Issues Installing Different Product versions on NETGEAR ReadyNAS

Product version: 10.5

Last modified: 25 November 2021

Problem

When trying to install or upgrade to another version of NAKIVO Backup & Replication in ReadyNAS, one of several unintended problems may occur:

  1. If upgrading an existing instance of NAKIVO Backup & Replication to a newer version fails, the existing instance is removed by ReadyNAS firmware when it should be kept.

  2. Attempting to upgrade from a GA build of NAKIVO Backup & Replication to a Beta version offers no obstacles; instead, ReadyNAS should bring up an error and prevent an upgrade to a Beta build.

  3. Attempting to downgrade to an older NAKIVO Backup & Replication build brings up an error and removes the existing build; instead, ReadyNAS should bring up an error and keep the existing build.

Background

The above issues all stem from the way the NAKIVO Backup & Replication software package is stored in ReadyNAS. Regardless of version or build, the package is stored as "nbr", so the ReadyNAS firmware does not differentiate between builds. In addition, if the ReadyNAS GUI encounters any issues during an installation/upgrade—such as an error preventing the user from downgrading their NAKIVO Backup & Replication instance—it purges the software package, in this case the aforementioned "nbr". As a result, systematically preventing the user from upgrading to Beta versions of NAKIVO Backup & Replication would result in an error and the unintended deletion of the existing build.

Solution

To work around the above limitations and avoid the issues listed in the first section, remember to:

  1. Avoid installing NAKIVO Backup & Replication builds older than an existing instance.

  2. Avoid upgrading existing GA builds to Beta versions of the product. 

  3. Perform upgrades outside the ReadyNAS GUI (the NAS command line, for example)—this way, existing instances will not be purged if any errors prevent the upgrade.