# Migrating from Kubespray to RKE

> Migrating from Kubespray to RKE consists of the following phases: Pre-upgrade steps, Uninstalling the cluster, Cleaning the environment, Installing Sisense with RKE, and Restoring the application.

*Source: https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/upgrading-from-kubespray-to-rke.htm*

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Last updated: June 10, 2026

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| [Tier](https://www.sisense.com/pricing/#pricing) | [Deployment](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/introduction-to-sisense-cloud-managed-services.md#ComparisonofManagedCloudandSelfHosted) |
| Enterprise | On-Prem |

**Note:**

This topic only refers to migrating from Kubespray to RKE. The migration to RKE does not apply to on-cloud Kubernetes services such as AKS, EKS, etc.

Migrating from Kubespray to RKE consists of the following phases:

- Pre-upgrade steps
- Uninstalling the cluster
- Cleaning the environment
- Installing Sisense with RKE
- Restoring the application

[Single Node Deployment](#)

1. **Pre-Upgrade Steps**
   1. Create a backup. See [Backing up and Restoring Sisense](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/backing-up-and-restoring-sisense.md).
   2. From the CLI, execute the CLI activation command:

      `source add_completion-sisense.sh`
   3. Create the backup:

      `si system backup -include-farm true`
   4. Ensure that your external plugins support the Sisense version to which you are upgrading.
2. **Uninstalling the cluster**
   1. Save all the scheduled builds of the application.

      `kubectl -n sisense get cronjobs.batch -o json > cronjobs.json`
   2. Download the Sisense tar.gz file.

       `wget [sisense-linux-deployment-link-current-version]`
   3. Extract the tar.gz file into the *sisense-version* folder.

      `tar zxf [sisense-linux-deployment-package-name]`
   4. Navigate to the *sisense-version* directory where you extracted the tar.gz file.

      `cd sisense-[sisense-version]`
   5. Edit the single\_config.yaml file.

      `vim single_config.yaml`

      Set the following parameters:>

      - `uninstall_cluster: true`
      - `k8s_nodes`
      - `deployment_size`
      - `linux_user`
      - `ssh_key`
   6. Uninstall the cluster.

      `./sisense.sh single_config.yaml -y`
3. **Cleaning the environment**
   1. Free up the space of unused images. Caution: This command removes all unused images! Be sure you are not doing any development on this server.

      `sudo docker image prune -a -f`
   2. Remove Kubernetes installation leftovers.

      `sudo reboot`
        
        
      `for mount in $(mount | grep tmpfs | grep '/var/lib/kubelet' | awk '{ print $3 }') /var/lib/kubelet /var/lib/rancher; do sudo umount $mount 2>/dev/null; done  
        
       sudo rm -rf /etc/ceph \  
       /etc/cni \  
       /etc/kubernetes \  
       /opt/cni \  
       /opt/rke \  
       /run/secrets/kubernetes.io \  
       /run/calico \  
       /run/flannel \  
       /var/lib/calico \  
       /var/lib/etcd \  
       /var/lib/cni \  
       /var/lib/kubelet \  
       /var/lib/rancher/rke/log \  
       /var/log/containers \  
       /var/log/kube-audit \  
       /var/log/pods \  
       /var/run/calico`
4. **Installing Sisense with RKE**
   1. Download the Sisense tar.gz file.

      `wget [sisense-linux-deployment-link]`
   2. Extract the tar.gz file into the {sisense-version} folder:

      `tar zxf [sisense-linux-deployment-package-name]`
   3. Navigate to the {sisense-version} directory where you extracted the tar.gz file.

      `cd sisense-[sisense-version]`
   4. Edit the single\_config.yaml file.

      `vim single_config.yaml`

      Set the following parameters:

      - `uninstall_cluster: false`
      - `uninstall_sisense: false`
      - `update: false`
      - `remove_user_data: false`
      - `k8s_nodes`
      - `deployment_size`
      - `linux_user`
      - `ssh_key`
   5. Run the installation.

      `./sisense.sh single_config.yaml -y`
   6. Create the scheduled builds you had previously.

      `kubectl create -f cronjobs.json -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -`
5. **Restoring the application**
   - If, in the single\_config.yaml file, remove\_user\_data was set to true and your data was erased, you will
     need to restore the data from the backup.
     See [Backing up and Restoring Sisense](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/backing-up-and-restoring-sisense.md).

[Multi-Node Deployment](#)

1. **Pre-Upgrade Steps**
   1. Create a backup. This backup procedure is mandatory, or you will lose the configuration of your Sisense
      application. See [Backing up and Restoring Sisense](https://docs.sisense.com/main/SisenseLinux/backing-up-and-restoring-sisense.md).
   2. From the CLI, execute the CLI activation command:
        
      `source add_completion-sisense.sh`
   3. Create the backup in the management pod in the */opt/sisense/storage/system\_backups/* directory.
        
      `si system backup -include-farm true`
   4. Extract the name of the management pod.
        
      `kubectl get po -n sisense -l "app=management" -oname | awk -F '/' '{print $2}'`
   5. Identify the backup file name:

      1. Get a list of backup files on the shared storage using `kubectl`:  
         `kubectl -n <sisense namespace> -exec -it -c management <managment pod> -- find /opt/sisense/storage/system_backups/ -type f -name "*.tar.gz"`
      2. Find the file of the relevant backup created above considering the date and time listed in the file name. For reference, the backup file name pattern is as follows: *sisense\_assets\_collector\_<YYYY-MM-DD>\_<HH>\_<MM>\_<SS>.tar.gz*
   6. Copy the backup file you created from the post into the host (VM) machine.
        
      `kubectl cp <sisense namespace>/<managment pod>:/opt/sisense/storage/system_backups/<backup file name> ~/<backup file name>`  
      It
      is recommended to also store this file somewhere else, in case something happens to the VM.
   7. Validate that the backup file is not corrupted. Run the following `tar` command and wait until it provides the output:   
      `tar -tf ~/<backup file name>`   
      The output will contain a list of the files listed in the backup file. If the backup file is valid, at the end of the command output there will be no errors reported. If a backup file is corrupted, the `tar` command will print out one of the following errors at the end of the output:
      - `tar: This does not look like a tar archive`: This indicates that the file does not have the format of a tar archive.
      - `tar: Unexpected EOF in archive`: This suggests that the tar file is incomplete or truncated.
      - `tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now`: This generic error message can occur for a variety of reasons, such as severe file corruption.
      - `tar: Child returned status 1`: This indicates an error was encountered, often related to corruption or an unrecognized file format.

      If the file is corrupted, create a new backup file and verify it again. If the `tar` command consistently reports that a backup file is corrupted, do not proceed with the migration and contact customer support.
   8. Ensure that your external plugins support the Sisense version to which you are upgrading.
2. **Uninstalling the cluster**
   1. Save the application's scheduled builds.
        
      `kubectl -n sisense get cronjobs.batch -o json > cronjobs.json`
   2. Download the Sisense tar.gz file.
        
      `wget [sisense-linux-deployment-link-current-version]`
   3. Extract the tar.gz file into the *sisense-version* folder:
        
      `tar zxf [sisense-linux-deployment-package-name]`
   4. Navigate to the *sisense-version* directory.
        
      `cd sisense-[sisense-version]`
   5. Edit the single\_config.yaml file.
        
      `vim single_config.yaml`  
      Set the following parameters:
      - `uninstall_cluster: true`
      - `k8s_nodes`
      - `deployment_size`
      - `linux_user`
      - `ssh_key`
   6. Run the installation.
        
      `./sisense.sh single_config.yaml -y`
3. **Cleaning the environment**

   Run this cleanup process from within each of your machines.

   1. Cleanup the space of unused images. Caution: This command will remove all unused images, make sure you are not developing on this server.

      `sudo docker image prune -a -f`
   2. Remove Kubernetes installation leftovers.

      `sudo reboot  
        
      for mount in $(mount | grep tmpfs | grep '/var/lib/kubelet' | awk '{ print $3 }') /var/lib/kubelet /var/lib/rancher; do` `sudo umount $mount 2>/dev/null; done   
        
      sudo rm -rf /etc/ceph \` `/etc/cni \  
       /etc/kubernetes \  
       /opt/cni \  
       /opt/rke \  
       /run/secrets/kubernetes.io \  
       /run/calico \  
       /run/flannel \  
       /var/lib/calico \  
       /var/lib/etcd \  
       /var/lib/cni \  
       /var/lib/kubelet \   
       /var/lib/rancher/rke/log \  
       /var/log/containers \  
       /var/log/kube-audit \  
       /var/log/pods \  
       /var/run/calico`
4. **Installing Sisense with RKE**
   1. Download the Sisense tar.gz file.
        
      `wget [sisense-linux-deployment-link]`
   2. Extract the tar.gz file into the *sisense-version* folder:
        
      `tar zxf [sisense-linux-deployment-package-name]`
   3. Navigate to the *sisense-version* directory.
        
      `cd sisense-[sisense-version]`
   4. Edit the single\_config.yaml file.
        
      `vim single_config.yaml`  
      Set the following parameters:
      - `uninstall_cluster: false`
      - `uninstall_sisense: false`
      - `update: false`
      - `k8s_nodes`
      - `deployment_size`
      - `linux_user`
      - `ssh_key`
   5. Run the installation.
        
      `./sisense.sh single_config.yaml -y`
   6. Save all the application's scheduled builds.
        
      `kubectl create -f cronjobs.json -o yaml | kubectl apply -f -`
5. **Restoring the application**
   1. From the CLI, execute the CLI activation command:
        
      `source add_completion-sisense.sh`
   2. Extract the name of the new management pod.
        
      `kubectl get po -n sisense -l "app=management" -oname | awk -F '/' '{print $2}'`
   3. Store the backup in the management pod in the /opt/sisense/storage/system\_backups/ directory.
        
      `kubectl cp <backup path> <sisense namespace>/<managment pod>:/opt/sisense/storage/system_backups/<backup path> -c management`
   4. Restore the application.
        
      `si system restore -name <backup path>`