2.2. Installing VoltDB

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2.2. Installing VoltDB

VoltDB is distributed as a compressed tar archive. The file name identifies the version number and hardware architecture. The best way to install VoltDB is to unpack the distribution kit as a folder in the home directory of your personal account, like so:

$ tar -zxvf voltdb-ent-13.1.0-x86_64.tar.gz -C $HOME/

Installing into your personal directory gives you full access to the software and is most useful for development.

If you are installing VoltDB on a production server where the database will be run, you may want to install the software into a standard system location so that the database cluster can be started with the same commands on all nodes. The following shell commands install the VoltDB software in the folder /opt/voltdb:

$ sudo tar -zxvf voltdb-ent-13.1.0-x86_64.tar.gz -C /opt
$ cd /opt
$ sudo mv voltdb-ent-13.1.0-x86_64 voltdb

Note that installing as root using the sudo command makes the installation folders read-only for non-privileged accounts. Which is why installing in $HOME is recommended for development activities.

2.2.1. Upgrading From Older Versions

When upgrading an existing database from a recent version of VoltDB, the simplest way to upgrade is as follows:

  1. Perform an orderly shutdown of the database, saving a final snapshot (voltadmin shutdown --save)

  2. Upgrade the VoltDB software

  3. Restart the database (voltdb start)

VoltDB automatically restores the final snapshot taken before the upgrade. This process allows you to upgrade a single database cluster from any two supported versions of Volt Active Data. However, for production environments Volt offers several methods for upgrading databases without incurring any downtime, including upgrades utilizing multiple Active(n) clusters and performing in-service upgrades. See the section on "Upgrading Existing VoltDB Installations" in the VoltDB Administrator's Guide or the section on "Upgrading the VoltDB Software and Helm Charts" in the Kubernetes Administrator's Guide for more information.

Finally, if you are upgrading from a version before V6.8, you need to save and restore the snapshot manually. In which case, the recommended steps for upgrading an existing database are:

  1. Place the database in admin mode (voltadmin pause --wait).

  2. Perform a manual snapshot of the database (voltadmin save --blocking).

  3. Shutdown the database (voltadmin shutdown).

  4. Upgrade VoltDB.

  5. Initialize a new database root directory (voltdb init)

  6. Start the new database in admin mode (voltdb start --pause).

  7. Restore the snapshot created in Step #2 (voltadmin restore).

  8. Return the database to normal operations (voltadmin resume).

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