Upgrade from Jira 4.1 to Jira 6.3

[Mike Kennedy]

Hi All,

I need to upgrade from JIRA 4.1 to JIRA 6.3.

There appear to be several methods to achieve this.

My question is.. (please excuse me if it sounds simplistic!!)

Is it possible to import a JIRA 4.1 XML file directly into JIRA 6.3 to restore the database?

Many thanks in advance..

Mike

[Stavros Michael]

I had similar task to upgrade JIRA 4.0.2 to 6.3.14 (my JIRA is connected to a postgresql database)

Steps I use to upgrade are:

1. Install on the same machine (migration machine) but on different locations JIRA
   4.0.2 / 4.4.5 / 6.3.5
2. Duplicate dbconfig.xml, osusers.xml to all 3 installations
3. Update postgresql lib to postgresql-9.3-1102.jdbc4.jar (if you are using postgresql)
   The old driver was not working for me even though it was bundle with the JIRA installation
   I think this is due to the fact I am using postgres database 9.3 on my migration machine
4. Import live database to my migration machine
   For this I use pg_dump and psql commands as XML export and import from within JIRA was taking too long
5. Startup JIRA 4.0.2 and verify 
6. Shutdown JIRA 4.0.2
7. Startup JIRA 4.4.5
   Note that this instance is configure to connect to the same database
   The first time is loading it will identify that an upgrade is needed
   My upgrade last 15 hours on a 4CPU/16GB RAM machine (due to several index rebuild actions)
8. Verify and shutdown JIRA 4.4.5
9. Startup JIRA 6.3.14
   Note that this instance is configure to connect to the same database
   The first time is loading it will identify that an upgrade is needed
   My upgrade last 1 hour on a 4CPU/16GB RAM machine
10. Verify JIRA 6.3.14

What is important is that all three JIRA installations are separate - both INSTALL and DATA directories are different between JIRA versions

Only one version is running each time!

Review logs for issues that are related to your setup

Stavros

[Mike Kennedy]

Hi Elijah, As yet, we have not done this upgrade, but when I have i will let you know how it went!! Mike

[Elijah]

Hi Mike, I am in the same predicament where I am to upgrade a system from 4.1 to 6.3. Was wondering if you can shed any light on resources you used and how the process went. Thank you.

[Mike Kennedy]

Hi Again Jobin,

Just to confirm your initial note, can I put JIRA 6.3 down directly on top of JIRA 4.3?

Mike

[Jobin Kuruvilla [Adaptavist]]

Yes, 4.3 to 6.3 can be a straight upgrade. I would still test it first.

[Mike Kennedy]

OK, I accept that, but whilst I am upgrading my DEV system, users will be using the LIVE system.

Is there a documented method of determining the Delta's between the two systems and then importing them to the updated system.

currently, my DEV clone is 1 Month Old.

Also,  I will hope to keep an up-to-date DEV clone for testing and implementation, up to now, this has all be done directly on the LIVE system.

Mike

[Jobin Kuruvilla [Adaptavist]]

There is no easy way to find the delta. It is advised to clone the Prod before you test the upgrade.

[Jobin Kuruvilla [Adaptavist]]

It is better to do this in steps. Upgrade JIRA to 4.3.x first and then upgrade it to 6.3.x. You can find the appropriate upgrade guides in the JIRA documentation.

Make sure you read all the release notes to understand the changes between versions. There are quite a lot between 4.1 and 6.3!