I know… it’s confusing! When you are considering upgrade/migrating your X3 Version 11 (or earlier) instance to the latest Version 12, the documentation terminology in the Sage X3 online help can be a bit puzzling. In this article I hope to make the choices a bit clearer, please let me know in the comments at the end if I have succeeded!
The first step is to check the online help. The Sage X3 Technical Help is the starting point for your research:
Prerequisites
First things first though, you need to check the "Architecture and system requirements" along with both the "Version 12 prerequisites" and "Prerequisites overview" documents, all on the same online help page, to confirm your proposed target architecture, operating system, database versions, etc. are compatible with the new Sage X3 version you are planning to move to.
NOTE: you can migrate/upgrade any previous Sage X3 version from v6.5 onwards straight to Version 12. This is documented in the "Folder Upgrade" online help, but also applies to Easy upgrade method (Assuming your hardware,etc. is compatible)
Which upgrade option?
The bulk of the online help needed is in the section Upgrade (I want to move to a higher product version), but which option is best and/or suitable for you? Let’s take an overall view of these two options and also consider if other options could be available
| Option | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|
Easy upgrade guide i.e. apply latest X3 patches over the top of the existing LIVE instance |
- Uses existing hardware - Maintains current operating system with any patches, tuning, etc. - Retain current hostnames and network configuration - No need to copy live data during live migration window |
- Uses existing hardware and retains existing operating system/setup!! - More involved to change architecture - Effective testing is potentially more problematic - Overwrites original instance, only way to abandon live migration is to restore |
| Folder upgrade in Version 12 aka: migration i.e. Fresh install of X3 on new hardware, transfer LIVE data and update to latest patch level |
- Change hardware to latest/fastest - Implement latest operating system - Upgrade X3 technology/database to latest versions outside the live migration window - Implement whatever new architecture makes sense - Retains original instance after go-live for comparison - Easier to test migration steps |
- Needs additional hardware/software licenses - Need to copy LIVE data as part of live migration window - Need to transfer MongoDB data |
| Re-implementation | - Same advantages as Migration, but don’t need to transfer all the LIVE data - Allows re-think of things like Chart of Accounts structure, etc. |
- Need to work out how to map and transfer relevant data - More work at switchover to ensure balances/data mappings, etc. are correct - Possibly more complex for users to manage until transaction history builds again |
So which method is best? Of course, the answer is "it depends" depending on your own circumstances and requirements. Any or all these methods may be feasible to consider for any particular customer situation, so you need to work out which is best for you.
What else to think about?
I am not considering all aspects of an upgrade/migration in this article, but the following also spring to mind as things that would certainly need to be considered, where used:
- Additional Sage products: (e.g. Sage Enterprise Intelligence or Sage Data & Analytics) how to migrate, do they need upgrading to be compatible
- Third Party products: (e.g. V1 EDM, Datalinx, etc.) how to migrate, do they need upgrading to be compatible
- Customisations: are they still needed, will they work, do they make calls outside of Sage X3
- How can I clone my LIVE servers so I can test my upgrade steps
Where can I get more information?
I am planning future blogs or articles discussing more about both migration and the in-place upgrade, so look out for them.
In the meantime, the following articles may be useful:
As always, your feedback is appreciated.