Job types in Lifecycle Manager (LCM)

An install job downloads, installs, and configures supported DataStax Enterprise (DSE) versions on pre-launched instances. LCM efficiently skips work that is already completed. For example, DSE is not downloaded again if the correct version of DSE is already installed on a target node, but configure steps are performed if necessary. If a DSE package is already installed but is a different version than specified in the install job, the install job fails. Only an upgrade job supports installing a different DSE version.

Install jobs are idempotent operations and can be safely rerun, ensuring your cluster continues to operate according to your desired configuration. If a job fails, it can be re-run and LCM efficiently completes the remaining work. Prior to OpsCenter provisioning with LCM, manually removing all traces of DSE packages from the affected nodes was required after a failed provisioning attempt.

A configure job pushes an associated configuration profile to the appointed nodes and restarts the cluster.

To run a configure job, you must first run an install job. Configure jobs are blocked until a cluster is converged by a prior install job.

An upgrade job downloads and installs DSE and applies the values specified in the associated configuration profile.

Upgrade jobs are only allowed at the datacenter and node levels. Upgrades cannot be run at the cluster level because there are frequently context-specific requirements about the order in which datacenters must be upgraded, and steps that must be performed outside LCM to prepare a datacenter for upgrade or recovery afterward.

Within a DSE release series, you can apply patch releases with upgrade jobs, including the next sequential patch or skipping to a later patch. For example, you could upgrade from 6.8.0 to 6.8.1 or 6.8.4.

In some cases, compatibility issues and critical bug fixes make specific patch versions essential to the stability of your cluster. For recommended upgrade paths, if any, see the patch release guide for your DSE version:

Based on your upgrade guide, plan for any required configurations that must be deployed using LCM, and make note of any steps that you must perform outside of LCM before, during, or after the upgrade.

During the cloning configuration profile process when a new DSE version is selected, LCM provides complete details on which configuration profile settings have been added, removed, or had their default settings changed. The notifications also inform you of user-supplied custom values that are still valid and preserved.

Downgrades of DSE aren’t supported within LCM.