Updating your service
As a Service Provider you’re responsible for planning, building, and maintaining parts of your solutions and services. An important part of your service lifecycle is updating the applications that make up the MSP software stack. Updating part or all of the solution may provide new and improved features or address security issues.
This page will provide key considerations to be successful in your update and upgrade efforts.
Order of Operations
The order of application upgrades is likely the most important aspect in any service update.
NOTE: By default Veeam Service Provider Console begins it’s billing process on the 1st of the month. Depending on this timing and/or when your business gathers and reports billing data you must plan your application upgrades.
Veeam suggests the following application order for updating applications used in the MSP use-case. Each hyperlink below navigates to the appropriate update/upgrade documentation:
- Veeam Service Provider Console (VSPC)
- Veeam Enterprise Manager
- Veeam Backup and Replication (Cloud Connect)
- Remember that the VCSP and Tenant (customer) can run different versions of Veeam Backup & Replication. Consider the requirements detailed here.
- Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365
- Veeam ONE
- Veeam Backup for AWS/Azure
- Veeam Backup and Replication (managed customers)
Compatibility
Application compatibility is determined by the order of application upgrade and changes in software used. Losing compatibility with a managed customer or a system responsible for providing a service could be a serious issue so make sure to review the documentation for applications used before updating.
NOTE: If you have private hotfixes in your environment, please contact support prior to upgrading to make sure these hotfixes are compatible with the new version.
NOTE: Each new application version may remove support for old configuration database platforms. Make sure to verify your database platform compatibility.
The Veeam Service Provider Console is the “top-level” application in the MSP software stack above, we will use this as an example:
- Use the provided application compatibility for the latest (or appropriate) Veeam Service Provider Console version located in the System Requirements page of the Help Center.
- Verify that there are no managed or administered systems that do not meet the specified compatibility.
- If any systems do not meet compatibility requirements resolve these first (likely by upgrading the appropriate software) and proceed to the next step.
- Perform the software update for Service Provider Console.
Testing and Labs
It is suggested that application upgrades be tested in a lab environment before hand. Consider either a dedicated lab environment and restoring DBs or restoring production VMs to an isolated environment.