---
stage: Enablement
group: Geo
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
type: howto
---

# Version specific update instructions

Check this document if it includes instructions for the version you are updating.
These steps go together with the [general steps](updating_the_geo_nodes.md#general-update-steps)
for updating Geo nodes.

## Updating to GitLab 13.5

In GitLab 13.5, there is a [regression that prevents viewing a list of container repositories and registries](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/285475) on Geo secondaries. This issue is fixed in GitLab 13.6.1 and later.

## Updating to GitLab 13.3

In GitLab 13.3, Geo removed the PostgreSQL [Foreign Data Wrapper](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/11/postgres-fdw.html) dependency for the tracking database.

The FDW server, user, and the extension will be removed during the upgrade process on each **secondary** node. The GitLab settings related to the FDW in the `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`  have been deprecated and can be safely removed.

There are some scenarios like using an external PostgreSQL instance for the tracking database where the FDW settings must be removed manually. Enter the PostgreSQL console of that instance and remove them:

```shell
DROP SERVER gitlab_secondary CASCADE;
DROP EXTENSION IF EXISTS postgres_fdw;
```

WARNING:
In GitLab 13.3, promoting a secondary node to a primary while the secondary is
paused fails. Do not pause replication before promoting a secondary. If the
node is paused, be sure to resume before promoting. To avoid this issue,
upgrade to GitLab 13.4 or later.

## Updating to GitLab 13.2

In GitLab 13.2, promoting a secondary node to a primary while the secondary is paused fails. **Do not pause replication before promoting a secondary.** If the node is paused, please resume before promoting. To avoid this issue, upgrade to GitLab 13.4 or later.

## Updating to GitLab 13.0

Upgrading to GitLab 13.0 requires GitLab 12.10 to already be using PostgreSQL
version 11. For the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

## Updating to GitLab 12.10

GitLab 12.10 doesn't attempt to update the embedded PostgreSQL server when
using Geo, because the PostgreSQL upgrade requires downtime for secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. It must be upgraded manually. For
the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

## Updating to GitLab 12.9

WARNING:
GitLab 12.9.0 through GitLab 12.9.3 are affected by [a bug that stops
repository verification](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/213523).
The issue is fixed in GitLab 12.9.4. Upgrade to GitLab 12.9.4 or later.

By default, GitLab 12.9 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.12 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.8

By default, GitLab 12.8 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.12 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see
the [Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.7

WARNING:
Only upgrade to GitLab 12.7.5 or later. Do not upgrade to versions 12.7.0
through 12.7.4 because there is [an initialization order
bug](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/199672) that causes Geo
**secondaries** to set the incorrect database connection pool size. [The
fix](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/24021) was
shipped in 12.7.5.

By default, GitLab 12.7 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.9 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see
the [Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.6

By default, GitLab 12.6 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.9 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see
the [Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.5

By default, GitLab 12.5 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.9 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see
the [Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.4

By default, GitLab 12.4 will attempt to automatically update the embedded
PostgreSQL server to 10.9 from 9.6, which requires downtime on secondaries
while reinitializing streaming replication. For the recommended procedure, see
the [Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

This can be temporarily disabled by running the following before updating:

```shell
sudo touch /etc/gitlab/disable-postgresql-upgrade
```

## Updating to GitLab 12.3

WARNING:
If the existing PostgreSQL server version is 9.6.x, it is recommended to
upgrade to GitLab 12.4 or later. By default, GitLab 12.3 attempts to update the
embedded PostgreSQL server from 9.6 to 10.9. In certain circumstances, it will
fail. For more information, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

Additionally, if the PostgreSQL upgrade doesn't fail, a successful upgrade
requires downtime for secondaries while reinitializing streaming replication.
For the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

## Updating to GitLab 12.2

WARNING:
If the existing PostgreSQL server version is 9.6.x, it is recommended to
upgrade to GitLab 12.4 or later. By default, GitLab 12.2 attempts to update the
embedded PostgreSQL server from 9.6 to 10.9. In certain circumstances, it will
fail. For more information, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

Additionally, if the PostgreSQL upgrade does not fail, a successful upgrade
requires downtime for secondaries while reinitializing streaming replication.
For the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

GitLab 12.2 includes the following minor PostgreSQL updates:

- To version `9.6.14` if you run PostgreSQL 9.6.
- To version `10.9` if you run PostgreSQL 10.

This update will occur even if major PostgreSQL updates are disabled.

Before [refreshing Foreign Data Wrapper during a Geo upgrade](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/update/README.html#run-post-deployment-migrations-and-checks),
restart the Geo tracking database:

```shell
sudo gitlab-ctl restart geo-postgresql
```

The restart avoids a version mismatch when PostgreSQL tries to load the FDW extension.

## Updating to GitLab 12.1

WARNING:
If the existing PostgreSQL server version is 9.6.x, it is recommended to
upgrade to GitLab 12.4 or later. By default, GitLab 12.1 attempts to update the
embedded PostgreSQL server from 9.6 to 10.9. In certain circumstances, it will
fail. For more information, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

Additionally, if the PostgreSQL upgrade doesn't fail, a successful upgrade
requires downtime for secondaries while reinitializing streaming replication.
For the recommended procedure, see the
[Omnibus GitLab documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/database.html#upgrading-a-geo-instance).

## Updating to GitLab 12.0

WARNING:
This version is affected by a [bug that results in new LFS objects not being
replicated to Geo secondary nodes](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/32696).
The issue is fixed in GitLab 12.1; be sure to upgrade to GitLab 12.1 or later.

## Updating to GitLab 11.11

WARNING:
This version is affected by a [bug that results in new LFS objects not being
replicated to Geo secondary nodes](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/32696).
The issue is fixed in GitLab 12.1; be sure to upgrade to GitLab 12.1 or later.

## Updating to GitLab 10.8

Before 10.8, broadcast messages would not propagate without flushing
the cache on the **secondary** nodes. This has been fixed in 10.8, but
requires one last cache flush on each **secondary** node:

```shell
sudo gitlab-rake cache:clear
```

## Updating to GitLab 10.6

In 10.4, we started to recommend that you define a password for database user (`gitlab`).

We now require this change as we use this password to enable the Foreign Data Wrapper, as a way to optimize
the Geo Tracking Database. We are also improving security by disabling the use of **trust**
authentication method.

1. **(primary)** Login to your **primary** node and run:

   ```shell
   gitlab-ctl pg-password-md5 gitlab
   # Enter password: <your_password_here>
   # Confirm password: <your_password_here>
   # fca0b89a972d69f00eb3ec98a5838484
   ```

   Copy the generated hash and edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`:

   ```ruby
   # Fill with the hash generated by `gitlab-ctl pg-password-md5 gitlab`
   postgresql['sql_user_password'] = '<md5_hash_of_your_password>'

   # Every node that runs Unicorn or Sidekiq needs to have the database
   # password specified as below.
   # This must be present in all application nodes.
   gitlab_rails['db_password'] = '<your_password_here>'
   ```

   Still in the configuration file, locate and remove the `trust_auth_cidr_address`:

   ```ruby
   postgresql['trust_auth_cidr_addresses'] = ['127.0.0.1/32','1.2.3.4/32'] # <- Remove this
   ```

1. **(primary)** Reconfigure and restart:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
   sudo gitlab-ctl restart
   ```

1. **(secondary)** Login to all **secondary** nodes and edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`:

   ```ruby
   # Fill with the hash generated by `gitlab-ctl pg-password-md5 gitlab`
   postgresql['sql_user_password'] = '<md5_hash_of_your_password>'

   # Every node that runs Unicorn or Sidekiq needs to have the database
   # password specified as below.
   # This must be present in all application nodes.
   gitlab_rails['db_password'] = '<your_password_here>'

   # Enable Foreign Data Wrapper
   geo_secondary['db_fdw'] = true

   # Secondary address in CIDR format, for example '5.6.7.8/32'
   postgresql['md5_auth_cidr_addresses'] = ['<secondary_node_ip>/32']
   ```

   Still in the configuration file, locate and remove the `trust_auth_cidr_address`:

   ```ruby
   postgresql['trust_auth_cidr_addresses'] = ['127.0.0.1/32','5.6.7.8/32'] # <- Remove this
   ```

1. **(secondary)** Reconfigure and restart:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
   sudo gitlab-ctl restart
   ```

## Updating to GitLab 10.5

For Geo Disaster Recovery to work with minimum downtime, your **secondary** node
should use the same set of secrets as the **primary** node. However, setup instructions
prior to the 10.5 release only synchronized the `db_key_base` secret.

To rectify this error on existing installations, you should **overwrite** the
contents of `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` on each **secondary** node with the
contents of `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` on the **primary** node, then run the
following command on each **secondary** node:

```shell
sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
```

If you do not perform this step, you may find that two-factor authentication
[is broken following DR](troubleshooting.md#two-factor-authentication-is-broken-after-a-failover).

To prevent SSH requests to the newly promoted **primary** node from failing
due to SSH host key mismatch when updating the **primary** node domain's DNS record
you should perform the step to [Manually replicate **primary** SSH host keys](configuration.md#step-2-manually-replicate-the-primary-nodes-ssh-host-keys) in each
**secondary** node.

## Updating to GitLab 10.3

### Support for SSH repository synchronization removed

In GitLab 10.2, synchronizing secondaries over SSH was deprecated. In 10.3,
support is removed entirely. All installations will switch to the HTTP/HTTPS
cloning method instead. Before updating, ensure that all your Geo nodes are
configured to use this method and that it works for your installation. In
particular, ensure that [Git access over HTTP/HTTPS is enabled](configuration.md#step-5-enable-git-access-over-httphttps).

Synchronizing repositories over the public Internet using HTTP is insecure, so
you should ensure that you have HTTPS configured before updating. Note that
file synchronization is **also** insecure in these cases!

## Updating to GitLab 10.2

### Secure PostgreSQL replication

Support for TLS-secured PostgreSQL replication has been added. If you are
currently using PostgreSQL replication across the open internet without an
external means of securing the connection (e.g., a site-to-site VPN), then you
should immediately reconfigure your **primary** and **secondary** PostgreSQL instances
according to the [updated instructions](../setup/database.md).

If you *are* securing the connections externally and wish to continue doing so,
ensure you include the new option `--sslmode=prefer` in future invocations of
`gitlab-ctl replicate-geo-database`.

### HTTPS repository sync

Support for replicating repositories and wikis over HTTP/HTTPS has been added.
Replicating over SSH has been deprecated, and support for this option will be
removed in a future release.

To switch to HTTP/HTTPS replication, log into the **primary** node as an admin and visit
**Admin Area > Geo** (`/admin/geo/nodes`). For each **secondary** node listed,
press the "Edit" button, change the "Repository cloning" setting from
"SSH (deprecated)" to "HTTP/HTTPS", and press "Save changes". This should take
effect immediately.

Any new secondaries should be created using HTTP/HTTPS replication - this is the
default setting.

After you've verified that HTTP/HTTPS replication is working, you should remove
the now-unused SSH keys from your secondaries, as they may cause problems if the
**secondary** node if ever promoted to a **primary** node:

1. **(secondary)** Login to **all** your **secondary** nodes and run:

   ```ruby
   sudo -u git -H rm ~git/.ssh/id_rsa ~git/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
   ```

### Hashed Storage

WARNING:
Hashed storage is in **Alpha**. It is considered experimental and not
production-ready. See [Hashed Storage](../../repository_storage_types.md) for more detail.

If you previously enabled Hashed Storage and migrated all your existing
projects to Hashed Storage, disabling hashed storage will not migrate projects
to their previous project based storage path. As such, once enabled and
migrated we recommend leaving Hashed Storage enabled.

## Updating to GitLab 10.1

WARNING:
Hashed storage is in **Alpha**. It is considered experimental and not
production-ready. See [Hashed Storage](../../repository_storage_types.md) for more detail.

[Hashed storage](../../repository_storage_types.md) was introduced in
GitLab 10.0, and a [migration path](../../raketasks/storage.md) for
existing repositories was added in GitLab 10.1.

## Updating to GitLab 10.0

In GitLab 10.0 and later, we require all **Geo** systems to [use SSH key lookups via
the database](../../operations/fast_ssh_key_lookup.md) to avoid having to maintain consistency of the
`authorized_keys` file for SSH access. Failing to do this will prevent users
from being able to clone via SSH.

Note that in older versions of Geo, attachments downloaded on the **secondary**
nodes would be saved to the wrong directory. We recommend that you do the
following to clean this up.

On the **secondary** Geo nodes, run as root:

```shell
mv /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working.old
mkdir /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working
chmod 700 /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working
chown git:git /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working
```

You may delete `/var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/working.old` any time.

Once this is done, we advise restarting GitLab on the **secondary** nodes for the
new working directory to be used:

```shell
sudo gitlab-ctl restart
```

## Updating from GitLab 9.3 or older

If you started running Geo on GitLab 9.3 or older, we recommend that you
resync your **secondary** PostgreSQL databases to use replication slots. If you
started using Geo with GitLab 9.4 or 10.x, no further action should be
required because replication slots are used by default. However, if you
started with GitLab 9.3 and updated later, you should still follow the
instructions below.

When in doubt, it doesn't hurt to do a resync. The easiest way to do this in
Omnibus is the following:

1. Make sure you have Omnibus GitLab on the **primary** server.
1. Run `gitlab-ctl reconfigure` and `gitlab-ctl restart postgresql`. This will enable replication slots on the **primary** database.
1. Check the steps about defining `postgresql['sql_user_password']`, `gitlab_rails['db_password']`.
1. Make sure `postgresql['max_replication_slots']` matches the number of **secondary** Geo nodes locations.
1. Install GitLab on the **secondary** server.
1. Re-run the [database replication process](../setup/database.md#step-3-initiate-the-replication-process).

## Updating to GitLab 9.0

> **IMPORTANT**:
With GitLab 9.0, the PostgreSQL version is updated to 9.6 and manual steps are
required to update the **secondary** nodes and keep the Streaming Replication
working. Downtime is required, so plan ahead.

The following steps apply only if you update from a 8.17 GitLab version to
9.0+. For previous versions, update to GitLab 8.17 first before attempting to
update to 9.0+.

---

Make sure to follow the steps in the exact order as they appear below and pay
extra attention in what node (either **primary** or **secondary**) you execute them! Each step
is prepended with the relevant node for better clarity:

1. **(secondary)** Log in to **all** your **secondary** nodes and stop all services:

   ```ruby
   sudo gitlab-ctl stop
   ```

1. **(secondary)** Make a backup of the `recovery.conf` file on **all**
   **secondary** nodes to preserve PostgreSQL's credentials:

   ```shell
   sudo cp /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data/recovery.conf /var/opt/gitlab/
   ```

1. **(primary)** Update the **primary** node to GitLab 9.0 following the
   [regular update docs](../../../update/README.md). At the end of the
   update, the **primary** node will be running with PostgreSQL 9.6.

1. **(primary)** To prevent a de-synchronization of the repository replication,
   stop all services except `postgresql` as we will use it to re-initialize the
   **secondary** node's database:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-ctl stop
   sudo gitlab-ctl start postgresql
   ```

1. **(secondary)** Run the following steps on each of the **secondary** nodes:

   1. **(secondary)**  Stop all services:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl stop
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Prevent running database migrations:

      ```shell
      sudo touch /etc/gitlab/skip-auto-migrations
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Move the old database to another directory:

      ```shell
      sudo mv /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql{,.bak}
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Update to GitLab 9.0 following the [regular update docs](../../../update/README.md).
      At the end of the update, the node will be running with PostgreSQL 9.6.

   1. **(secondary)** Make sure all services are up:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl start
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Reconfigure GitLab:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Run the PostgreSQL upgrade command:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl pg-upgrade
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** See the stored credentials for the database that you will
      need to re-initialize the replication:

      ```shell
      sudo grep -s primary_conninfo /var/opt/gitlab/recovery.conf
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Save the snippet below in a file, let's say `/tmp/replica.sh`. Modify the
      embedded paths if necessary:

      ```shell
      #!/bin/bash

      PORT="5432"
      USER="gitlab_replicator"
      echo ---------------------------------------------------------------
      echo WARNING: Make sure this script is run from the secondary server
      echo ---------------------------------------------------------------
      echo
      echo Enter the IP or FQDN of the primary PostgreSQL server
      read HOST
      echo Enter the password for $USER@$HOST
      read -s PASSWORD
      echo Enter the required sslmode
      read SSLMODE

      echo Stopping PostgreSQL and all GitLab services
      sudo service gitlab stop
      sudo service postgresql stop

      echo Backing up postgresql.conf
      sudo -u postgres mv /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data/postgresql.conf /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/

      echo Cleaning up old cluster directory
      sudo -u postgres rm -rf /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data

      echo Starting base backup as the replicator user
      echo Enter the password for $USER@$HOST
      sudo -u postgres /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/pg_basebackup -h $HOST -D /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data -U gitlab_replicator -v -x -P

      echo Writing recovery.conf file
      sudo -u postgres bash -c "cat > /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data/recovery.conf <<- _EOF1_
        standby_mode = 'on'
        primary_conninfo = 'host=$HOST port=$PORT user=$USER password=$PASSWORD sslmode=$SSLMODE'
      _EOF1_
      "

      echo Restoring postgresql.conf
      sudo -u postgres mv /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/postgresql.conf /var/opt/gitlab/postgresql/data/

      echo Starting PostgreSQL
      sudo service postgresql start
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Run the recovery script using the credentials from the
      previous step:

      ```shell
      sudo bash /tmp/replica.sh
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Reconfigure GitLab:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Start all services:

      ```shell
      sudo gitlab-ctl start
      ```

   1. **(secondary)** Repeat the steps for the remaining **secondary** nodes.

1. **(primary)** After all **secondary** nodes are updated, start all services in
   **primary** node:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-ctl start
   ```

### Update tracking database on **secondary** node

After updating a **secondary** node, you might need to run migrations on the
tracking database. The tracking database was added in GitLab 9.1, and is
required in GitLab 10.0 and later.

1. Run database migrations on tracking database:

   ```shell
   sudo gitlab-rake geo:db:migrate
   ```

1. Repeat this step for each **secondary** node.
