If your organization is one of the many considering upgrading their Livelink® implementation to Livelink® 9.5 or Livelink® 9.7, you should be aware that there is a proven methodology for a successful upgrade.
The 9.5 and 9.7 upgrades are considerably more complex than previous upgrades. Areas of complexity include the Livelink® index configuration, audit record conversion, multi-language support, web server vs. application server requirements and module compatibility. Another key concern is the performance of Livelink® 9.5 in your specific environment.
The good news is that following a proven upgrade methodology can greatly reduce your risk and provide a more accurate and efficient upgrade. The Syntergy upgrade methodology was developed based on the experiences of upgrading Livelink® over the past 10 years.
The basic steps of the upgrade methodology are:
- Define and Validate the Upgrade Approach
- Review the existing Livelink® environment including hardware, software and infrastructure
- Understand the reasons for the upgrade
- Develop the upgrade plan
- Review the plan within the organization to insure all goals and timelines are met
- Validate test environment for compatibility
- Perform pre-upgrade requirements including custom module upgrades, supporting hardware and software configuration, integration issues, software version compatibility, etc.
- Analyze current system for known issues associated with the upgrade process
- Perform test upgrade and identify and resolve issues as they arise
- Update upgrade plan based on test upgrade results
- Perform previous two steps until a successful upgrade is completed
- Schedule production upgrade when downtime will have minimal impact
- Inform user community of upgrade impact including downtime, service availability (indexes, reports, etc.)
- Perform upgrade
- Validate upgrade for functionality, data accuracy and performance
- Our experienced technical resources are available to quickly debug production issues if they arise
- Finalize upgrade documentation
The outline above is a simplified version of the proven methodology that Syntergy uses to perform our upgrade services.
Each Livelink® environment has unique issues that must be considered. The Livelink® 9.5 upgrade has several complex issues that require thorough analysis based on the goals of the organization. It is strongly recommended that your organization consult with experienced analysts that can streamline the pre-planning process and insure an accurate and efficient upgrade.
Some key issues to consider when planning your upgrade process are:
- Livelink® Index Configuration: 9.5 and 9.7 require a new index configuration and a reindex of your data. There are many parameters associated with this new configuration that will affect your index performance. A major question for your organization to consider is if you want to migrate your existing index to the new 9.5 or 9.7 format or if you want to reindex your data. Syntergy believes a reindex is the preferred approach. You should consult an experienced Livelink® analyst so that you understand the issues around this decision.
- Livelink® performance:Performance as measured by response time and indexing time may be reduced with Livelink® 9.5 and 9.7. Your implementation may require additional hardware or a more efficient configuration of your existing hardware to keep performance at an acceptable level. Without the proper knowledge it is easy to configure version 9.5 in such a way as to create multiple performance problems.
- Language considerations: 9.5 and 9.7 support UTF-8 which gives your organization the option to store data in a form that can be used in a number of different languages. There are several issues associated with supporting multiple languages. There is also an option to use ISO-8859-1 (Standard Latin Character set). Which character set you install will have an impact on what can be done in the future with Livelink®.
- Module compatibility: Most custom Oscript modules will need to be upgraded to be compatible with 9.5 or 9.7. You will also need to consider Livelink® module availability and compatibility.
- Audit trail record conversion: 9.5 and 9.7 support a more complex audit trail record format. This may require converting your existing records as part of the upgrade process.
- Filter capability: The technology that Livelink® uses to convert documents to HTML format has changed. In some situations the new filters are not as accurate as previous filters. You do have the option to purchase additional filters that handle special document types.
- Interface changes: 9.5 and 9.7 have several changes and additions to the interface that may require retraining for the user community.
- Ability to support Java in the core platform: 9.5 and 9.7 introduce Java as a small portion of the execution platform. This can provide opportunities for enhanced custom capability, better integration with other applications and a requirement for application servers in the Livelink® environment. Note that this option can be turned off if it is not needed.
In summary, the Livelink® 9.5 and 9.7 upgrades are a relatively complex process. It requires knowledgeable analysis, careful planning and technical expertise during execution. Using a proven methodology will provide a more accurate and efficient upgrade.
For additional upgrade issues and details contact Syntergy for our Livelink© Upgrade Issues document.
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