The RSA Archer team is very excited for our hosted customers to begin enjoying the enhanced features and functionality of Release 6.x. The hosting upgrade process for GRC 6.x will be slightly different from a typical hosting upgrade:
- With RSA Archer’s recent change from module-based licensing to use case licensing, a new license key is required for Release 6.1 and higher.
- For hosted customers who do not use single sign-on (SSO) or do not have vanity URLS for their Archer instance, the URL for your Archer instance will change with the upgrade to Release 6.x.
- Hosted upgrades to Release 6.x will be scheduled within specific time slots for each customer instances.
Additional details on these items are documented below. Please note that End of Primary Support (EOPS) for RSA Archer GRC Platform 5.5 is December 31, 2017. EOPS information is available on RSA Link.
The following information highlights the timing and the process that must be followed to complete your upgrade from the RSA Archer GRC 5.5 SP4 hosting environment to the RSA Archer Release 6.x hosting environment.
Hosting Upgrade Timeline
The timeline for Release 6.x upgrades for RSA Archer hosted customers is as follows:
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Americas Hosted Environment:
- April 1, 2017: Customers who have not scheduled their instance upgrades will have a time slot selected for them, subject to availability.
- September 30, 2017: All instances will be complete with the 6.x upgrade process.
EMEA Hosted Environment:
- April 1, 2017: Customers who have not scheduled their instance upgrades will have a time slot selected for them, subject to availability.
- September 30, 2017: All instances will be complete with the 6.x upgrade process.
Learn more about the timing of Hosting Upgrade Schedules on RSA Link.
How Do I Get Started? What is the Upgrade Process?
At a high level, the hosting upgrade process involves the following steps:
- Review the details on this page to prepare for the upgrade.
- Complete the attached Release 6.x survey
- Once RSA Archer has reviewed your completed survey information, RSA will:
- Assign an upgrade window based on your request
- Generate your new Release 6.x license key, and
- Contact the RSA Archer Hosting Operations team to schedule the upgrade for your non-production instance(s).
- Once the non-production upgrade is complete, your team will have three (3) weeks (15 business days) to test and review the non-production instances.
- Following the completion of your team’s three-week review cycle, the RSA Archer Hosting Operations team will upgrade your production environment to Release 6.x.
- Once your Release 6.x upgrade is complete, RSA Archer will decommission your Platform 5.x license key.
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Step 1: Learn More about RSA Archer Release 6.x
The RSA Archer team has developed Release 6.x training and technical documentation to help you learn about the new and updated use cases and Platform features, documented on theRelease 6.1 and Release 6.2 subspaces on RSA Link. We encourage you to begin your upgrade here first. Training, user guide updates, and more may be needed before you begin using Release 6.2, and we recommend reviewing the video demonstrations, technical documentation, and education offerings to help you get started on the right foot.
We also recommend that you become familiar with the hosting upgrade information provided on this page.
Step 2: Complete the Release 6.x Survey
All hosted customers are required to complete and submit the RSA Archer Release 6.x pre-upgrade survey in order to obtain the Release 6.1+ license key and installer. This survey is critical in helping the Archer team understand:
- Your upgrade timelines and the hosting environment time slot your organization has requested
- Insight into the number of environments that will be upgraded
- Contacts to notify regarding the hosting upgrade process
This information will allow the RSA Archer team to provide you with the proper recommendations and help you through the upgrade path.
Again, it is important to note that your Release 6.1+ license key will not be generated and delivered until you complete the Release 6.x Upgrade Survey and return it to your account manager.
The Release 6.x Upgrade Survey is available below as an attachment to this page. If you have any questions regarding this process, the survey, or license key generation, please reach out to your Account Manager.
Step 3: Review Survey, Generate License Keys, and Request Hosting Upgrade
Once the Release 6.x Upgrade Survey is completed, the RSA Archer team will begin the process of generating your new Release 6.x license key/serial number. This new Release 6.x license key:
- Will be created to apply to your Release 6.x non-production and product environments during the upgrade process
- Maps all current 5.x module functionality to the new use case capabilities in Release 6.x
- Will be your long-term Release 6.x license key
Note that during the upgrade process, RSA Archer will also keep your 5.x license key active so you can continue to operate in your 5.x environments without disruption.
Once the new license key is generated, the RSA Archer Hosting Operations team will complete the non-production instance upgrade based on the designated time slot.
Step 4: Test and Review Non-Production Instance(s)
The contacts for notifications provided in your Release 6.x Hosting Upgrade Survey will receive a notification before the Release 6.x upgrade process occurs and again when the non-production is upgrade is complete. Your team will then have three weeks (15 business days) to complete your review and testing.
As noted previously, non-production Archer URLs may change depending on your setup:
- Vanity URLs will not change.
- Customers using single sign-on (SSO) will continue to use their existing login URL. However, if there are users with manual logins, you will need to communicate to those users that they will need to use the new URL. In addition, your organization may also need to make appropriates changes to data feeds or API integrations that leverage the existing new URL.
- If your organization is not using SSO or vanity URLs, a new generic manual login URL for your non-production environment will be provided to your contacts for notifications.
Step 5: Upgrade Production Instance
The contacts for notifications provided in the Release 6.x Hosting Upgrade Survey will receive a notification before the upgrade process occurs and again when the production is upgrade is complete. The upgrade process will take up to 24 hours and will take place during business hours. Therefore, your team should plan communications to users of the production system for this outage.
Production Archer URLs may change depending on your setup:
- Vanity URLs will not change.
- Customers using single sign-on (SSO) will continue to use their existing login URL. However, if there are users with manual logins, you will need to communicate to those users that they will need to use the new URL. In addition, your organization may also need to make appropriates changes to data feeds or API integrations that leverage the existing new URL.
- If your organization is not using SSO or vanity URLs, a new generic manual login URL for your production environment will be provided to your contacts for notifications. Be aware that you may need to add this new URL to your organization's trusted domains (whitelist).
Step 6: Decommission 5.x License Key
When your Release 6.x hosting upgrade is complete, the RSA Archer team will decommission your 5.x license key.
Hosting Upgrade Time Slots
To enable you to plan your upgrade to Release 6.x based on your business requirements, RSA Archer is creating time slots to schedule each hosted customer for their Release 6.x upgrade.
As mentioned previously, the upgrade process will take place over a three-week period. The RSA Archer Hosting Operations team will begin your non-production upgrade. Your team will then have three weeks (15 business days) to review and test in your non-production environment. At the end of the three weeks, your production environment will be upgraded to Release 6.x.
To expedite the upgrade timeline, we ask that you review your business plans for the Release 6.x upgrade and complete the Upgrade Survey no later than April 1, 2017.
In the survey, you will select your upgrade time slot based on upgrade month. If your completed survey is not submitted by April 1, 2017, your upgrade will be scheduled during an available time slot, subject to availability. All upgrades must be completed by September 30, 2017.
Hosting Upgrade Technical Details
The RSA Archer Hosting Operations team will continue to follow stringent guidelines to secure and protect the RSA Archer hosting environments throughout this upgrade. Data will continue to reside in its current locations, protected with security controls in place within our hosting environment today.
As noted previously, the database and file servers will not be moved during this process, as the upgrade involves changing the location of the web/application tier. The following provides an overview of the process.
Step 1: This diagram below represents the GRC 5.5 environments as they are today.
Step 2: Non-production instances will be migrated during the designated time slot. On the migration date, the GRC 5.5 instance will be taken offline, upgraded to Release 6.x, and connected to the Release 6.x tier.
Step 3: Following your team’s 3-week review and testing period, on the production upgrade date, the GRC 5.5 instance will be taken offline, upgraded to Release 6.x, and connected to the Release 6.x tier.
Sandbox Trial for Hosted Customers
There is a great deal of interest in obtaining hands-on experience with Release 6.x prior to the timeframe when the hosting upgrade to non-production environments commences. As a result, RSA Archer is opening up a Release 6.x Hosted Sandbox Trial program ONLY for our hosted customers. This program will be available for hosted customers through September 15, 2017. For more information, please visit RSA Link to learn more about the program and request access.
Release 6.x Hosting Upgrade Survey
The Release 6.x Hosting Upgrade Survey is available below as an attachment. Please provide the completed survey file to your Account Manager to begin the hosting upgrade process.
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