Prepare for an upgrade

ADMINISTRATORON-PREMISE ONLY

This guide is for IT management and system administrators who are responsible for maintaining and upgrading the FactoryLogix system. After you review this guide and implement the recommended best practices, you will achieve the following:

Efficient preparation of hardware and software components for an upgrade
Expedited transition from one FactoryLogix software version to the next
Prevention of downtime associated with inadequate or incomplete upgrade procedures and practices
Alignment with FactoryLogix release practices

Careful planning is required for the upgrade process to be efficient and have minimal impact on the factory. Be sure to review and follow the best practices in this guide when planning a FactoryLogix upgrade.

Download the software and documentation

The first step to prepare for an upgrade is to download the software installers and documentation from the Support Gateway:

Best practice	Description
Software installers	Both application and server installers are required for all FactoryLogix upgrades.
Software release notes	Review the release notes to ensure all required items are included in the release and to understand functional changes to the software release.
System specification	Review the current FactoryLogix FactoryLogix Infrastructure Requirements to make sure there are no changes required or prerequisites that might affect your upgrade.
Training and certification material	When new functionality is added to FactoryLogix, associated training and certification material is posted to the Support Gateway. Be sure to review these materials to help you understand software changes before you upgrade.

Prepare hardware and infrastructure

During the initial deployment and installation of your FactoryLogix system, Aegis staff complete a thorough commissioning process to ensure your hardware and infrastructure are adequate for the installation and that all necessary components are installed. Refer to your installation and commissioning document for technical details about your installation or contact eSupport@aiscorp.com to request a copy.

We recommend the following best practices to ensure your hardware and infrastructure are suitable for the upgrade.

Best practice	Description
Server health check	Whether running physical servers or virtual machines, you should do a thorough check of your server stack to make sure there are no underlying issues or potential problems. Here are the typical items you should check (you can reference these against the FactoryLogix Infrastructure Requirements). Storage capacity Ensure there is adequate disk space on the FactoryLogix servers to complete the upgrade and allow for continued database growth and the addition of any extra functionality that is part of the upgrade. Memory allocation and usage Ensure there is adequate memory allocated to each server and that no recent issues were encountered due to insufficient memory. If new modules or functionality are being added as part of the upgrade, ensure there are adequate resources to handle the additional load. Operating System and updates Ensure the Operating System (OS) in use is suitable for use after the upgrade—this is especially important when there is a large time gap between upgrades. The OS check should also be done on the SQL server installation to ensure it is still compatible. If the SQL installation and OS are compliant with the FactoryLogix Infrastructure Requirements, complete any necessary software updates before upgrading FactoryLogix. Antivirus and firewall software Ensure your antivirus software is current and use it to scan the infrastructure before the upgrade. Note the firewall settings and enabled ports—you should check these again after the upgrade. If new functionality is being added, you may be required to add additional ports or make changes to the firewall.
Third party machine vendors and ERP integrations	While Aegis attempts to ensure full backward compatibility with third party connections, it is critical to check all connections to third party machines and software systems before upgrading. A FactoryLogix upgrade may require the machines connected to the system to be running an updated version of their operating software or database schema. ERP connections could have enhanced functionality added as part of the upgrade and may require a change to the programming on the ERP side. You need to plan these changes before the physical upgrade of the system.
License key updates	If Aegis added a new module or created a custom feature for your FactoryLogix system, you may need a new license key code. The key code must be stored and applied to the license key either during the upgrade process or immediately after.
Test system	As with almost all enterprise-level software systems, we strongly recommend you test the upgrade in a controlled environment before deploying to production. Validate your data, workflows, and key use cases to ensure the FactoryLogix upgrade does not negatively affect production or data collection. Use a test system that runs the core FactoryLogix components to verify the updated software packages. A smaller, less powerful system is typically sufficient for functional validation. A capable laptop can run the required components for testing purposes. If you need to conduct performance testing, use hardware that closely matches your production environment to obtain accurate results. In virtual server environments, you can replicate the production server configuration more completely, which improves test accuracy, especially for performance validation. Note for named user licensing Your email address may only be used in one FactoryLogix instance/database. If you require access to both a test and a production database for example, you may need to use a personal email address in addition to your work email address or contact your IT Administrator to set up an email alias so you can access both databases.
Installation documentation	During your initial FactoryLogix installation, the Aegis deployment team provided an installation and commissioning document with all relevant information about your installation. This document contains network information, user names, passwords, and services and ClickOnce installation locations, so it is critical to have this document on hand for every upgrade. Note ClickOnce deployment is a Microsoft technology that allows FactoryLogix client applications to be published to a Web server or network file share for simplified installation. ClickOnce technology allows FactoryLogix users to download and install the latest version of the FactoryLogix applications without needing administrative rights. The installed application is then available in that user's list of programs.