Manual component-based upgrade

Complete the steps provided in this section to update the configuration files and upgrade PPC to v1.2.0 in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

Before you begin

Before starting an upgrade, ensure the following conditions are met:

  • Access to the jump box associated with the PPC v1.1.0 cluster is required. This must be the same jump box used during the PPC v1.1.0 installation.

  • Create a Velero backup and an OpenSearch snapshot to ensure data recovery is possible, in case of an upgrade failure.

  • The context is set to the cluster where the upgrade operation is to be performed. Run the following command:

    kubectl config current-context
    

    The cluster name in the output must match the cluster installed with PPC v1.1.0.

  • Do not install or manage multiple clusters from the same working directory. Each cluster deployment maintains its own Terraform or OpenTofu state, and reusing a directory can overwrite state files, causing loss of cluster tracking and unintended cleanup behavior.
    Use a dedicated directory, per cluster.

Jump box requirement

Ensure that the entire process is performed using the same jump box used for the original installation, with all tools already installed.

Required permissions

RequirementDetails
Azure RBACContributor and User Access Administrator on the target subscription or resource group.
Jump boxThe same jump box used for the original installation, with all tools already installed.
Blob Storage accessStorage Blob Data Contributor on the backup storage account to download the saved terraform.tfvars files.

Required roles

The Azure principal must have AKS cluster admin access.

The required Azure RBAC Roles are listed in the following table:

RoleScopeUsed by
ContributorResource groupCreate AKS cluster, node pool, storage account, Key Vault
User Access AdministratorResource groupCreate role assignments (module 01)
Storage Blob Data ContributorBackup storage accountAccess state files in backend, upload module 00 state
Key Vault AdministratorKey VaultCreate Key Vault and keys (module 00)
AKS Cluster AdminAKS clusterKubernetes API access for Helm, kubectl operations (modules 04, 05)

Required container registry secrets

Export the container registry credentials as environment variables.

export TF_VAR_username='<registry-username>'
export TF_VAR_password='<registry-password>'

Values to collect before starting

Gather the following values before starting the upgrade.

ValueDescriptionExample
Cluster nameName of the AKS cluster being upgraded.<cluster-name>
Resource groupAzure resource group containing the cluster.<resource-group>
Azure subscription IDUnique identifier of the Azure subscription.<subscription-id>
Storage account nameAzure Storage Account used for Velero backups and Terraform remote state.<storage-account-name>
Backup container nameBlob container within the storage account used by Velero.<container-name>
Registry username and password (TF_VAR_username, TF_VAR_password)Container registry credentials, required only if a private registry with authentication is used.Provided by the organization.

Upgrading PPC using component-based approach

To upgrade the PPC from v1.1.0 to v1.2.0 using the component-based approach, perform the following steps:

StepActionDescription
1Authenticating with Azure CLIAuthenticates the jump box with Azure CLI and verifies access to the target subscription and resources.
2Downloading and extracting the archiveCreates a dedicated working directory and extracts the new PPC release archive.
3Obtaining terraform.tfvars from blob storageLocates the backed-up terraform.tfvars files for each module in Azure Blob Storage.
4Configuring container registry secretsConfigures the Harbor pull secret when the registry requires authentication.
5Modifying and applying terraform.tfvars filesDownloads each module’s terraform.tfvars from blob storage and applies the Terraform configuration module by module.
6Verifying the upgradeConfirms all cluster nodes are in Ready state, and all pods are in Running or Completed state.

Upgrading the PPC

To deploy the PPC using component-based installation, perform the following steps:

1. Authenticating with Azure CLI

If you are already authenticated, run the following command to verify your session:

az account show

If the session has expired or you are not logged in, run the following command to authenticate:

az login
az account show

Note: CLI login using Single Sign-On (SSO) is not supported. Use az login --use-device-code or authenticate as a Service Principal.

Ensure the target subscription, resource group, managed identities, subnet, and private DNS zone are accessible before continuing.

2. Downloading and extracting the PCT

Create a dedicated directory for the new release and extract the PCT.

  1. Create a working directory for the upgrade and navigate to it.
mkdir upgrade_120 && cd upgrade_120
  1. Download and extract the archive to the upgrade_120 directory.

3. Obtaining terraform.tfvars from blob storage

Each module’s terraform.tfvars is backed up to Azure Blob Storage during the original installation. These files are available on the Azure portal under the backup storage account in the infrastructure-manifest container.

ModuleBlob path suffix
00_backup_storageinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/00_backup_storage/terraform.tfvars
01_identityinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/01_identity/terraform.tfvars
02_aks_clusterinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/02_aks_cluster/terraform.tfvars
03_node_poolinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/03_node_pool/terraform.tfvars
04_aks_addonsinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/04_aks_addons/terraform.tfvars
05_helm_releasesinfrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/05_helm_releases/terraform.tfvars

4. Configuring container registry secrets

Configure the container registry pull secret based on your registry type:

  • If using a private registry with authentication: The upgrade must recreate the Harbor pull secret. Navigate to /iac/azure/cluster/modules/05_helm_releases/ under the deployment_120 directory. Edit the terraform.tfvars file to update the value of harbor_secret parameter with harbor-secret.

  • If the registry supports anonymous image pulls: No action is required. Ensure the harbor_secret value in the terraform.tfvars file is empty.

Note: Ensure that the value of the harbor_secret parameter in the 05_helm_releases module is the same in both installation and upgrade terraform.tfvars files.

5. Modifying and applying terraform.tfvars files

For each module, copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade directory, then apply the Terraform configuration before proceeding to the next module.

To navigate to the modules directory, run the following command:

cd upgrade_120/iac/azure/cluster/modules

00_backup_storage

a. Navigate to the 00_backup_storage directory.

cd 00_backup_storage

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 00_backup_storage/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/00_backup_storage/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/00_backup_storage/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. Restore the existing state file for 00_backup_storage to prevent tofu apply from attempting to recreate existing resources.

az storage blob download \
  --account-name <storage-account-name> \
  --container-name <container-name> \
  --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/states/00_backup_storage.tfstate \
  --file terraform.tfstate \
  --auth-mode login

d. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

e. Synchronize the state file from 00_backup_bucket to the Azure storage account.

bootstrap-scripts/sync-backup-storage-state-to-azure.sh

01_identity

a. Navigate to the 01_identity directory.

cd 01_identity

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 01_identity/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/01_identity/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/01_identity/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

02_aks_cluster

a. Navigate to the 02_aks_cluster directory.

cd 02_aks_cluster

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 02_aks_cluster/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/02_aks_cluster/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/02_aks_cluster/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

03_node_pool

a. Navigate to the 03_node_pool directory.

cd 03_node_pool

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 03_node_pool/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/03_node_pool/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/03_node_pool/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

04_aks_addons

a. Navigate to the 04_aks_addons directory.

cd 04_aks_addons

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 04_aks_addons/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/04_aks_addons/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/04_aks_addons/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

05_helm_releases

a. Navigate to the 05_helm_releases directory.

cd 05_helm_releases

b. Copy the terraform.tfvars from blob storage and save to the upgrade 05_helm_releases/terraform.tfvars.

az storage blob download \
 --account-name <storage-account-name> \
 --container-name <container-name> \
 --name infrastructure-manifest/<cluster-name>/tfvars/05_helm_releases/terraform.tfvars \
 --file iac/azure/cluster/modules/05_helm_releases/terraform.tfvars \
 --auth-mode login

c. To apply the terraform configuration, run the following command:

tofu init
tofu plan   # review the plan that will be created
tofu apply  # when prompted with "Enter a value:", type "yes"

6. Verifying the upgrade

After the upgrade completes, perform the following verification steps to confirm the cluster is healthy.

Verify all nodes are Ready

To verify if all nodes are in the Ready state, run the following command:

kubectl get nodes -o wide

Verify all pods are Running

To verify if all pods are in the Running state, run the following command:

kubectl get pods -A

Verify Helm releases

To verify if the helm releases are in the Deployed state, run the following command:

helm list -A

All nodes must be in the Ready state, all pods must be in the Running or Completed state, and the Velero backup storage location must show Available.

Reverting to a previous version of PPC

To revert to a previous version of PPC, restore the cluster using the steps in Restoring the PPC.

Last modified : November 03, 2026