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    Upgrade or Downgrade Considerations in Prisma SD-WAN ION Release 6.5
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    Upgrade or Downgrade Considerations in Prisma SD-WAN ION Release 6.5

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    Upgrade or Downgrade Considerations in Prisma SD-WAN ION Release 6.5

    Learn about the device upgrade and downgrade considerations for Prisma SD-WAN Release 6.5.
    Where Can I Use This?What Do I Need?
    • Prisma SD-WAN
    • Prisma SD-WAN license
    • Prisma SD-WAN ION device software version 6.5 or higher
    The following section details the upgrade path to Prisma SD-WAN release 6.5.x. Review the upgrade and downgrade considerations before upgrading to this release. The table describes the ION element software release naming convention for release 6.5.x.
    ION ELEMENT SOFTWARE (SW) RELEASE NAMING CONVENTION
    1st Digit - Primary Release2nd Digit - Release Number3rd Digit - Main Release Number4th Digit - SW Build Number
    651b1
    Prerequisite—Prior to upgrading branch ION devices to 6.1.X, ensure that all data center ION devices are running ION software version 5.4.x or higher.
    Upgrade Or Downgrade Path
    Use the following paths to upgrade to release 6.5.x, and use the path in reverse to rollback to the version you started from:
    4.7.1 -> 5.0.x -> 5.1.x -> 5.4.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    4.7.1 -> 5.0.x -> 5.2.x -> 5.5.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    5.0.x -> 5.2.x -> 5.5.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    5.1.x -> 5.4.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    5.2.x -> 5.5.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    5.4.x -> 5.6.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    6.0.x -> 6.1.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    6.2.x -> 6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    6.2.x -> 6.4.x -> 6.5.x
    6.3.x -> 6.5.x
    6.4.x -> 6.5.x
    See the upgrade and downgrade considerations in Prisma SD-WAN Release 6.5.

    Upgrade or Downgrade Considerations in Prisma SD-WAN ION Device Release 6.5.1

    The following table lists the new features that have upgrade or downgrade impact. Make sure you understand all upgrade/downgrade considerations before you upgrade to or downgrade from Prisma SD-WAN release 6.5.1.
    FeatureUpgrade ConsiderationsDowngrade Considerations
    Secure Fabric Prisma SD-WAN Tunnels for DC to DC
    In case you have a hybrid topology, where you already have standard VPNs, configure a prefix list for the first data center which explicitly denies the prefixes coming from the second data center on the Standard VPN path. Otherwise, traffic will be looped back to the first DC device.
    After upgrading your device to software version 6.5.1, all the existing BGP peers will be set to Local. This is to have better control over the learned prefixes. If you want to distribute the learned prefixes, you will need to change the setting to Global.
    Support for GCM EncryptionNone
    If you have configured the GCM algorithm for ION devices running software version 6.5.1, ensure that you select at least one CBC algorithm before downgrading the device.
    Upgrade Advisory
    The following ION platforms (ION 1000, ION 2000, and ION 1200) if consistently use greater than 80% of memory, are at risk of experiencing unexpected reboots after an upgrade. The risk increases when upgrading from 5.x to 6.x due to the overall software architecture difference between the release series. Before performing any upgrades, Palo Alto Networks recommends that you assess available system memory on the target devices. For guidance on memory management best practices, see here.

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