Export issues with attachments and import into a newer version of Jira

[Thomas Hardin]

I'm in need of some assistance with a migration dilemma. We are currently migrating a Jira instance that is on 6.4.11 and need to move it onto a new box because there is not enough space to upgrade the instance and they're not going to add more space.

So, we have created a new box, mirrored all versions of the existing instance including add-ons and are in the process of migrating the issues and attachments over. From there, we intend to upgrade systematically until we reach 7.3.3. 

Now, we are doing this as a test first to identify any issues prior to the expiration of the servicing, but I really do not want to go through this again in 2 weeks if I can avoid it. I'd rather just pull anything new or updated from the old instance and import it into the new instance. I'm not sure if this is possible, so, I'm asking the experts (THAT's YOU ALL) if there are any options.

I'm working with roughly 158K issues and 50GB of attachments. Thoughts? 

Any help is always greatly appreciated.

[Daniel Eads]

Hey Thomas,

Especially with a 6.4 -> 7.0 -> 7.2+ upgrade, you will want your data to go through the upgrade tasks. Even if an export/import process were to succeed (which they shouldn't, they all check for version incompatibilities), there's no guarantee you won't run in to strange issues after an import completes. There were a lot of changes in the 7.0 release.

I know it's a bummer but you're going to want to follow the same process again - start with a 6.4.11 instance on your new server with more space and go from there. Since you've already done it once though, the second time is easier! Here's a high-level overview to just doublecheck everything is covered. These are based on the assumption that you're going to keep using the same database and are only moving the application server:

1. Set up a clean install on your new server and copy over the data (or copy the Jira Home and Jira Install directories over from your old server - I prefer just copying everything to the new server instead of running the 6.4 installer on the new box)
2. Stop Jira on your old server
3. Start the Jira on your new server (6.4.11) and make sure it starts up without errors
4. Stop the Jira on your new server and do the 7.0.x upgrade
5. Start Jira, make sure everything's ok on 7.0.x
6. Stop Jira and do the final 7.x.x upgrade you're looking for (you can go from 7.0 to any of the 7.x releases) - always test this before doing it "live". If you tested going to 7.6.8, go to 7.6.8. Don't upgrade "for real" to a version you haven't tested!

If you need any more specifics feel free to reach out! I've done this upgrade path 5 times in production and advised lots of other folks on procedure to make sure they could get it done in their maintenance windows. Happy to help and you're going to love the new 7.x features :)

Cheers,
Daniel