Scott Stocker shares the best practices you can follow while upgrading your Sitecore environment to its latest version. He also shares handy solutions for common challenges you may face.

1. Sitecore Upgrade
Best Practices

2. Let's talk!
• Quick Intro
• Why should you upgrade?
• Upgrade basics
• Research and planning
• Recommended approach
• Tips for a smooth upgrade

3. Sitecore expert with 12 years
of CMS experience and over
10 years of experience on the
Sitecore platform. He loves
building personalized web
experiences using Sitecore's
experience platformand
helping clients understand
Sitecore's capabilities. Scott
has architectedmany large
Sitecore applications including
sites serving 200+ million page
views annually.
Hi. I’m Scott.
Scott Stocker
scott.stocker@edynamic.net
@sestocker

4. An award winning
global digital
marketing and
technology agency
focused on customer
experience

5. Exceptional Sitecore Expertise
Sitecore Practice
Sitecore partnership since
2003
Over 200 solutions
delivered
Large global resource pool
> 80 certified Sitecore
resources
Center of Excellence
Best practice development
3 MVPs on staff
Ongoing internal training
program run by MVPs
Creation of industry
acceleratorsand reusable
frameworks such as content
accelerators,customdata
connectors
Creation of reusable
Sitecore connectors:
Eloqua, Pardot, Marketo,
CRMs

6. edynamic Sitecore integrations

7. • Identify reasons to keep Sitecore on
a current version
• Identify parts of the upgrade process
• Identify areas for research and
planning
• Review the recommended approach
• Get everyone more comfortable with
the upgrade process
Goals Today

8. Why upgrade?

9. • Support from Sitecore
• Browser Compatibility
• Server/Database Support
• New Features
Why Upgrade

10. Sitecore Support

11. Sitecore Support

12. Browser Support

13. Server/Workstation OS

14. Database Server

15. • Sitecore tagging /facetsfor improved search
experiences
• Item Bucketsfor improved content architecture
• Introductionof xDB
• Introductionof xProfile
• IntegratedTag Management
• Sitecore ContentSearch
• SPEAK UI improvements
• Sitecore Items WebAPI
• Support for MVCASP.NET5.1
New Features

16. The Basics

17. • Database
• Configuration
• New Sitecore Files
• DLL’s
• /sitecoredirectory
• Code Updates
• New Server Roles
Components of a Sitecore Upgrade

18. • Have to run steps separately as documented by
Sitecore
• Downloadthe.updatefiles
• UsuallyUpdateInstallation Wizard
• Sometimesdatabasescripts
• Upgrades the content database and files on disk
• Get needed files from Sitecore
• SDNforversionsofSitecorebefore8
• Devfor8.0andabove
Running the Sitecore Upgrade

19. Running the Sitecore Upgrade

20. Configuration Changes

21. • Usually only required for major versions
• Forexample,ContentSearchAPIfrom6.6to7.0
• Analytics APIchangeswithxDBintroduction
• IntroductionofSPEAK
• Start with new Sitecore DLL’s
• Addtoyoursolutioninsourcecontrol
• Lookforcompilationerrors
• Testlocally
• If making several leaps, wait until the final version to
make code changes
• Forexample,ifgoingfrom6.6to8.1,don’tstopat7.0tomake
ContentSearchchanges
Code Changes

22. • If you are upgrading from < 7.5:
• MongoDB
• Processingserver
• Other options
• xManagementmode
• xDBCloudfromSitecore
New Server Roles

23. Planning

24. • Developer Workstations
• Development Server
• QA
• UAT/Staging
• Production CMS
• Production CD
Sitecore Installations

25. • Sitecore Modules
• WFFM
• Marketplace Modules
• Aretheycompatiblewiththeversionyouareupgradingto?
• Other third party components
• ClayTabletUpgrade
• .NETframework(MicrosoftIdentitychanges)
Sitecore “add-ons”

26. • “Big bang” upgrade?
• Canallsitesbeupgradedatonce?
• Don’t forget about Sitecore licensing
• PerSitecoreinstance
• Temporarylicensingavailable
Sites

27. • Baseline metrics
• Responsetimefortoppages
• CPU
• Memory
• Hardware requirements are different for Sitecore 8.x
Performance

28. • Document non-Sitecore web.config changes
• Customsettingsections
• WCFEndpointdefinitions
• Etc.
• Patch in Sitecoreconfiguration changes
• Ensurethatthepatchingplacesyourconfigurationwhereitneedstobein
thenewversion
• /sitecore/admin/showconfig.aspxcanhelpthisprocess
Configuration

29. • Final Database UpgradeTiming
• Content Freeze
• Code/Config Deployment
• Rollback
Go Live

30. Approach

31. • On a developer workstation or sandbox environment
• PracticeUpgradeSteps
• WorkwithSitecoreSupportonanyerrors
• UsevanillaCMinstances
• Remove customizations – especially pipelines
• UpgrademodulesalongwithSitecoreversions
• Documentstepsandproblems
• Upgraded database can now be used for developer
changes
• Re-enablecustomizationsandtest
• Makenecessarycodechanges
Local Upgrade

32. • Server where final upgrade will be run
• PracticeUpgradeSteps
• UsevanillaCMinstances
• Remove customizations – especially pipelines
• Makeiteasytoreplicaterunningtheupgrade
• Should be able to run the upgrade steps easily
• Practice at least once before the final upgrade of
content
• Have your CM and CD ready ahead of time
• Code/Configwillbedeployedviayourbuildprocess
• Rememberthatcustomconfigchangeswillbepatchedin
Upgrade Environment

33. • Upgrade the databases using out-of-the-boxSitecore
instances
• Sitecore files and configuration should come from the
Sitecore installer
• Customconfigshouldbepatchedin!
• Don’ttrytofollowthepagesofconfigchanges
• Remember to remove Sitecoresupport files you might
have
• Typically thesearehotfixesforaparticularknownissue
• Test both content management and content delivery
• Don’t forget to review log files,both during the upgrade
and after
Recommendations

34. 33
Features
 Easy to install on your Sitecore instance - just
select the current and target versions and start
an upgrade
 Pre-configured with automated testing
capabilities powered by Selenium
 Full support for multiple languages
 Can handle any number of websites or
microsites
 Tool tracks all upgrade events in Sitecore log
file so you can see success/failure at any time
 Full support for user interface resolutions post
upgrade
 Full support for any on-premise or cloud
deployment
 Comes with 2 weeks of free, warranty support
Benefits
 Upgrade from any old Sitecore version to a
higher versions within days
Sitecore Automatic Version
Upgrader

35. edynamic‘s Auto vUpgrader for Sitecore
Tool detects the
current version by
itself. User needs to
select the next version
Confirmation message
displayed once the upgrade is
complete
Automated test case can be
run subsequently with the tool
Test results are displayed

36. Upgrade of 13 sites from Sitecore
6.6 to 8.1 within 1.2 weeks
Georgia-Pacific LLC is one of the world's
leading manufacturers & distributors of pulp,
paper, tissue, toilet and paper towel dispensers
and related chemicals.
They were struggling for over past 4 months to
upgrade multiple sites from Sitecore 6.6 to the
latest version
Background
Solution & Benefits
• edynamic was hired by G-P to rescue its upgrade project
undergoing delays for months by incumbent vendor
• With its upgrade utility tool edynamic upgraded 13 sites
from Sitecore 6.6 to Sitecore 8.1 within a record time of
1.2 weeks
• Test results showed minimal errors and were easily fixed
after the upgrade

37. • Migration – not an upgrade
• Youtellthetoolwhatcontenttomigrate
• Migrates:
• Contentitemsandmedia
• Allusers,rolesandsecuritypermissions
• Assistswithconfigurationmigrations
Sitecore Express Migration Tool

38. Sitecore Express Migration Tool

39. • Upgrade Sitecore regularly
• Irecommendatleastonceevery12-18months
• Planning is key for success
• Engage a partner for help
• Sitecorepartnersdoupgradesallthetime!
• Practice helps – often based on content freeze and
time it takes to upgrade, you will need to do the
process several times
• Engage SitecoreSupport for issues you can’t google
• Note:onlySitecorecertifieddeveloperscanengagesupport
• Don’t use IE to run the upgrade
• Modify the web.config/sitecore.configto increase
timeouts
Tips

40. Tips

41. • Email: scott.stocker@edynamic.net
• Twitter: @sestocker
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottstocker
• Sitecore Stack Exchange:
https://sitecore.stackexchange.com/
• Awesome-Sitecore:
https://github.com/sestocker/awesome-sitecore
Contact Me

42. Questions?