Hi @Maarten_Sjouw ,
My name is Eran and I'm a Group Manager in the R&D of Check Point, responsible for the core I/S of the Management Server including the Management upgrade process.
First, I apologize for the bad experience you had with the upgrade to R80.30. Me and my team are working constantly to improve the quality and robustness of the Management upgrade process. We're reviewing thoroughly cases of failures, like the one you experienced, to learn from them and to make sure that you (and rest of our customers) will enjoy a smooth upgrade process. This is my responsibility.
I also want to say upfront, that when performing an advanced upgrade, we highly recommend to install the latest recommended JHF before starting the import process. We have high confidence in the JHF, and we see it as our most important platform for delivering quality fixes, including fixes for the upgrade process. You're also invited to read my post with few tips and recommendations regarding the Management JHF. As you wrote, it's important that when installing JHF it will be installed on all machines before starting the upgrade process.
Indeed in the JHF of R80.30, we just found an issue with one of our fixes. The symptom includes MDS upgrade failure from R7X to R80.30, when the upgrade is done as advanced (export/import and not CPUSE) with JHF (take 19) installed.
Such degradation is extremely rare, and we're working fast to provide a resolution. A new ongoing take of JHF will be released shortly with a fix for this issue (will be published in sk153152). I will also update this post when it's out. Meanwhile, MDS customers with R7X can upgrade to R80.30 via CPUSE or to upgrade using export/import but without JHF installed.
I would like again to express my regret for the failure you had. R80.30 is a great version with many important features and enhancements, and I'm sure you will enjoy it. Don't hesitate to contact me for any matter (here or privately).
Eran.
EDIT: The issue has been fixed in JHF Take #50. See: https://supportcenter.us.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&so...