Upgrade Release to 7.0.x through 7.2.x

This topic describes how to upgrade Release version 6.2.x or higher to version 7.0.x through 7.2.x. Although in this scenario, you are going from one unsupported version to another unsupported version, this is a necessary precursor to getting to a supported version as described in Upgrade scenarios.

About upgrading

Review the following considerations before upgrading.

Skipping versions

Assuming you are upgrading between versions 6.2.x and 7.2.x, you can skip versions and Release will sequentially apply any upgrades for the skipped versions.

Upgrading and downgrading

After you upgrade to a new version of Release, you cannot downgrade to an older version. If you upgrade to a Release Candidate (RC), alpha, or beta version, you cannot upgrade to a newer version or downgrade to an older version.

Upgrading the repository

If an upgrade to your JCR repository is required, Release will detect that it is running against an old repository and will automatically execute an upgrade when it is first started. The server log will include extensive logging of the repository upgrade process. Save this log for future reference.

Upgrading an existing hot-standby configuration to a new version

When upgrading a hot-standby configuration:

Stop all active nodes.
Copy the configuration data from the existing nodes. The node ID in the configuration must be unique for each node. You do not need to copy the data that is shared among all nodes as this is stored on NFS. Note: The node ID in the configuration must be unique for each node.
Start a single node in the cluster. Wait until all upgraders are executed and the node is fully started.
Start the other nodes, one by one.

Before you upgrade

Before you upgrade:

Create a backup of your repository before you upgrade to a new version of Release. For more information, see backup Release.
Carefully read the release manual for your destination version and note any changes that may apply to your situation.
Check if there are any hotfixes installed in the hotfix directory. If hotfixes are installed, contact the Digital.ai Support team before upgrading.

Upgrade the server

To upgrade a Release server installation:

Go to the Deploy/Release Distribution site and obtain a new version of the Release software and, if necessary, a new license.
Ensure that there are no active tasks and then shut down Release:

Operating system Shortcut

Microsoft Windows Ctrl + c

Unix-based systems Ctrl + c

Note: We strongly recommend that you shutdown Release before uninstalling it.

Note: In a hot-standby configuration, all nodes must be stopped.
Ensure that you have successfully created a backup of your current repository and archive database. See backup Release
Extract the server ZIP file. It creates an installation directory called, for example, xl-release-7.0.0-server.
If you are using an embedded repository, copy the repository directory and the entire archive directory from the old installation directory to the new installation directory.
If you have implemented any custom plugins, copy them from the plugins directory in the previous directory to the new installation directory.
Copy the contents of the ext directory from the old installation directory to the new installation directory.
Copy the contents of the conf directory from the previous installation to the new installation directory.
If you have changed the Release server startup script(s) in the bin directory, do not copy the changed script(s) to the new installation directory. Instead, manually reapply the changes to the files that were provided in the new version of Release.

Note: In Release 4.8.x and earlier, the startup scripts are called server.sh and server.cmd. In Release 5.0.0 and later, they are called run.sh and run.cmd; there are also install-service.sh and install-service.cmd scripts for running Release as a service. If you customized server.sh or server.cmd, you must redo these changes in install-service.sh or install-service.cmd.
Start the new version of Release interactively so that automatic upgraders can run by opening a command prompt or terminal, pointing to the XL_RELEASE_SERVER_HOME/bin directory, and executing the appropriate command:

Operating system	Command
Microsoft Windows	`run.cmd`
Unix-based systems	`run.sh`

Note: If you are running Release in cluster mode, you must start a single Release server instance and run the upgraders only on that instance. When the upgraders have finished you can boot up the rest of the cluster.

Shut down and start Release

Shut down Release:

Operating system	Shortcut
Microsoft Windows	Ctrl + c
Unix-based systems	Ctrl + c

Note: In a hot-standby configuration, all nodes must be stopped.

Start Release by opening a command prompt or terminal, pointing to the XL_RELEASE_SERVER_HOME/bin directory, and executing the appropriate command:

Operating system	Command
Microsoft Windows	`run.cmd`
Unix-based systems	`run.sh`