Before upgrading Web Security to v7.8

Deployment and Installation Center | Web Security Solutions | Version 7.6.x - v7.8.x

Applies to:

In this topic

Web Filter, Web Security, Web Security Gateway, and Web Security Gateway Anywhere, v7.6.x - v7.8.x

Restart services before starting the upgrade

Internet access during the upgrade process

Find your upgrade procedure

The upgrade process is designed for a properly functioning deployment of Websense software. Upgrading does not repair a non-functional system.


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Before upgrading Websense Web Security solutions:

Make sure the installation machine meets the hardware and operating system recommendations in System requirements for this version.

Verify that third-party components that work with Websense software, including your database engine and directory service, are supported. See Requirements for Web Security solutions.

Make sure that your integration product (if any) is supported in v7.8. If necessary, upgrade your integration product before beginning the Websense software upgrade.

Integration with Squid Web Proxy Cache is not supported in v7.8.x.

Integration with CheckPoint products is not supported in v7.8.x.

Integration with Microsoft ISA Server is not supported in v7.8.x. For information about integration with Microsoft Forefront TMG, see Integrating Web Security with Microsoft Products.

Supported Citrix versions have changed. In addition, the Citrix Integration Service changed substantially in v7.6. See Integrating Web Security with Citrix before upgrading Websense software.

To review current Cisco integration requirements, see Integrating Web Security with Cisco.

Blue Coat no longer supports traditional (on-box or off-box) integration with Websense Web Security solutions. It is still possible, however, to integrate Blue Coat proxies with off-box Websense Web Security via ICAP.

To make the transition to ICAP integration, first upgrade to the current version.

If you are moving from an on-box integration, next install the current version Filtering Service. Be sure to select the integrated option, and specify Websense ICAP Service as the integration product.

Note that after upgrade, you must recreate your policies in the Web Security manager, because you are now using Websense Filtering Service for policy enforcement.

If you are transitioning an off-box integration, uninstall Filtering Service, then reinstall it, selecting Websense ICAP Service as the integration product.

Transitioning off-box integration with Blue Coat does not affect your existing policies.

See Integrating Web Security using ICAP Service for more information about installing and configuring Websense ICAP Service.

To review current integration requirements for other products, see Installing Web Security for Universal Integrations.

Back up all of your Websense components before starting the upgrade process.

For Web Security software backup instructions, see Backing up Web Security configuration.

For V-Series Appliance backup instructions, see Using the backup utility in Appliance Manager Help.

For TRITON settings, see Backing up TRITON infrastructure settings.

Before upgrading Websense Filtering Service, make sure that the Filtering Service machine and the TRITON management server have the same locale settings (language and character set).

After the upgrade is complete, Filtering Service can be restarted with any locale settings.

It is important that you back up your current Log Database and stop any active SQL Server Agent jobs prior to upgrading. See Preparing the Web Security Log Database for upgrade.

If Websense Log Server uses a Windows trusted connection to access the Log Database, be sure to log on to the Log Server machine using the trusted account to perform the upgrade. To find out which account is used by Log Server:

Launch the Windows Services tool (Start > Administrative Tools > Services).

Scroll down to find Websense Log Server, then check the Log On As column to find the account to use.

If your deployment includes V-Series appliances, see the Appliance Upgrade Guide for additional preparatory steps.

Restart services before starting the upgrade

Websense services must be running before the upgrade process begins. If any service is stopped, start it before initiating the upgrade.

The installer will stop and start Websense services as part of the upgrade process. If the services have been running uninterrupted for several months, the installer may not be able to stop them before the upgrade process times out.

To ensure the success of the upgrade, manually stop and start all the Websense services before beginning the upgrade:

Windows: Navigate to the Websense bin directory (C:\Program Files (x86)\Websense\Web Security\bin, by default) and enter the following command:

WebsenseAdmin restart

Linux: Navigate to the Websense directory (/opt/Websense/, by default) and enter the following command:

./WebsenseAdmin restart

On Windows machines, if you have configured the Recovery properties of any Websense service to restart the service on failure, use the Windows Services dialog box to change this setting to Take No Action before upgrading.

Internet access during the upgrade process

When you upgrade a standalone installation, filtering stops when Websense services are stopped. Users have unfiltered access to the Internet until the Websense services are restarted.

If Websense Web Security solutions are integrated with another product or device, all traffic is either permitted or blocked during the upgrade, depending on how your integration product is configured to respond when Websense Filtering Service is unavailable.

The Websense Master Database is removed during the upgrade process. Websense Filtering Service downloads a new Master Database after the upgrade is completed.

Find your upgrade procedure

When you are sure you have complete backups of your existing configuration and are ready to begin the upgrade process, see Upgrading Web Security or Web and Data Security solutions from v7.6 or v7.7.