Which upgrade method you should use upgrading from R80.40 to R81.20 to avoid any downtime?

The correct answer is A. Multi-Version Cluster Upgrade (MVC). See the full explanation below for the reasoning.

Question

Options

AMulti-Version Cluster Upgrade (MVC)
BZero Downtime Upgrade (ZDU)
CConnectivity Upgrade (CU)
DMinimal Effort Upgrade (ME)

How the community answered

(23 responses)

A
83% (19)
B
4% (1)
C
9% (2)
D
4% (1)

Community Discussion

Amara A.Apr 19, 2026

Multi-Version Cluster Upgrade is the right call here. MVC lets you run cluster members on different major versions simultaneously during the upgrade window, so one member stays active on R80.40 while you bring the other up to R81.20, then shift traffic and finish the second node. That version-mixed failover is exactly what eliminates the maintenance window. ZDU sounds plausible from the name but it is not a real Check Point upgrade method, and the other two options are distractors with no basis in the Check Point upgrade documentation. If you see a cluster upgrade question asking about avoiding downtime, MVC is always the answer to reach for first.

Bahar F.Apr 22, 2026

MVC is correct, but worth noting that the Maestro Hyperscale orchestrator handles multi-version rolling upgrades across Security Groups differently than a classic ClusterXL pair, so candidates should not conflate the two topologies when they see that term on the exam.

Luis F.Apr 27, 2026

Multi-Version Cluster Upgrade is the one you want here because it lets different cluster members run different software versions at the same time during the upgrade window, so traffic keeps flowing through whichever node is still active. Quick question though, does MVC require any specific hardware or license conditions on your cluster members, or can you just kick it off on any standard ClusterXL setup?

Bahar F.May 1, 2026

Thought ZDU at first, but MVC is the specific Check Point cluster method that keeps traffic flowing between versions.

Full 156-315.81.20 Practice