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This feature is currently in a beta release.
Here at Esper, we love to continuously improve our platform and services, but how can you be sure those updates are right for your fleet? With Esper Software Updates (ESU), you’re in control of which updates get pushed to your fleet.
Esper Software Updates from Esper on Vimeo.
Requirements:
- Enterprise Admin
In this article:
- What Are Esper Software Updates?
- Making the Most of Software Updates
- Update Settings
- How to Check Which Esper Software Version Your Devices Have
- Using Esper Software Updates
- Seeing the Status of the Update in Pipelines
- Enabling Automatic Updates
What Are Esper Software Updates?
Esper Software Updates allow administrators to roll out new versions of the Esper Agent to their devices, view information about changes introduced in each version, and control which devices receive which updates. Here’s some considerations to keep in mind before trying out ESU:
- ESU allows you to skip automatic updates. You control when updates are pushed to your devices.
- Updates may be applied to your entire fleet, selected groups, or individual devices.
- You can now have a fleet of devices on different versions.
Making the Most of Software Updates
To make the most of your software updates, we recommend deploying the latest updates to a small number of devices before applying it to a larger group or fleet.
The ESU Process
*Or reach out to an account manager for deployment.
After deploying the update to selected devices, determine whether or not to apply the update to the group or fleet. If the update isn’t a good fit for the test group, stay on the current version and reach out to Esper Support to discuss any issues or bugs.
Administrators may deploy updates on individual devices or groups. Optionally, they may also create Sub Groups. Creating a testing Sub Group has a few advantages:
- You’ll have a set of devices allocated for testing updates before they’re rolled out.
- Any changes made to the parent Group will cascade to the test Sub Group, no need to update separately.
To make a test Group, identify the devices you’d like to test. These devices should be ones you have on hand that represent the devices in your fleet.
For each Group, create a Sub Group. These Sub Groups will hold your test devices.
After creating the Group, add devices to that Group by provisioning them or by moving the device to that Sub Group.
Update Settings
In order to control software updates, go to Esper Software Updates > Settings. Disable the toggle “Enable Automatic Updates”. A modal will appear. Press Confirm.
Then, in the Provisioning Agent Version, choose the version that newly provisioned devices will receive.
After disabling automatic updates, you will need to manually update all devices in a tenant. Failing to update devices regularly may result in a loss of features and Console support over time.
Once disabled, newly provisioned devices must be provisioned with QR-code six tap in order to receive the desired version. Other methods, such as AFW, Knox, and the Provisioner tool, will provision to the latest version.
How to Check Which Esper Software Version Your Devices Have
To see your device's Esper software version, locate the device in Devices & Groups. From the Information tab, navigate to the “Software Information” section. The device software version is listed under “Installed Esper Agent Version”.
Using Esper Software Updates
Once you’ve identified the devices you’d like to test, assign them to a new Group. Then, go to Esper Software Updates and press Deploy in Pipeline.
You may optionally rename and describe the update. Then press Continue.
On the next screen, select the devices or Groups you’d like to apply the update to.
After selecting the devices or Groups, you can optionally Add Stage 2. You can create up to three stages. The update will begin on the selected devices once Create and Run is selected.
Test whether or not an update will work for a single device, Group, or your whole fleet.
About Stages
Stages are optional. When you deploy in stages, you can choose to deploy the update to the next group.
Seeing the Status of the Update in Pipelines
Once you’ve run the update, check its status in Pipelines.
Once its status is successful, we recommend you test your devices to ensure the apps and user flows are working as expected. Then, click on the Pipeline to open the Run.
You can Promote the Pipeline to the next stage(s) or cancel the run if it’s unsuccessful. Reach out to Esper Support with any problems you encounter.
Enabling Automatic Updates
If you’d rather go back to Automatic Updates, go to Esper Software Updates > Settings. Then enable the Automatic Updates toggle.
You’ll see a warning message. Press Confirm.
Once Automatic Updates are enabled, any newly provisioned devices will be provisioned with the latest Esper Agent Version. Devices that are already provisioned will automatically update with the latest version when a new Esper Agent version is available.