DotNetNuke Tip for December 29th, 2006 Upgrading DotNetNuke

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

1. Backup the database.
2. Backup the file system.
3. Make sure you did steps 1 & 2.
4. Extract the latest DNN ZIP file somewhere.
   • I usually use the installation package, not the upgrade package, out of preference.
5. 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 and DecryptionKey values from your original web.config file.
   • c. Double-check the DatabaseOwner and ObjectQualifier values in the web.config file. If you changed them in your original web.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 the codeSubDirectories node?
6. Copy the new files, including the modified web.config file, over the old files.
7. Load the website.
   • This will trigger the upgrade when the page loads.
   • Make sure the upgrade process completes successfully.
8. 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.