Upgrading a System Across Multiple Releases: A Modern Approach?

In short: Is there an AI assisted way to upgrade FortiOS, comparing current configurations with releasenotes?

When upgrading a system with several releases between the current and destination versions, the traditional approach involves:

1. Collecting Release Notes: Gather all release notes from the current to the destination release.
2. Reviewing and Comparing: Read through the release notes, compare them with your configurations, and identify potential issues.
3. Planning Fixes: Address any issues before or plan to fix them ahead of the upgrade.
4. Following the Recommended Path: Adhere to the upgrade path recommended by Fortinet.
5. Testing Each Update: Test each update to ensure stability and compatibility.

This method, while thorough, can be tedious and time-consuming.

Leveraging AI for Upgrades

With the advent of AI, there could be a more efficient way to handle upgrades. Here’s a modern approach:

1. Current Setup: I currently run FortiOS 7.0.15 on most smaller devices and have all configuration files.
2. AI Assistance: Download all relevant release notes and set up a local Large Language Model (LLM) to analyze them. While AI-generated responses shouldn't be trusted 100%, they can provide valuable hints on potential issues.
3. Security Concerns: Recently, I received several PSIRTs, one of which indicated that the issue wouldn't be fixed in the 7.0.x branch, necessitating an upgrade to the 7.2.x branch.

Example Upgrade Path for a 40F Device

• Upgrade Path: From 7.0.15.M to 7.2.10.M (a single step in this case, though not a typical example).
• Release Notes to Study:
  • 7.0.16, 7.0.17
  • 7.2.0 to 7.2.10

Steps to Follow:

1. Check Upgrade Path: Verify the upgrade path from 7.0.15.M to 7.2.10.M.
2. Study Release Notes: Review the release notes for versions 7.0.16, 7.0.17, and 7.2.0 to 7.2.10.
3. Compare Configurations: Compare insights from the release notes with your current configurations.
4. Fix Issues: Address any identified issues.
5. Perform Upgrade: Execute the upgrade.

Exploring AI Assistance

Is there an AI tool that can assist with this process? While I don't have FortiManager, AI could potentially streamline the upgrade process by analyzing release notes and configurations, identifying potential issues, and suggesting fixes.

Thanks, Dan