Sitecore Upgrade Best Practices
Let's talk!• Quick Intro
• Why should you upgrade?
• Upgrade basics
• Research and planning
• Recommended approach
• Tips for a smooth upgrade
Sitecore expert with 12 years of CMS experience and over 10 years of experience on the Sitecore platform. He loves building personalized web experiences using Sitecore's experience platform and helping clients understand Sitecore's capabilities. Scott has architected many large Sitecore applications including sites serving 200+ million page views annually.
Hi. I’m Scott.
Scott [email protected]
@sestocker
An award winning global digital marketing and technology agency focused on customer experience
Exceptional Sitecore ExpertiseSitecore PracticeSitecore partnership
since 2003Over 200 solutions
deliveredLarge global resource
pool> 80 certified Sitecore
resources
Center of ExcellenceBest practice
development3 MVPs on staff Ongoing internal
training program run by MVPs
Creation of industry accelerators and reusable frameworks such as content accelerators, custom data connectors
Creation of reusable Sitecore connectors: Eloqua, Pardot, Marketo, CRMs
edynamic Sitecore integrations
• Identify reasons to keep Sitecore on a current version
• Identify parts of the upgrade process
• Identify areas for research and planning
• Review the recommended approach
• Get everyone more comfortable with the upgrade process
Goals Today
Why upgrade?
• Support from Sitecore• Browser Compatibility• Server/Database Support• New Features
Why Upgrade
Sitecore Support
Sitecore Support
Browser Support
Server/Workstation OS
Database Server
• Sitecore tagging /facets for improved search experiences
• Item Buckets for improved content architecture• Introduction of xDB• Introduction of xProfile• Integrated Tag Management• Sitecore ContentSearch• SPEAK UI improvements• Sitecore Items Web API• Support for MVC ASP.NET 5.1
New Features
The Basics
• Database• Configuration• New Sitecore Files
• DLL’s• /sitecore directory
• Code Updates• New Server Roles
Components of a Sitecore Upgrade
• Have to run steps separately as documented by Sitecore• Download the .update files• Usually Update Installation Wizard• Sometimes database scripts
• Upgrades the content database and files on disk
• Get needed files from Sitecore• SDN for versions of Sitecore before 8• Dev for 8.0 and above
Running the Sitecore Upgrade
Running the Sitecore Upgrade
Configuration Changes
• Usually only required for major versions• For example, ContentSearch API from 6.6 to 7.0• Analytics API changes with xDB introduction• Introduction of SPEAK
• Start with new Sitecore DLL’s• Add to your solution in source control• Look for compilation errors• Test locally
• If making several leaps, wait until the final version to make code changes• For example, if going from 6.6 to 8.1, don’t stop at 7.0 to make
ContentSearch changes
Code Changes
• If you are upgrading from < 7.5:• MongoDB• Processing server
• Other options• xManagement mode• xDB Cloud from Sitecore
New Server Roles
Planning
• Developer Workstations• Development Server• QA• UAT/Staging• Production CMS• Production CD
Sitecore Installations
• Sitecore Modules• WFFM
• Marketplace Modules• Are they compatible with the version you are upgrading to?
• Other third party components• Clay Tablet Upgrade• .NET framework (Microsoft Identity changes)
Sitecore “add-ons”
• “Big bang” upgrade?• Can all sites be upgraded at once?
• Don’t forget about Sitecore licensing• Per Sitecore instance• Temporary licensing available
Sites
• Baseline metrics• Response time for top pages• CPU• Memory
• Hardware requirements are different for Sitecore 8.x
Performance
• Document non-Sitecore web.config changes• Custom setting sections• WCF Endpoint definitions• Etc.
• Patch in Sitecore configuration changes• Ensure that the patching places your configuration where it
needs to be in the new version• /sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspx can help this process
Configuration
• Final Database Upgrade Timing• Content Freeze• Code/Config Deployment• Rollback
Go Live
Approach
• On a developer workstation or sandbox environment• Practice Upgrade Steps• Work with Sitecore Support on any errors• Use vanilla CM instances
• Remove customizations – especially pipelines• Upgrade modules along with Sitecore versions• Document steps and problems
• Upgraded database can now be used for developer changes• Re-enable customizations and test• Make necessary code changes
Local Upgrade
• Server where final upgrade will be run• Practice Upgrade Steps• Use vanilla CM instances
• Remove customizations – especially pipelines• Make it easy to replicate running the upgrade
• Should be able to run the upgrade steps easily
• Practice at least once before the final upgrade of content
• Have your CM and CD ready ahead of time• Code/Config will be deployed via your build process• Remember that custom config changes will be patched in
Upgrade Environment
• Upgrade the databases using out-of-the-box Sitecore instances
• Sitecore files and configuration should come from the Sitecore installer• Custom config should be patched in!• Don’t try to follow the pages of config changes
• Remember to remove Sitecore support files you might have• Typically these are hotfixes for a particular known issue
• Test both content management and content delivery
• Don’t forget to review log files, both during the upgrade and after
Recommendations
34
Features Easy to install on your Sitecore instance -
just select the current and target versions and start an upgrade
Pre-configured with automated testing capabilities powered by Selenium
Full support for multiple languages Can handle any number of websites or
microsites Tool tracks all upgrade events in Sitecore
log file so you can see success/failure at any time
Full support for user interface resolutions post upgrade
Full support for any on-premise or cloud deployment
Comes with 2 weeks of free, warranty support
Benefits Upgrade from any old Sitecore version to
a higher versions within days Low cost of overheads in upgrades All 3rd party integrations with Sitecore
instance maintained intact
Sitecore Automatic Version Upgrader
edynamic‘s Auto vUpgrader for Sitecore
Tool detects the current version by itself. User needs to select the next version
Confirmation message displayed once the upgrade is complete
Automated test case can be run subsequently with the tool
Test results are displayed
Upgrade of 13 sites from Sitecore 6.6 to 8.1 within 1.2 weeks
Georgia-Pacific LLC is one of the world's leading manufacturers & distributors of pulp, paper, tissue, toilet and paper towel dispensers and related chemicals.They were struggling for over past 4 months to upgrade multiple sites from Sitecore 6.6 to the latest version
Background
Solution & Benefits
• edynamic was hired by G-P to rescue its upgrade project undergoing delays for months by incumbent vendor
• With its upgrade utility tool edynamic upgraded 13 sites from Sitecore 6.6 to Sitecore 8.1 within a record time of 1.2 weeks
• Test results showed minimal errors and were easily fixed after the upgrade
• Migration – not an upgrade• You tell the tool what content to migrate
• Migrates:• Content items and media • All users, roles and security permissions • Assists with configuration migrations
Sitecore Express Migration Tool
Sitecore Express Migration Tool
• Upgrade Sitecore regularly• I recommend at least once every 12-18 months
• Planning is key for success• Engage a partner for help
• Sitecore partners do upgrades all the time!• Practice helps – often based on content freeze
and time it takes to upgrade, you will need to do the process several times
• Engage Sitecore Support for issues you can’t google• Note: only Sitecore certified developers can engage support
• Don’t use IE to run the upgrade• Modify the web.config/sitecore.config to
increase timeouts
Tips
Tips
• Email: [email protected]• Twitter: @sestocker• LinkedIn: https://
www.linkedin.com/in/scottstocker • Sitecore Stack Exchange: https
://sitecore.stackexchange.com/ • Awesome-Sitecore: https://
github.com/sestocker/awesome-sitecore
Contact Me
Questions?
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