Upgrading Sympa in place

Upgrading process overview

1. Preparation.

2. Stop the services.

3. Back up everything.

4. Install new version of Sympa.

5. Upgrade data.

6. Restart services.

Preparation

First, read the following notes:

• Release Notes.
• Upgrading notes.

If imcompatible changes had been made, these notes may state them and describe measures you can take.

Stop the services

See also "Stopping services".

• Sympa services should be stopped.

• HTTP server should be stopped.

  If you are running separate FastCGI service, that service should be stopped at least: HTTP server itself may not be stopped.

• Mail transfer agent (MTA) is recommended to be stopped. If it was not stopped, incoming messages will be queued into the spools of Sympa and processed when the services will restart.

• Note that database service must not be stopped during upgrading process.

Back up everything

It is recommended to back up all configurations and database in advance.

• Configurations are saved under following paths.

  • Main configuration file (sympa.conf).
  • Global configuration ($SYSCONFDIR).
  • List home ($EXPLDIR).

• To back up database, please consult the documentation of database server.

• Contrary to expectations, default settings, especially default templates, are frequently changed on release by release. Backing up files under $DEFAULTDIR is good idea.

Install new version of Sympa

Binary distributions

Update all packages you have installed, including Sympa itself. See the documentation of each distribution to know how to update packages.

General instruction

1. Install new version of Sympa distribution according to description in "Install Sympa distribution".

2. Update dependent modules if necessary according to description in "Install dependent modules".

Upgrade data

1. If you have installed Sympa from source distribution, run:

   # sympa.pl --upgrade
   

   This will upgrade database schema and reload configuration caches (On binary releases, this step will be done automatically).

2. If the Release Notes suggest any manual adjustments, carry out them.

Restart services

See also "Starting services".

Restart services and check if the system will work properly.