Best practices for upgrade
Scenario
Best practices
Follow the recommended best practices when upgrading BMC Helix Service Management and BMC Helix IT Operations Management in your on-premises environment. Click each tab to view the related best practices. If you are performing a combined upgrade, review both tabs and upgrade BMC Helix IT Operations Management first.
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1 | Create an upgrade plan—Create a plan and put a timeline and schedule for your upgrade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Perform a backup—Create a backup plan for your data, configurations, and customizations. Ensure that you have a complete environment backup, including databases, configuration files, and the external database. Note: Also, back up the BMC Helix Platform Common Servicesdata. | Use your preferred method to back up.
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3 | Review the documentation—Review the BMC documentation and release notes to understand compatibility, requirements, and expectations at each stage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Verify compatibility—Verify that your current environment, including hardware, software, and third-party integrations, is compatible with the new version. Use the Helix IS Triage Tool to compare your Helix environment with BMC's recommended tuning guidelines based on size. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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6 | Allocate resources—Allocate sufficient CPU, memory, storage, and personnel for the upgrade. Ensure node redundancy because the upgrade process sequentially creates new deployments or pods and then deletes old versions. |
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7 | Upgrade the infrastructure—Make sure the container orchestration platform is running a supported version. This step should be done well ahead of an upgrade so you know the environment is stable on the new Kubernetes version. First, upgrade Helm and Kubernetes, then upgrade the Ingress controller, ensuring compatibility. For example, assume your environment is currently running BMC Helix Service Management version 22.1.06 with and BMC Helix Platform Common Services 23.4 and the following technology stack:
The goal is to upgrade BMC Helix Service Management to version 23.3.04 with BMC Helix Platform Common Services24.4 and the following technology stack:
To upgrade your environment, perform the following steps:
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8 | Restrict changes to the Centralized Configuration Server (CCS) parameters—If needed, configure the setting to prevent the upgrade process from changing your environment-specific Centralized Configuration Server (CCS) parameters. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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9 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix IT Operations Management (BMC Helix ITOM): If you are on BMC Helix ITOM version older than 25.2, you must first upgrade to version 25.2 or 25.3 and then upgrade to 25.4. The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.4:
Hop upgrade: In a hop upgrade, both BMC Helix ITOM and its supporting infrastructure must be upgraded sequentially, with intermediate versions for BMC Helix ITOM. The supporting infrastructure should be upgraded in sync to ensure compatibility at each step. Note: Starting with version 24.2, we support only PostgreSQL version 15.5. Before upgrading to BMC Helix ITOM 24.2, use the PostgreSQL migration utility to migrate data from version 12.9 to 15.5. | Not applicable | |||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix Platform Common Services (PCS): (only for BMC Helix Service Management)
The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.4.
Note the following points:
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11 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix Service Management: The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.4.01:
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12 | Perform a step-by-step execution —Follow the upgrade steps as outlined in the documentation. During a zero downtime upgrade, avoid certain operations to ensure a smooth upgrade. Important: (Controlled availability customers only) You cannot switch to CORE deployment mode while upgrading BMC Helix Service Management to version 25.3.01. You can switch to CORE deployment mode after the upgrade. For information about transitioning to CORE deployment, see Transitioning between deployment modes. Note: If Intelligent Integration Gateway is installed, upgrade it separately. Note: After upgrading BMC Helix ITOM, upgrade the Log Analytics connector if you have configured the Monitoring solution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | Monitor—Closely monitor the upgrade process for errors or warnings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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14 | Conduct functional testing—Perform functional testing to ensure that all applications and integrations work correctly. Verify core features, user workflows, and compatibility, and identify any new issues. |
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15 | Conduct performance testing—Conduct performance testing to ensure that the system handles expected loads, identifies bottlenecks, and performs efficiently. |
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17 | Contact BMC Support—Use BMC support for guidance and troubleshooting. |
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18 | Perform regular maintenance—Schedule regular maintenance checks to keep the system stable and performing well. |
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Plan the upgrade
Prepare the environment
Determine your upgrade path or sequence
Perform the upgrade
Validate after the upgrade
Train your users and update your upgrade project documentation
Maintain the system
| Best practice | BMC Helix IT Operations Management reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
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1 | Create an upgrade plan—Create a plan and put a timeline and schedule for your upgrade. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Perform a backup—Create a backup plan for your data, configurations, and customizations. Ensure that you have a complete environment backup, including databases and configuration files. | Use your preferred method to back up. You can use a backup tool such as Velero. | |||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Review the documentation—Review the BMC documentation and release notes to understand compatibility, requirements, and expectations at each stage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Verify compatibility—Verify that your current environment, including hardware, software, and third-party integrations, is compatible with the new version. Use the Helix IS Triage Tool to compare your Helix environment with BMC's recommended tuning guidelines based on size. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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5 | Set up a test environment—Set up a test environment that mirrors your production setup to test the upgrade process. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Allocate resources—Allocate sufficient CPU, memory, storage, and personnel for the upgrade. |
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7 | Upgrade the infrastructure—Make sure the container orchestration platform is running a supported version. This step should be done well ahead of an upgrade so you know the environment is stable on the new Kubernetes version. First, upgrade Helm and Kubernetes, then upgrade the Ingress controller, ensuring compatibility. For example, assume your environment is currently running BMC Helix Service Management version 22.1.06 with BMC Helix Platform Common Services 23.4 and the following technology stack:
The goal is to upgrade BMC Helix Service Management to version 23.3.04 with BMC Helix Platform Common Services24.4 and the following technology stack:
To upgrade your environment, perform the following steps:
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8 | Restrict changes to the Centralized Configuration Server (CCS) parameters—If needed, configure the setting to prevent the upgrade process from changing your environment-specific Centralized Configuration Server (CCS) parameters. | Not applicable | |||||||||||||||||||||
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9 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix IT Operations Management (BMC Helix ITOM): If you are on BMC Helix ITOM version older than 25.2, you must first upgrade to version 25.2 or 25.3 and then upgrade to 25.4. The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.3:
Hop upgrade: In a hop upgrade, both BMC Helix ITOM and its supporting infrastructure must be upgraded sequentially, with intermediate versions for BMC Helix ITOM. The supporting infrastructure should be upgraded in sync to ensure compatibility at each step. Note: Starting with version 24.2, we support only PostgreSQL version 15.5. Before upgrading to BMC Helix ITOM 24.2, use the PostgreSQL migration utility to migrate data from version 12.9 to 15.5. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix Platform Common Services (PCS): (only for BMC Helix Service Management)
The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.4.
Note the following points:
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11 | Determine the upgrade path for BMC Helix Service Management: The upgrade is a direct, single-step process from versions 25.3.01, 25.2.01, 25.1.01, and 23.3.x to version 25.4.01. The upgrade is a step upgrade process from versions 22.1.x, and 21.3.x to version 25.4.01. The following image shows upgrade paths for upgrades to version 25.4.01:
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12 | Perform a step-by-step execution —Follow the upgrade steps as outlined in the documentation. During a zero downtime upgrade, avoid certain operations to ensure a smooth upgrade. Note: If Intelligent Integration Gateway is installed, upgrade it separately. Note: After upgrading BMC Helix ITOM, upgrade the Log Analytics connector if you have configured the Monitoring solution. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | Monitor—Closely monitor the upgrade process for errors or warnings. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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14 | Conduct functional testing—Perform functional testing to ensure that all applications and integrations work correctly. Verify core features, user workflows, and compatibility, and identify any new issues. |
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15 | Conduct performance testing—Conduct performance testing to ensure that the system handles expected loads, identifies bottlenecks, and performs efficiently. |
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17 | Contact BMC Support—Use BMC support for guidance and troubleshooting. |
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18 | Perform regular maintenance—Schedule regular maintenance checks to keep the system stable and performing well. |
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Upgrade checklist
Print and use the following checklist during an upgrade to ensure that you follow all steps. Click the gear icon in the filtration pane to select the option to export the table to a PDF, CSV, or Word file or print it.
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