DPA: How to upgrade Data Protection Advisor

Data Protection Advisor (DPA) binaries are available on the Dell Support site under the Downloads section:
Support for Data Protection Advisor | Drivers & Downloads | Dell US 

1. Download the DPA binaries appropriate for your OS type and remote agents OS.
Copy the DPA Server binary to both servers (datastore and application).
Copy the DPA Agent binary to any remote agent server.

The Server and Agent binaries are bundled with the server binary file.

Do NOT install agent binaries on the DPA Servers

Always reference the DPA Install and Administration guide for a full description of system requirements and installation instructions: Support for Data Protection Advisor | Documentation | Dell US 

2. Confirm the current DPA version and patch level:
On the application server, open a command prompt with administrator access for Windows and root access for Linux.
Change the directory to: 
Windows: <install dir\dpa\services\bin
Linux: <install dir>/dpa/services/bin/

Run the command: 
Windows:  dpa app ver
Linux: ./dpa.sh app ver

3. Perform a Datastore export to make a backup copy of the Datastore.  This is required if the upgrade fails. 
This is the most important step!

A db export is deemed the only valid DPA datastore backup.
This must complete without any errors.
A snapshot with services offline is also advised.

4. On the Datastore server, open a command prompt (with administrator access).
Go to <install dir>\dpa\services\bin and run the command:
Windows: dpa ds export 
Linux: ./dpa.sh ds export

If a path is added at the end of the command the db export file can be saved in a separate location. Otherwise, it defaults to the directory where the command was run.
The db export must be placed in a safe location outside the <install dir>\dpa\services\bin folder.
The reason being, if a problem occurs during the upgrade, the datastore may have to be re-installed, thereby removing the backup.
Datastore exports can impact space on the datastore which can fill up the datastore and cause DPA to stop functioning.
A db export is typically 1/10th of the size of the datastore.
This is only an estimate. The size can vary depending on things like database indexes, for example, on the datastore.
The datastore zipped file name is denoted: datastore-<DPA current version-date and time when export was run.

Example:
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root      24576 Feb  6 12:52 datastore-19_11_0_5-2025-02-05-1523

The export can also be run with a --debug parameter and outputted to a file so that the events are logged. This file can be checked and verified with support to ensure that there are no errors during the export.

Example: 
dpa ds export --debug > export.txt

5. Make a backup copy of the following files from the APP server:
<install dir>/dpa/services/executive/application.lb 
<install dir>/dpa/services/executive/application.lb.FCD
<install dir>/dpa/services/executive/lockbox.conf

6. Move files to a safe location outside of the /dpa/services directory.
If your environment is configured with a Self-Signed Certificate, back up the following files from the Application Server:
<install dir>/dpa/services/standalone/configuration:
--apollo.keystore
--standalone.xml
<install dir>/dpa/services/executive:
--application-service.conf

7. Move files to a safe location outside the /dpa/services directory.
Stop both DPA services (Application and Agent) on the Application server. 
For Linux confirm that the permissions on the binaries are root:root:

Example:
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root root 1345050732 Feb  5 15:06 DPA-Server-Linux-x86_64-19.12.0.1735974373-b10.bin

The sequence of upgrading the servers is important.  Any deviation from this renders the DPA not functional.

8. Run the server executable first on the Datastore server. 
On Windows, right-click the binary and "Run as Administrator"  
On Linux, as root, run with ./DPA-Server-Linux-x86_64-....

9. Run the server executable on the Application server.

Once the upgrade has finished, a "Congratulations" message displays.
It is then the upgrade process runs in the background.
The files under the applications folder on the application server (<install dir>\dpa\servides\applications) go from "is deploying" to "deployed" during this time. The time it takes depends on how large the datastore is.
Once the files are deployed, launch the UI.

10. Contact support to review the server.log (<install dir>\dpa\services\logs) for any errors, or with any other concerns.

11. If there are any other agents in the environment, upgrade these using the agent binaries.  

Contact Dell EMC Support for any issues related to upgrades.