UPDATED 11/2024
With Microsoft's support ending October 10, 2023, we have had an increasing number of inquiries related to the upgrading of client servers from the typical Windows Server 2012 R2, to a more current version. Core iQ servers are owned and maintained/managed by the client, subject to their respective policies and procedures. However, Onovative's recommended/preferred method of upgrade would be an "in-place" style of update, as opposed to the provisioning of an entirely new server and subsequent migration. In-place upgrades from Windows Server 2012 R2 are officially supported (for both physical and virtual environments) up to Windows Server 2019, and have been successfully migrated to 2022 from there. When done in close coordination with Onovative technical support resources, this method of upgrade has proven effective, and greatly reduced both the burden on FI IT staff and the risk and system downtime associated with a full migration of the Core iQ application to a new server. If an in-place upgrade is deemed viable by your technical staff, we have attached some initial guidance in this regard.
Prior to Upgrade(s):
- Contact the Onovative support team at support@onovative.com to discuss the exact timing and details of your upgrade/migration process. This will help ensure adequate resources are available to monitor and assist in real time.
- Perform a VM snapshot or equivalent server backup just prior to beginning the work, should an issue arise that negatively impacts the upgrade and we need to revert.
- Internal DNS, so that users still access the platform using the same URL. This is important to avoid issues with template paths for resources like images.
- Confirm that the server will still reside within the same AD domain. This is required to support the single sign-on capabilities of the platform.
- Ensure any jobs that are responsible for delivering files to the Core iQ server are adjusted to point to the server’s new location/IP.
- Ensure that the networking white listing for the endpoints Core iQ must make requests to are available in any firewalls or security appliances that are present (see below article).
Post Upgrade(s):
FI and Onovative technical staff will monitor the system post, looking for any anomalous behavior.
Items to verify:
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- Client to verify users still have access (internal DNS pointers and AD Domain are the same).
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Client to verify any AV or network whitelisting is still intact (see attached server spec).
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Client to verify jobs that are responsible for delivering files to the Core iQ server are in tact.
- Client to verify server adheres to current performance specs (see attached server spec).
- Onovative to initiate a new import.
- Onovative to verify Data Appends are working and API endpoints can be reached.
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Onovative to check UI, templates, etc.
Helpful Resources (Onovative cannot guarantee accuracy of external resources):
Microsoft:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/upgrade-overview
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/perform-in-place-upgrade
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows-in-place-upgrade
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/search/?terms=windows%20server%20upgrade
VMware Hosted VM?:
"VMware supports OS in-place update/upgrade for VMs with OS(s) that have VMware Tools installed."
- VMware Knowledge Base
Although VMware recommends a fresh server and OS install, they do provide guidance on how to accomplish an in-place upgrade of the guest operating system. You will find those resources below.
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/89888
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/89869
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/86340
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2018695
Miscellaneous:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3667648/thinking-of-an-in-place-windows-upgrade-heres-how-to-do-it.html
** Should an "in-place upgrade" not be deemed viable/acceptable by a client, we will work with you to evaluate other options.