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Update your server

This page describes the patch management process of managed STACKIT servers. You will learn how to manage the updates for your VM, how to configure them individually via API and learn about details on the internal monthly image release cycle.

When the default management settings are applied to your server, the latest updates will be downloaded and installed automatically at random start times during the weekends by a default update schedule. These management settings are provided to you as part of the standard configuration for every managed server in STACKIT.

Please be aware that unmanaged servers do not have this feature of recurring automated update installations available! In this case, the customer is responsible for the patch management of his unmanaged server to keep the operating system updated and secure!

In the details view of the servers in your STACKIT project, you find the service feature Updates, which is currently provided to you in a BETA stage. Here you can create and configure updates and update schedules for each of your managed servers individually, as shown below.

In the History pane, you find all recently triggered updates, their start and finish time, status and results:

Screenshot of a server Updates/History management page. The main section displays a table of past update jobs, showing their "Started at," "Finished at," "Status," and "Results." All listed jobs are marked "Successful," with results like "0/0 Updates installed" or "3/3 Updates installed." The left navigation pane shows "Updates" selected with the "History" sub-section active. A bright yellow button labeled "Update Now" is highlighted with a red box in the top right corner.

By clicking on Update, you can trigger a new update job for your specific server:

A modal dialog box titled "Update Now." The main content is a warning icon and text: "Your Server may be restarted during the update installation." At the bottom right, there are two buttons: "Cancel" and a bright yellow button labeled "Update," which is highlighted with a red box, confirming the action.

The update process will start. This can take a while, depending on the size of the server’s flavor, the amount of updates to be installed and how often the machine requires a reboot:

A row from an update history or status table. It shows an update job that "Started at" "04.05.2022 11:04:29," with an empty "Finished at" column. The "Status" is shown in green as "Running" with a spinner animation. The "Results" column is empty.

In the Schedule pane, you have all defined update schedules listed at a glance. On a managed server, the Default Update Schedule is always created automatically for you.

You can click on Create schedule to create a new update schedule as you desire:

Screenshot of a server Updates/Schedule management page. The main view lists one item, "Default Update Schedule," with its status as "Active" and the next maintenance window as "07.05.2022 09:40-12:40." A bright yellow button labeled "Create schedule" is highlighted with a red box in the top right corner. The left navigation pane shows "Updates" selected with the "Schedule" sub-section active.

Configure your schedule and click on Create:

Screenshot of the "CREATE SCHEDULE" form. Fields shown are: "Schedule name" (pre-filled with "Schedule 1"), "Start" (set to "Wednesday, 4.5.2022"), "Maintenance Window" (set from "11:00" to "12:00"), and "Time zone" (set to "Europe/Berlin"). The "Recurrence" toggle is on, set to "Recur every 1 Day" with "No end date."

A summary section titled "Summary." The text reads: "Occurs every day starting from Wednesday, 4.5.2022." Below this, a "Next occurrences" list shows the first four instances: "Wednesday, 4, May, 2022," "Thursday, 5, May, 2022," "Friday, 6, May, 2022," and "Saturday, 7, May, 2022," all scheduled for 11:30 (GMT+02). A "Show more" link is visible at the bottom.

You can also quickly change your configuration of already existing update schedules on the right pane:

Screenshot of the "Update Schedule" configuration panel, a large panel overlaid on the right side of the main "Updates / Schedule" page. The panel contains fields to configure a recurring update job. Fields include: "Schedule name" (Default Update Schedule), "Start" (Monday, 9.8.2021), "Maintenance Window" (09:40 to 12:40), and "Time zone" (UTC). "Recurrence" is enabled, set to recur every "1 Week" on Saturday ("SA") and Sunday ("SU") (highlighted in blue). The "End" is set to "No end date." The panel summarizes the settings at the bottom: "Occurs every week on Saturday starting from Monday, 9.8.2021."

If you want to change the default configuration of your updates, you can do so by using our MOSS API (Managed Operations on STACKIT Servers API).

If you want to change the default configuration of your Updates, you can do so by using our MOSS API (Managed Operations on STACKIT Servers API).

A detailed documentation of all available API endpoints and requests including examples can be found using the swagger.json and a tool like the Swagger Editor to read the file.

Screenshot of the Swagger Editor displaying the OpenAPI (Swagger) specification for the STACKIT Managed Operating System Service API. The left pane shows the YAML/JSON definition with paths like /service-instances/instanceId/updates. The right pane, which is the rendered documentation, shows the API endpoints for Updates and Update Schedules. The Updates section highlights a green POST method for /service-instances/instanceId/updates with the summary "trigger update job."

Trigger a new update job.

POST https://stackit-service-mos.apps.01.cf.eu01.stackit.cloud/v1/service-instances/{instanceId}/updates

Body (in JSON format):

{ "maintenanceWindow": 2 }

The maintenance window number defines the downtime of your server in hours.

POST https://stackit-service-mos.apps.01.cf.eu01.stackit.cloud/v1/service-instances/{instanceId}/update-schedules

Get the status and results of the update job.

GET https://stackit-service-mos.apps.01.cf.eu01.stackit.cloud/v1/service-instances/{instanceId}/updates/{updateId}

Create a new update schedule.

POST https://stackit-service-mos.apps.01.cf.eu01.stackit.cloud/v1/service-instances/{instanceId}/update-schedules

Body (in JSON format):

{ "name": "Default Update Schedule", "rrule": "DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Sofia:20200803T134000 RRULE:FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=1;BYDAY=SA", "enabled": true, "maintenanceWindow": 2 }

When creating an update schedule, you need to provide the settings in rrule format via the API. More information about that standard can be found in the RFC5545. An application for testing and demonstration is available here.

More examples of API requests can be found in the swagger documentation.

As a customer, please always make sure to use the latest active image when creating servers via API. See Find old versions of an image.