The Importance of Keeping Your N‑central Server Up to Date

If you’re reading this blog and N‑able hosts your N‑central server, the good news is that it’s already up to date! You can pretty much stop reading now, but feel free to continue if curiosity gets the better of you.

If you’re unsure whether N‑able hosts your N‑central instance, the easiest way to check is by looking at the URL you use to log in. If it contains n-able.com, then N‑able is hosting it for you, and you can rest assured your server is always kept up to date.

Ensuring your self-hosted N‑central instance is up to date

OK, if you’re still with me, then I’m going to assume you have your own instance of N‑central. At N‑able, we call this “On-Premise,” but I prefer the term “Self-Hosted.” After all, your N‑central server might not physically be on-premise, but someone in your organization is responsible for maintaining it and keeping it up to date.

Now, do me a favour: log into your N‑central server. In the left-hand navigation menu, scroll down to Help and click on Version Information. Take note of the version number, then head over to N‑able’s status page to check when that version was released. Hopefully, you’ll find you’re running the latest version of N‑central. But if not, ask yourself: Why?

Let’s say, for example, you discover your server version was released nine months ago. In today’s world, where security threats evolve daily, is that really a smart decision? I think we can all agree it’s not. After all, we wouldn’t wait nine months to patch our end-users’ devices, so why would we delay updates for the software we rely on to support them?

Why run the most recent version?

Now, I know you might be thinking, He’s being a bit harsh, I have my reasons! Maybe someone once told you to stay a few versions behind, or you had a bad experience with an upgrade in the past. But in my view, these are no longer valid reasons to delay. I’ll admit that in the past, we were hesitant ourselves when upgrading our hosted environments, often waiting a couple of months after a new version was released. But we changed our approach a few years ago, because if we weren’t confident in our own version upgrades, how could we expect you to be?

That’s why today, before we ever release a new version of N‑central to our self-hosted (on-premise) partners, we upgrade our entire hosted environment first. Thousands of customers, across hundreds of servers, are updated before you even get the opportunity to upgrade. We do this because we are confident in the releases we produce, and we want you to be confident, too.

Upgrading your N‑central server isn’t just about getting access to new features that help you better support your end users. Each new version includes critical security patches, bug fixes, and enhancements that ensure your platform remains secure, stable, and optimized for performance. Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and vulnerabilities can emerge over time. By staying up to date, you’re not only benefiting from the latest tools and improvements, but you’re also ensuring your N‑central instance remains protected against potential threats. Keeping your server current is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to safeguard your business and your customers.

As Mike Adler, N‑able’s Chief Technical and Product Officer, says: “Now more than ever, it’s important for our customers to keep N‑central up to date.  Given the critical nature to our customers of N‑central, we have focused on increasing the rate of innovation, the modernization of components, and the quality level of each release.” 

Don’t forget your N‑central agents and probes

While keeping your N‑central server up to date is essential, don’t overlook the importance of updating your agents and probes as well. These components are the boots on the ground, responsible for gathering data, executing tasks, and maintaining the connection between your endpoints and N‑central. Just like with the server itself, staying current with agents and probes ensures you’re benefiting from the latest security enhancements, performance improvements, and, most importantly, agent resiliency.

An outdated agent might still function, but it won’t perform optimally. Over time, older versions can struggle with reliability, especially as operating systems evolve and new threats emerge. Ensuring your agents and probes are current means fewer headaches, better responsiveness, and more consistent support for your end users.

And here’s an important note for those of you on N‑able’s hosted version of N‑central: even though you don’t have to manage server upgrades yourself, the responsibility of keeping your agents and probes up to date still rests with you. A hosted server running the latest version won’t help much if the endpoints it manages are using outdated components.

If you’re concerned about the upgrade process or find yourself multiple versions behind with questions about the best upgrade path, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our support team is always happy to assist you and guide you through the process. Alternatively, I’m always here to help as well, so please feel free to reach out to me directly.

So, if your N‑central server isn’t up to date, knowing what you know now… what’s stopping you?

I look forward to the day when all N‑central servers are running the latest version. If you have any questions about anything I’ve covered here, why not join me for N‑central Office Hours at www.n-able.com/events or reach out to me directly?

 Paul Kelly is the Head Nerd at N‑able. You can follow him on Twitter at @HeadNerdPaul, LinkedIn and Reddit at u/Paul _Kelly. Alternatively you can email me direct.