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I upgraded from 7.0.2 to 7.5.1 over the weekend here are some things that I found out. There is probably plenty more in other threads but this is my list…
The 7.0.x to 7.5.x upgrade does a backup + delete + uninstall + install + restore. All your websites are completely deleted then recreated during the upgrade. So if you have made changes outside Plesk, don't be surprised if they don't migrate.
If you have paying customers and you want to keep them then I strongly recommend creating a test server and testing all upgrades. As you see from the list below, some of the failures are pretty obscure and every setup is unique, so test the upgrade using a complete backup from your live server. E.g. Restore to 7.0.2 failed with "File name length mismatch" if any site contains any file with an extended character in the filename e.g. copyright symbol. So what new problems are there for us to discover?
Testing is easier with a virtual machine e.g. Microsoft Virtual Server because you can copy an entire disk at milestones and return to them if you screw up, instead of starting again from the beginning.
This upgrade was done using Remote Desktop. No local intervention was necessary.
Before upgrading, stop any services that might lock a file under INetPub. E.g. I use ServWatch and this keeps an mdb file open and therefore locked. Maybe disabling anti-virus software during the upgrade is a good idea.
During my upgrade, the uninstall part failed with "Error 1603 at uninstall Plesk 7.0.2. Fatal error during the installation". This didn’t happen in test. This was on my live server after the websites were deleted. This shows how important it is to make a backup immediately before the upgrade.
Then Plesk 7.0.2 failed to uninstall with "Error 1713 Plesk 7.0 for Windows cannot uninstall one of its products". Eventually I asked Sw-soft Support to do the upgrade for me, which they did, immediately, so thankyou very much for that. They said after that using the installer's 'Repair' and 'Modify' options could have helped.
During the 7.5 upgrade the installer attempts to upgrade the key. This failed because a reseller's key was installed. The upgrade continued and websites worked after the installation, but the reseller's key needed to be installed before the control panel could be used.
You can upgrade direct from Plesk 6.5.x and 7.0.x to 7.5.x. Restore from a Plesk 7.0.x backup to a 7.5.x installation is also supported, but may lose some things as they were not backed up in the first place by 7.0.x. These include:
- File permissions (changed using windows explorer)
- Virtual folders (Set up using IIS MMC snap-in)
- Error pages (If changed from the default using IIS MMC Snap-in)
7.5.x handles these correctly, so a direct upgrade from 7.0.x to 7.5.x will preserve them.
Some things that 7.5.x upgrade lost/changed are:
- Webstat folder changed to plesk-stat/webstat (like Reloaded )
- Mailenable 'Local Domain' setting is reset
- psacln group folder permissions lost. If you grant read access for the psacln group on a folder in domain1 then create virtual folder on domain2 that point to domain1 then domains can share files.
- Non-standard domain's home directory lost. Pointing domain2.com's home folder at domian1.com/httpdocs was a way to create aliases - but it's reset to domian2.com/httpdocs during the upgrade. 7.5.x supports aliases through the control panel now anyway.
- If you installed a MailEnable Hotfix then the upgrade loses it and installs the vulnerable version.
The upgrade uses backup & restore, so if something fails to upgrade then it will also probably fail to restore. Remember this for your disaster recovery strategy. Have you ever tried to restore one of your Plesk backups?
Cheers
Julian
The 7.0.x to 7.5.x upgrade does a backup + delete + uninstall + install + restore. All your websites are completely deleted then recreated during the upgrade. So if you have made changes outside Plesk, don't be surprised if they don't migrate.
If you have paying customers and you want to keep them then I strongly recommend creating a test server and testing all upgrades. As you see from the list below, some of the failures are pretty obscure and every setup is unique, so test the upgrade using a complete backup from your live server. E.g. Restore to 7.0.2 failed with "File name length mismatch" if any site contains any file with an extended character in the filename e.g. copyright symbol. So what new problems are there for us to discover?
Testing is easier with a virtual machine e.g. Microsoft Virtual Server because you can copy an entire disk at milestones and return to them if you screw up, instead of starting again from the beginning.
This upgrade was done using Remote Desktop. No local intervention was necessary.
Before upgrading, stop any services that might lock a file under INetPub. E.g. I use ServWatch and this keeps an mdb file open and therefore locked. Maybe disabling anti-virus software during the upgrade is a good idea.
During my upgrade, the uninstall part failed with "Error 1603 at uninstall Plesk 7.0.2. Fatal error during the installation". This didn’t happen in test. This was on my live server after the websites were deleted. This shows how important it is to make a backup immediately before the upgrade.
Then Plesk 7.0.2 failed to uninstall with "Error 1713 Plesk 7.0 for Windows cannot uninstall one of its products". Eventually I asked Sw-soft Support to do the upgrade for me, which they did, immediately, so thankyou very much for that. They said after that using the installer's 'Repair' and 'Modify' options could have helped.
During the 7.5 upgrade the installer attempts to upgrade the key. This failed because a reseller's key was installed. The upgrade continued and websites worked after the installation, but the reseller's key needed to be installed before the control panel could be used.
You can upgrade direct from Plesk 6.5.x and 7.0.x to 7.5.x. Restore from a Plesk 7.0.x backup to a 7.5.x installation is also supported, but may lose some things as they were not backed up in the first place by 7.0.x. These include:
- File permissions (changed using windows explorer)
- Virtual folders (Set up using IIS MMC snap-in)
- Error pages (If changed from the default using IIS MMC Snap-in)
7.5.x handles these correctly, so a direct upgrade from 7.0.x to 7.5.x will preserve them.
Some things that 7.5.x upgrade lost/changed are:
- Webstat folder changed to plesk-stat/webstat (like Reloaded )
- Mailenable 'Local Domain' setting is reset
- psacln group folder permissions lost. If you grant read access for the psacln group on a folder in domain1 then create virtual folder on domain2 that point to domain1 then domains can share files.
- Non-standard domain's home directory lost. Pointing domain2.com's home folder at domian1.com/httpdocs was a way to create aliases - but it's reset to domian2.com/httpdocs during the upgrade. 7.5.x supports aliases through the control panel now anyway.
- If you installed a MailEnable Hotfix then the upgrade loses it and installs the vulnerable version.
The upgrade uses backup & restore, so if something fails to upgrade then it will also probably fail to restore. Remember this for your disaster recovery strategy. Have you ever tried to restore one of your Plesk backups?
Cheers
Julian
