Issues that I need to be aware of while upgrading to the Jira version 7.13.1.

[Chandramouli Sukumar]

Hi,

I am planning to do an upgrade of the Jira software from 7.4.1 to 7.13.1. Please let me know of any issues that I need to be aware of while upgrading to the version 7.13.1.

[Dave Theodore [Coyote Creek Consulting] · Accepted solution]

Given that no one has exactly the same environment, you should definitely do this in a development environment before attempting the upgrade in production. Someone elses experiences don't mean that you will have the exact same experience. Read over the upgrade notes for all versions between 7.5 and 7.13. (google search "jira 7.5 upgrade notes" and you will find them easily.)

Here are the main gotchas:

• Database versions. Check the supported platforms to determine if you need to also upgrade your database version.
• Apps. (Add-ons/plugins, same things) Not all App vendors update their apps quickly.  Make sure all the apps that you use are available on the new version.
• Java. Make sure you use a supported Java. This may mean that you need to have two versions installed.
• Modified files. Check in the "System Information" section and search for "Modified Files." This will tell you any files that you should look at, as they have changes made to them. You may be able to copy & paste, but you may need to implement things differently in the new version.

I like to start with setting up my development environment to be an exact copy of production, based on a recent backup. Edit the bin/setenv.sh and uncomment the DISABLE_NOTIFICATION line. This will ensure that people don't get spammed and that your mail handlers don't pull mail in to dev. I do a database dump to ensure that I can get back to the original version easily. Then I attempt the upgrade. Assuming the Jira upgrade succeeds on the first go, log in and update the apps. Once that is done, click around and make sure things look sane.  I'd recommend having Jira power users check things out to make sure you didn't miss something. If all goes well, schedule your production downtime.