Upgrade from Content Server 9.x to 10 in One Step with No Downtime
If you have worked with Livelink or Content Server for any period of time you know that the option to upgrade your instance comes once or twice a year. There are several factors that go into the decision process for the customer. The biggest factors are the value received by upgrading (improved performance, new functionality, bug fixes, etc.) and the cost of the upgrade (resource requirements, hardware requirements, production downtime, post upgrade validation, user training, etc.) If the perceived value is too low vs. the expected cost of the upgrade the customer will typically not upgrade their instance.
Syntergy has developed an upgrade approach that eliminates many of the cost issues through the use of our Replicator product. Using this approach an organization can set up an instance of the newest version of Content Server while the current product instance remains in use. The data from the current production system is then replicated to the new instance of Content Server. The data and functionality are validated on the new instance while users continue to add data to the old production system. Once all the data is moved over, the indexing is complete and the data is validated the users are switched over to the new instance.
The following is a summary of the key factors for customers deciding to leverage Replicator as the method to upgrade Content Server:
- Risk Mitigation
- Because the standard OpenText upgrade process to CS10 involves multiple phases with multiple tools (UTF8 Conversion, standard schema update, etc.) there are many potential points of failure all of which are bypassed using Replicator.
- Risk mitigation extends beyond the Content Server. Using Replicator allows for testing of all interfaces (networking, API, web services, performance benchmarking) before the cutover.
- Minimal Application Downtime
- Due to the sensitive nature of data stored within the systems and the various global regions dependant on content, minimal downtime is a key requirement.
- Data Integrity
- In addition to the content (files) being replicated it is crucial that the associated metadata (IDs, URLS and audit information) not only remain intact but be referenced exactly as in the source system.
- Opportunity to adjust and change the configuration
- Setting up a new Content Server instance that is offline allows for less risk when implementing changes to the overall architecture, including the Admin Server and the index engine setup.
- Having the system available before cutover to production allows for extended user testing. This extra time makes it more likely to find and correct issues before the cutover.
- Cost
- The cost of the Replication solution is very reasonable when compared to other options.
If you are interested in upgrading to Content Server in one step you have several options to obtain more information:
- Attend the upcoming webinar “Upgrade from Content Server 9 x to 10 in One Step with No Downtime” on Tuesday, June 11th at 11:00 A.M. - Noon EST / 8:00 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. PDT. This informative webinar will demonstrate the capabilities of the Syntergy Replicator product and how it can simplify your upgrade.
The webinar is presented by Greg Worden, General Manager. Mr. Worden brings over 30 years of experience in Systems Integration and Implementation with special expertise in Content Server and Net-based solutions. Mr. Worden and his team have supported over 200 Livelink customers including Hewlett Packard, The Aerospace Corporation, Underwriters Laboratories and Wells Fargo.
Sign up now for this free informative webinar hosted by Syntergy. - Syntergy and OpenText recently produced a joint webinar that invited customers to learn more about the Replicator upgrade process. This webinar was extremely well attended and the feedback was very positive. (Click here to view this webinar. Click here to view the power point presentation for this webinar.)
- Syntergy has recently seen quite a large interest in the of Replicator Upgrade package. To see if it is a good fit for your organization we encourage you to contact Syntergy’s Martin Black at mblack@syntergy.com or call him directly at (561) 702-7140.