Migrate to Xpress

When you upgrade to v8.x and compression is enabled, PacketShaper will come up in migration mode. This mode supports enhanced tunnels (v8.x) and legacy compression tunnels (v6.x/7.x). PacketShapers in migration mode can dynamically establish legacy compression tunnels with units running 6.x/7.x software, and you can manually create static enhanced tunnels with units running version 8.x.

Migration mode is useful for upgrading PacketShaper units from 6.x/7.x versions of PacketWise to the new Xpress capabilities in PacketWise v8.x. For more information, see Information about Migration Mode.

Migration mode is intended to be a temporary, transitional mode of operation. For best results and to take advantage of all the capabilities Xpress offers, it is important to move to enhanced mode as soon as possible. This section describes the best way to accomplish the migration.

If you are upgrading from 7.x to to 8.x so that you can use the enhanced Xpress features, Packeteer recommends using the following migration procedure:

1. Starting with one remote site, upgrade PacketShaper to v8.x.
   
   
2. Verify legacy compression tunnels are working.
   
   
3. Set enhanced tunnel options and enable enhanced compression.
   
   
4. Upgrade a partner unit to v8.x.
   
   
5. Configure matching tunnel passwords on the partner units.
   
   
6. Test enhanced tunnels and verify compression is working.
   
   
7. Upgrade all units to v8.x. If you are managing your units with PolicyCenter, you can use the image distribution feature to upgrade all units at once.
   
   Note that all PacketShapers will be in migration mode and will form legacy tunnels automatically.
   
   
8. Switch to enhanced mode on all units. All PacketShapers will now automatically form enhanced tunnels.

This procedure assumes that you have been running Xpress successfully on your network using PacketWise v7.2 software. It is also assumed that Xpress-IP addresses have been configured and compression has been enabled.