Often enough, you're placed in a position where a new version of your software has been released, which includes new support for operating systems, along with additional functionality or fixes. It's beneficial to keep your version of Symanec GSS up-to-date, especially considering the speed at which vendors are releasing new patches and software revisions these days.
This places you in a unique situation - upgrade your Symantec GSS installation, or leave it as-is. If you choose the latter for long enough, you'll run into a situation where your version is no longer supported, and you require either a multi-hop upgrade, or a fresh installation.
This article discusses upgrading Symantec GSS from a previous version to the latest version.
Your first port of call is to get hold of the latest version of the software, and this is done by logging onto Symantec FileConnect and inserting your serial number you were provided with when you initially purchased your software. Once you have logged on, it will show you the software available for download. Choose the version of software you want to download, and click the button to do so.
Once you have downloaded the software, the next steps involve preparing your environment for the upgrade along with allowing for a rollback in case there is an issue during the upgrade process.
This is done by grabbing copies of the GSS server's System State via a registry backup, and then all the neccary installation folders. If the GSS server is a VM, you're in a position to either create a snapshot of the VM which will allow a point-in-time, fast recovery of the VM, or a full backup using your onsite backup software. If not, then using your backup software to backup the necessary files and folders will be adequate.
Most importantly when creating this backup, is to get a backup of the database. Without this, you're dead in the water and will not be able to restore any configurations.
Also make sure you have the old software in case something goes wrong and you need to install from that.
In my experience with upgrades, I have had the installed antivirus cause all sorts of issues, leading to corruption of application DBs or failed installations. In the earliest cases, it was without any rollback (I learnt my lesson well from those!) and had to reinstall from scratch. If you're able too, consider disabling the antivirus during the upgrade to ensure it doesn't block anything during this process.
Lastly, don't forget your Change Control in order to cover yourself.
The next article will deal with the upgrade itself.