This is John again with the Implementation team. Today, I want to look at another aspect of the ArcGIS 10 release: upgrading your server.
I'd like to start by reiterating Mostafa's point from his earlier blog post - the best preparation for a major software upgrade is "testing, testing, and more testing". This is especially true for server products, as quality of life for System, GIS, and DB Administrators is often determined by uptime. As a rule of thumb, try not to make any changes to the production environment that haven't already been tested on a low-impact system. At the very least, perform upgrades at a time when you'll be able to troubleshoot and fix any issues without impacting your organization.
Second, I'd like to mention some files and folders that are important to ArcGIS Server. It's great to have a full system backup, but it can also be helpful to back up these specific items so they can be restored without rolling the entire system back. ArcGIS Server stores configuration files, map services, and security settings in C:Program FilesArcGISserver. When backing up, feel free to ignore the serveruserlog folder - it can become huge depending on how you have logging configured. These same folders can come in handy when reinstalling or migrating to a new system.
It's a good idea to have a backup of your web content. There are too many variables to list everything in a blog post, but here are a few resources on migrating web applications that should outline what you'll need:
- FAQ: What directories should be backed up for ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework?
- HowTo: Reconfigure ArcGIS Server 9.2 .NET after the host name has been changed
- HowTo: Move a ArcGIS Server .NET Web application to a new Web server machine
- EDN: Developing Web Applications with the Web ADF, Licensing and Deployment
One last note - the best, most complete information on migrating can be found on our Web site. Here are a few resources to look at before upgrading:
-John P, Senior Implementation Support Analyst, Esri Support Services