Best practices for upgrading Snow Commander

This article provides clear instructions and best practices for upgrading Commander systems in a production environment. It covers planning, staging, performing the upgrade, rolling back if necessary, and post-upgrade activities to ensure a smooth and successful upgrade process.

Pre-upgrade preparation

• Notify users about expected downtime at least 36 hours to a week before performing the upgrade.
• Update the Service Portal Message of the Day using these steps:
  1. Under the Configuration menu, choose System.
  2. Switch to the Portal tab.
  3. Enter your message in the Service Portal Message of the Day field and click Save Settings.
     
• Send email notifications to users who may not log in to the Service Portal during the outage window. A sample message could include timing details and contact information for issues after the upgrade.

Staging upgrade process

• Maintain a staging environment to test upgrades before applying them to production. If unavailable, clone the application server to perform a test run.
• For installations using SQL databases:
  1. Backup the SQL database.
  2. Create a dummy database on your SQL Server.
  3. Install the current version of Commander against the dummy database.
  4. Stop the Commander Windows service.
  5. Restore the backup, overwriting the dummy database.
  6. Restart the Commander Windows service.
  7. Perform the upgrade as a test.

Production upgrade process

1. Notify Flexera Technical Support if you need assistance or standby support.
2. Notify users of upcoming downtime using Service Portal Message of the Day and email.
3. Back up the Commander SQL database.
4. Take a snapshot of the Commander application server.
5. Download the latest release from the Support Downloads. For legacy versions, contact support.
6. Copy Commander Installer.zip to the server, unblock the file, and extract it. Run executable files as Run as Administrator.
7. Follow instructions on Documentation - Upgrade Commander for the remainder of the process.
   Note: If the service account password changed, update it during the install and in Commander credentials afterward.

Roll back process

1. Restore the Commander database from the pre-upgrade backup.
2. Restore the Commander application server snapshot.
3. Restart the Commander Windows services or reboot the application server.

Post-upgrade activities

• Turn off or update the Service Portal Message of the Day.
• Test common actions your users perform; report any unusual issues to Flexera Technical Support, including diagnostics or backups if requested.
• Take database backups and/or snapshots after completing the upgrade.

Outcome

Following these steps minimizes upgrade issues, provides rollback options, and ensures system readiness after upgrade.