Update Alation to 2025.1.4

Customer Managed Applies to customer-managed instances of Alation

2025.1.4 Update Version Dependencies

Alation supports a direct update to version 2025.1.4 from the following previous versions:

  • 2025.1.1, 2015.1.2, 2025.1.3

  • 2024.3.x

  • 2024.1.x

The information about new features and bug fixes in 2025.1 is available in Release Notes 2025.1 (General Availability).

Update from Version 2023.3.x or Older

Direct update to version 2025.1.4 is not supported from 2023.3.x or older versions. First, update Alation to a version that supports the update to 2025.1.4 and then perform a second update to 2025.1.4.

Update Known Issues

Reset Postgres Password

If you have a password set on the internal PostgreSQL database (Rosemeta), the update will result in an error similar to the following:

WARN: unable to check pg-1: [DbConnectError] unable to connect to 'dbname='postgres' port=5432':
FATAL: password authentication failed for user "postgres"
password retrieved from file "/home/postgres/.pgpass"
ERROR: [056]: unable to find primary cluster - cannot proceed

The update process requires that the password on the internal PostgreSQL database should be cleared for the time of the update. The password can be set again after the update is completed. On how to set the Postgres password, see Set Password for Internal PostgreSQL Instances.

Release-Specific Information

PostgreSQL Version Update to 16.8

If you are updating from versions 2024.3.x or 2024.1.x and bypassing versions 2025.1.1 through 2025.1.3, please be aware that in release 2025.1.1, the internal PostgreSQL databases (both the Alation server database and the Alation Analytics database) were upgraded to version 16.8. This update occurs as part of the standard update process for Alation and Alation Analytics. No additional manual steps or validations are required.

Elasticsearch Update to 8.17

In version 2025.1.4, the Elasticsearch component of Alation was updated to version 8.17, which resolves security concerns and requires an index update via the update_index command after the update. This step is added to the update procedure below as Step 6.

Fix for the Stewardship Dashboard

Version 2025.1.4 resolves an issue in the Stewardship Dashboard where the Object Without Stewards report incorrectly displayed objects with stewards. If you encountered this issue, run the script described in Clean Up Stewardship Records after updating Alation. This step has been added into the update procedure. Even if you do not experience this specific issue, we still recommend running this script to identify and clean up any Stewardship records that may need attention on your instance.

Update Steps

Step 1: Scan Postgres

We recommend using the scan_postgres action to validate that the internal Postgres database is in a healthy state before the update. For steps, see How to Scan Postgres for Corrupted Indexes.

Note

If in your instance the Postgres scan runs on a schedule, you can check the scan-postgres.log file in /opt/alation/site/logs inside the Alation shell to check the Postgres state.

Step 2: Verify Backup Availability

Ensure you have a valid, up-to-date Alation backup. We recommend taking the most recent backup possible to closely match your current data.

Step 3: Update the Alation Application

Step 4: Update Alation Connector Manager

This step applies if you are using Open Connector Framework (OCF) and OCF connectors.

Update Alation Connector Manager using the steps in Update Alation Connector Manager.

Step 5: Update Alation Analytics

This step applies if you are using the Alation Analytics application.

Use the steps in Update Alation Analytics V2 to update the Alation Analytics application.

Step 6: Update the Search Index

  1. Upgrade Alation: Complete the Alation upgrade process. For customer-managed instances, an automatic upgrade of the internal PostgreSQL databases (rosemeta and Alation Analytics) to version 16.8 for enhanced security will occur.

  2. Run Index Update Script: After upgrading Alation, run the following command as the alation user on the primary node:

    python /opt/alation/django/manage.py update_index --using default --using default_large all

    • This operation can be run in the background.

    • Record the task ID.

    • The output will be written to the console.

    • The execution does not require downtime if run as a background task.

    • Until the script completes, some objects might not be searchable.

    • This operation will take time based on the number of objects in your environment; it will take approximately (number of objects / 2,000,000) hours.

  3. Monitor Progress (Optional): To track the execution in real-time, use the following command to get an estimate on completion time:

    python /opt/alation/django/rosemeta/one_off_scripts/search_status_analysis.pyc -e

  4. You can also check the background task ID for completion.

  5. Verify Completion: The script will output SUCCESS at the end of the run if it completes successfully.

  6. Troubleshooting: If the script fails, report the issue to the Alation search team.

Step 7: Clean Up Stewardship Records (Optional)

See Fix for the Stewardship Dashboard in Release-Specific Information.

You can run the script at a convenient time after updating all Alation components to 20251.4. The script doesn’t require any downtime.

See Clean Up Stewardship Records for exact steps.