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Migrating from Ver 15 to Ver 17 and new server
Question asked by Heimir Eidskrem - 3/5/2019 at 6:35 PM
Answered
We are currently using version 15.
Been using Smartermail for years and years.

We want to upgrade to latest version so we dont fall to far behind.
While doing that we want to install this on a new server.

Does a guide to do the migration exist?
I see the one where  you install on the same server.
Can I just setup a new server, copy the data then install the latest version?

I assume that version 17 is ready for prime time.
We really need MAPI asap, our customers wants Exchange like functions and are looking at O365.

H.

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Anne Campbell Replied
Don't do it if you use any sharing features, you want spell checking, you want to be able to see more than 8 emails at a time on list and numerous other features that have just disappeared

We moved across last week for very same reason and its been biggest head ache,  I've had requests from every department in our our place to move back to V15.

We have lost all our shares (we had a slick shared heir archy of folders in place) and SM have not responded to my plea for help on how to retrieve them setting up again in V17 is going to take days !!!!
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Heimir Eidskrem Replied
Thank you for your response.

I would like to know the migration path if someone could respond.

Its odd that not more people responded, I thought more people would have an input based on their experience.

Thanks.
H.

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David Jamell Replied
I don't think there is specific documentation to cover Migrating AND Upgrading at the same time.

That said, you might check out this thread:

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JerseyConnect Team Replied
The last time I did an upgrade and migration at the same time was with v14. This was also with a VM where SM was installed on it's own volume, so I just moved the virtual disk and then did the SM upgrade. 

In your case you probably want to either upgrade in place on the existing system then copy your data over to the new server or install the current version on the new server, copy the data, and then do the upgrade.
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Paul Blank Replied
You will probably do well to install the version you are currently using on the new server, then stop all SM services, copy all the data and configuration files to the new server over the just-installed version, restart the services, and check for proper operation (you will of course need to configure IIS and stop the SM web service).

You should then verify that all is working as well as it was on the old server.

Then, you can do the upgrade in-place to v100(v17). Most of your original settings should be preserved - you'll need to double check things and read any notes about it here on the forum.

This is exactly what I did when moving from v11 to v15. It went well.

If you attempt it a different way, you perhaps risk compounding problems related to the migration itself, and the troubleshooting will be more difficult.

I am repeating myself here from previous posts: I am staying with v15 for the time being. It's very stable, and is all I need for the time being.

Just my opinion. YMMV

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philip Replied
hi guys,
i'm currently on SM v14.5..should i upgrade to V15?

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Heimir Eidskrem Replied
V15 is very stable for us and has been for years.


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Kyle Kerst Replied
Employee Post Marked As Answer
Hello and good morning. First, you can upgrade from 15 to 17 without needing to upgrade to any versions in between. I do recommend you complete a full backup of the SmarterMail environment before beginning though, as this will allow you to cleanly roll back IF anything fails to upgrade. However, I can assure you the upgrade process has received a good amount of attention over the last few months, and all but a couple misc environmental issues have since been resolved. If you DO run into upgrade failures I suggest reaching out to support right away so we can assist and determine what inside the domain caused the conversion issues. With that being said, below you will find a backup routine you can use to take a full copy of your existing environment:

Backup SmarterMail (Pre-17): https://portal.smartertools.com/kb/a3189/backup-and-restore-smartermail.aspx

Once backed up, you can ensure a smooth upgrade by preinstalling:

- Windows Updates
- .NET 4.7
- .NET updates (quality rollup from Microsoft has had positive results on a variety of issues.)

After those have been deployed, I suggest first migrating to your new server (without upgrade) on the existing version. Once the domains have been established on the new server with existing version, you can then proceed with an upgrade to the latest release. You can find the latest v15/v16 builds under the Legacy Downloads section of our SmarterMail downloads page. Migrating SmarterMail is documented here: 


Once migrated and up and running under your existing version, use the major version upgrade instructions to complete the upgrade process: 


As always if you get stuck please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team for additional assistance. Please let me know if you have any outstanding questions on this. 
Kyle Kerst IT Coordinator SmarterTools Inc. www.smartertools.com
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Paul Blank Replied
@philip: Yes, you should upgrade to V15. There were a couple of notable "bumps in the road" on the way to the latest version, but these have been resolved, and we are still quite happy with 15.7.6970. It's been amazingly stable.

Running on Server 2012 R2, fully patched, with a 120GB SSD as boot drive, and conventional hard drives as data / archive drives.

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