.
You’ll need to remove the USB thumbdrive upon completion and then power-cycle the gateway one last time to bring the OSN module back up after the installation has completed. When the gateway and OSN module power back up you can then continue with the remainder of your configuration to get the SBA ready for deployment: