· Chris Hammond
Last Updated
DotNetNuke Tip for December 29th, 2006 Upgrading DotNetNuke
Learn how to smoothly upgrade your DotNetNuke instance with these simple steps. Back up, test on staging, adjust web.config, and ensure successful upgrade.
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If you’re upgrading your DotNetNuke instance, here is a list of simple steps to follow during the upgrade process.
First Tip
Test the upgrade on a staging site first.
Pull a copy of the database and files down, try the upgrade, and make sure all your functionality is still there.
Then upgrade production (backup everything first).
Steps to Upgrade
- Backup the database.
- Backup the file system.
- Make sure you did steps 1 & 2.
- Extract the latest DNN ZIP file somewhere.
- I usually use the installation package, not the upgrade package, out of preference.
- Edit the
web.config
file from the DNN package.- a. Modify the SQL connection strings (there are two places). You can get the string from your original
web.config
file. - b. Copy the
MachineKey ValidationKey
andDecryptionKey
values from your originalweb.config
file. - c. Double-check the
DatabaseOwner
andObjectQualifier
values in theweb.config
file. If you changed them in your originalweb.config
file, you’ll need to change them in the new one. - d. Make any other changes to the new
web.config
file that you added to the original config file. Do your custom modules require anything? Perhaps thecodeSubDirectories
node?
- a. Modify the SQL connection strings (there are two places). You can get the string from your original
- Copy the new files, including the modified
web.config
file, over the old files. - Load the website.
- This will trigger the upgrade when the page loads.
- Make sure the upgrade process completes successfully.
- At this point, you should be done.
Final Notes
Like I said, test first, just to be sure you have everything working properly.
Hope these steps help! I’ve upgraded many DNN websites, and even a few today.