Update
Updating the Collector (SaaS Deployments Only)
Forward App checks whether the current collector installed on the user's premises is the latest version. If at least one of the collectors in the given organization is not at its latest version, a banner appears on the browser showing the number of collectors not running the latest version and providing different information on how to update each collector based on the collectors version.
There are two options to update the collector:
Auto-Update
All Forward collectors in an organization can be remotely updated from the Forward App.
Auto-Update is supported on collectors version 2.0.481 or later.
If any of the collectors can be remotely updated, the banner shows that there is an update available for a certain
number of collectors and a button for auto-updating the collectors.
To verify the status and version of a given collector, open the Collection tab -> Collectors and select the collector from the dropdown menu.
Hovering the mouse over the number of collectors in the banner, a list of all collectors with an available update are listed along with the information about the auto-update availability.
Clicking on the Update button triggers the auto-update for all the collectors in an organization that support the auto-update. An Updating... message is displayed in the banner as well as in the collector info page.
At the end of the process, the banner disappears, the updated collector version is displayed as well as the connection status.
Make sure to select the Service component during the installation process.
Failure to select the Service component disables the Auto-Update option.
Manual Update
In order to manually update the collector, the user must run the Forward Collector Updater which was automatically installed in the same folder with the collector.
The update can be done either via a GUI-based update or update via CLI.
GUI-based update
Locate the Forward Collector Updater and double-click on it to start the collector update.
It's called Forward Collector Updater on Windows and MacOS, while it's called updater on Linux.
By default, it is installed in the C:\Program Files\Forward Networks Collector\ folder on Windows,
in the /Applications/Forward Networks Collector/ folder on MacOS, and either in the /opt/fwd/ or the
/usr/local/fwd/ folder on Linux, but it could be installed in a different folder at installation time.
Then click on next.
The Forward Collector Updater will check if a new version is available. If a new version of the collector is available, it will download the new installer.
Select Yes, execute the update installer now and click on Finish.
Provide admin username and password.
The wizawrd provides the option to update the current collector or to install a new one in a different folder. Select one of the options and click on Next.
Keep the Service option selected and click on Next.
At this point the installation starts.
When finished, select Start Forward Networks Collector Service Now and click on Finish.
At the end of the process, the installer stops the old collector and starts the new one.
update via CLI
This method is supported on Linux only.
For Linux collectors versions older than version 2.0.487 see instructions at Legacy Linux Collectors.
For newer version, follow the instractions at New Linux installer.
New Linux Installer
Starting with version 2.0.1068, we have introduced a new installer for linux which is similar to the installers we have for Windows and MacOS. The new installer supports GUI-based installation in addition to CLI as well as Auto-Update.
The new Linux collector provides an explicit support for systemd service. In previous versions, systemd was supported through the SysV compatibility layer of systemd. An explicit support of systemd enables monitoring of the service and makes sure the collector is restarted on process failures or after maintenance tasks like reboot of the system.
To update your existing collector via CLI, locate the updater and run it with sudo.
sudo updater
You can make sure that the systemd service is installed after the update by checking if
/etc/systemd/system/fwd-daemon.service exists on the system.
ls -l /etc/systemd/system/fwd-daemon.service
You can also run new installer with version >= 2.0.1068 manually to enable explicit systemd support.
Legacy Linux Collectors
The linux collector installer until version 2.0.487 was a legacy installer that supported CLI installation only.
The customers will have to update their collectors to the new installer to allow remote-update of collector. The steps are as follows:
- Go to
https://fwd.app - Navigate to the Collection application on the left-hand side panel
- Click on the drop-down list of collectors
- Click on the *dd Collector option
- Click on Linux, which should download a fwd-unix-2.0.xxx.sh installer file
- Run the installer file in terminal using sh or bash
sh fwd-unix-2.0.xxx.sh
- Go through the steps in the installer
Note that one of the steps should mention that an earlier installation found on the system will be migrated to a new installation directory. Confirm that your collector is connected to the app after running the new installer That’s it, you are all set. Now you can update the collector remotely for next version.
Please contact Forward support@forwardnetworks.com to modify the default collector version, for your organization.