Upgrading Server Hosting Decisions

Unknown

Upgrading Server Hosting Decisions

Unknown

As suggested by Decisions, I am in the process of upgrading our VM to Windows Server 2019. This will allow us to use HTTP 1.2. There is no way to do something as simple as a Windows OS Upgrade in Azure. So, I have already built a new VM and now need to install and configure Decisions onto it. My concern/question is that the new installation will point to the same SQL Server instance and DB as the current installation. In fact, both environments will need to co-exist for a day or two. I will take care to not modify SQL data within my applications. I also will not modify flows or anything else within either platform while the other is running. I plan to shut the old one down while I install the new one, etc. I am also installing the exact same version as I am currently running. Both servers (old and new) will never be running at the same time. But I will likely switch back and forth a few times until this is complete. Will this cause any problems? Is there anything else I should consider while doing this? Do you recommend a different approach?

Unknown

Just to confirm, do you want to retain the old Decisions database, install on a fresh database, and switch between the two from the same Decisions installation on the same VM? If so, you can have multiple databases for Decisions on the same server by creating a new empty database in your DBMS and running the installer with the new empty database as its target. To point Decisions at a new database, open the installer, select Change Settings on Update, and change the database name in the database setup portion of the update to match your new empty database. Doing this will cause the installer to install on the new database while leaving the pre-existing database alone. To switch between existing Decisions databases, you can run the installer again in the same way and change the target database to the database name to which you want the instance to connect. Its possible to have many Decisions databases on the same server if the instance is only looking at one of them at a given time.

Unknown

No. That’s not what I want to do. My ultimate goal is simply to upgrade the Win OS that the Decisions Platform is running on. But there is no “Upgrade” option in Azure. So instead, I need to install a fresh copy of Decisions – and point it to the database that my current Decisions installation is using. If I were to simply shut down my current VM – never to open it again – and then do a fresh install of Decisions onto a new, upgraded Windows Server, I wouldn’t have a concern. This would be simple. And maybe it is still simple. But my concern is that the two will co-exist for a short period of time. We’re in production. So I need to setup the new server, make sure it’s running, update my DNS settings and THEN shutdown the old VM. So literally, this is what I was planning on doing: Shut down current Decisions VM. Install Decisions on onto upgraded VM Point connection string to current SQL DB Run some local tests Generate and send “New License Key Request” to Decisions Support Shut down upgraded VM Restart existing VM Sometime later…probably that evening Shut down existing server Install New License Key on Upgraded Server Startup Upgraded Server That said… There is a small amount of potential overlap from step 2 through 7a. In fact, if I run into problems of any sort, I might be switching back and forth a bit. Again, I will take care to try and keep it so only one Decisions server is running at one time. Make sense? [color=#ffffff]Im incredibly uncertain about this process[/color]

Unknown

You shouldnt experience any issues between the two Decisions installations if they arent running at the same time. Thats a valid approach.