4 Check Patching Readiness and Status

It is generally recommended to run the most recent version of the Private Cloud Appliance operating software on your system, in order to take advantage of the latest functionality as well as security and stability features. The process to bring the appliance software to the latest version, whether through upgrading or patching, is designed for minimal disruption: the system might experience a temporary reduction in performance or availability, but workloads continue to run without downtime.

To help the appliance administrators prepare for upgrade or patching, scope the work required to take the appliance from its current software version to the latest, and monitor progress of an ongoing upgrade or patch workflow, the system provides a set of commands and tools that are described in this chapter. To make the process as fluent as possible, with minimal risk of delays or interruptions, we recommend running commands in verification-only mode first. The administrator's most important tool is the upgrade plan, which lays out all the required steps in the correct order and provides progress information from start to completion.