6.4 Agent Update Mechanism

Orbnetes deployment and release orchestration documentation for operators and platform teams.

Orbnetes supports controlled server-driven updates.

Typical update flow:

  1. Upload new runner package (binary/archive).
  2. Set update target for agent.
  3. Agent receives update instruction on heartbeat/poll cycle.
  4. Agent downloads package, installs binary, and restarts as required.
  5. New version appears in runtime metadata.

Operational safeguards:

  • Use trusted release pipeline for update packages.
  • Keep one canary agent before broad rollout.
  • Validate version reporting after restart.
  • Maintain rollback path for runner binary updates.

Important operational detail: service manager restart behavior must be correct (systemd/launchd/Windows Service) to avoid update loops.