This Reference Article reviews factors during an upgrade of a BarTender server- if an in-place software upgrade or server migration/upgrade is better, and if a test server is necessary.

Obtain the current version of the server operating system, SQL database version, and BarTender version.

In-place upgrade of BarTender Server

Advantages:

1. This is the most rapid upgrade process.
2. Fonts and printers can be left as is.
3. The upgrade can be tested and validated on a separate test server before performing the upgrade in production, which can further limit production downtime.

Disadvantages:

1. Almost no time to validate software, BarTender operations, users, and integrity of labels.
2. Production downtime can be from 1 to 3 hours to upgrade OS, BarTender, and database(s).
3. If there is a problem with the upgrade, a server recovery is recommended.

Migration upgrade of BarTender Server

Advantages:

1. Parallel provisioning of a new BarTender installation allows almost no disruption to production, and no rush for validation.
2. An older configuration server can be decommissioned at this time.

Disadvantages:

1. The database, fonts, printers, global variables, users, and other items must be migrated.
2. Server renaming may be necessary and user relicensing is needed.