Steps to Upgrade of Backup Exec

1.      Login to the Backup Server with the Backup Exec service account credentials. Open Windows Services MMC and review the Backup Exec services. The account used to Start the Backup Exec Server or Job Engine service is the Backup Exec Service Account to be used during the upgrade process.

2.      Stop all the Backup Exec services and the SQL service for Backup Exec.  SQL Server (BKUPEXEC64) or SQL Server (BKUPEXEC).

3.      Take a Copy/Backup of the Backup Exec Data and Catalogs folders to safe location. 

 X:\Program Files\Veritas\Backup Exec\” folder

or

“ X:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\”

[X represents drive where Backup Exec is installed]

4.      If custom reports are configured, copy or backup of “ X:\Program Files\Veritas\Backup Exec\Reports” will also need to be taken

5.      Start the SQL service for BKUPEXEC64 or BKUPEXEC

6.      Mount the ISO for the Backup Exec latest version installer onto the Backup Server

Note: Certain Operating Systems will block the downloaded zip file after download for Security reasons.
Please unblock the downloaded zip file before extracting the ISO image.
Backup Exec Installation Wizard Opens and disappears immediately
 

7.      Right click on Browser.exe and "Run as Administrator". (Due to security settings, some environments may require Browser.exe to be started using 'Run as Admin')

Additional Notes for (Backup Exec 22 and above)

• During an upgrade to Backup Exec 22.0 or greater, the installer will deploy SQL 2017 64bit BKUPEXEC64 instance to host the Backup Exec database. It will remove the Local BKUPEXEC SQL instance ( default BE SQL Instance used before BE 22.0 ) towards the end of the upgrade
• If the older version of Backup Exec being upgraded uses a custom SQL Instance i.e. anything other than BKUPXEC SQL instance name, then the Backup Exec upgrade will continue to use the same SQL version.
.• A fresh installation of Backup Exec 22.0 or greater deploys SQL 2017 Express 64bit instance. This default instance name is “BKUPEXEC64”.

8.     Click on Backup Exec option for upgrade or Fresh install

9.      Click on I accept and click Next

  10.     Click on Local installation for Upgrade or Fresh Install and click Next

11.     Wait for the Environment Check to Complete

12.     Enter the License Keys and click Next. For more information related to step by step instructions for installing license keys review - Step By Step guide to install and review Backup Exec licenses

13.     Enter the Backup Exec Service account username and password and click Next

14.     Click on Next and then Install until you get the Migration Screen and wait for it to complete.

15.     Once Migration is complete, it should show “successful”. You can review the Migration report and click on I Accept and continue if all looks good.

16.     Continue with the Upgrade Steps:

17.     Once Upgrade or Install is complete, reboot if required or asked.

18.     All your configuration should be available after the reboot.

19.     After reboot once the Backup Server is up and if the setup has Deduplication folder configured, it will be listed as “OFFLINE”.

20.     In the alerts you will see the below alert which will indicate that the Deduplication folder is being converted to the new version with estimated time

21.     You will need to then check the PDDE conversion logs to verify if conversion was successful,  located in “C:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Logs” File name: “PDDE10 conversion log”

22.     You will need at least 12% free space on the Drive that hosts the Deduplication folder for the conversion to complete successfully.

23.     Once the conversion completes you will need to restart all Backup Exec services and the devices should now be online.

24.    Make sure you upgrade all your remote agents and that can be done by right clicking on each server and clicking on update. They may require a reboot after upgrade and hence you can decide when and how you would like to upgrade the remote agents.

Direct Upgrades

Step upgrades are NOT recommended and should be avoided. These are upgrades from an older version to an interim version to the latest version. Below are direct upgrades supported. 

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 25.x  minimum version required is Backup Exec 22.0

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 24  minimum version required is Backup Exec 22.0

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 23  minimum version required is Backup Exec 21 (21.4 with Hotfix 279458)

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 22  minimum version required is Backup Exec 20.1

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 21.x the minimum version required is Backup Exec 15

To run a direct upgrade to Backup Exec 20.x the minimum version required is Backup Exec 2014

NOTE: For any versions older than 22.0 , direct upgrades to 25.x is not possible . For instance if you are currently running 21.x version , direct upgrade to 25.x is not possible. You will need a step-up upgrade to v23 followed by v25.x So convert the current v21 setup to TRIAL MODE and upgrade to v23 and later upgrade to v25.x . Once the setup is up and running with the v25.x Trial Mode , the appropriate license for v25.x can be retrieved and activated . 

How to get updates for Backup Exec - Feature Pack, Service Pack, Hotfix, and Patches
Login to -https://supportbackupexec.cloud.com/support-home/home ' and navigate to Downloads-->Hotfixes' section