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Here is an overview of the upgrade process:
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Temporary VAL Instances
Customers We anticipate our customers' need to perform training and validation activities on the a new release. To support this, customers can request via a service desk (JIRA) ticket a VAL instance pair of the new release.
This VAL instance is a short lived instance. It is will be a clone of the PROD pair, with the upgrade upgraded version (build) applied. As such, is it expected to be a full preview of what the users will actually see once they accept the upgrade into PROD.
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Customers request to begin the upgrade process using JIRA ticketsthrough the service desk. In the ticket, please include the following information:
The version number and build to deploy to VAL instances
The start date for when validation will begin
The target end date for when validation will be completed
Whether SSO is required to be configured in the VAL instance
Details for a lab test environment will be available for use in validation, if applicable
Please request the VAL pair only when there is an intent to devote resources to validation activities. Typically VAL instances should be required only for a few weeks/months.
Day of PROD Upgrade
Once validation has been completed by the customer, the customer can schedule a timeframe where the upgrade can be applied to PROD Main/Test instance pair. All PROD upgrades are coordinated through the service desk.
Customers request to begin the PROD upgrade process by submitting a service desk ticket. In the ticket please include the following information:
The version number and build to deploy to PROD (this usually matches the VAL version/build)
The expected date & time on when the upgrade would occur
Upgrades typically involve some downtime. Typically Usually this downtime is no longer than 15 minutes, but the expected downtime and windows window size will be discussed and agreed upon with the customer during the scheduling via the JIRA service desk ticket.
It is a best practice to schedule an upgrade cycle on a day when there is minimal Data Collection activity, to minimize the risk of impact.
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