9/1/2016

ServiceNowKB:Upgradebestpractices(KB0547245)

Upgrade best practices

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Overview

System upgrades can be significant projects

Each ServiceNow feature release includes major additions and you

.
://

should always consider the impact of new functionality on an instance

all features that are part of the base system or are already active

title

Activating

ServiceNow

),

Plugins

ware

tools

In addition to the materials provided by ServiceNow

ServiceNow instance is currently operating

functionality

.
.

wiki servicenow com index php

unless the feature is customized on your instance

Careful preparation and knowledge of the available so

upgrade

http

Upgrading implements enhancements to

and resources can contribute to a successful

it is important to understand how your

if any errors are present

and the performance level of key business

Set the expectation with IT and business users that time needs to be dedicated to preparing for

implementing

and testing ServiceNow upgrades

ective upgrade. If you have

This page provides an upgrade process with best practices for ensuring a safe and e

,
/

any issues during the upgrade process

://

http

://

http

www servicenow com support contact support html

For additional help with upgrades

please submit an incident to ServiceNow Customer Support

).

ers the Configuration Review

ServiceNow o

www servicenow com services production readiness services html

addresses challenges with instance upgradability

ServiceNow certified professional consultant

manageability

service

scalability

The service specifically

and performance

Performed by a

the ServiceNow Configuration Review provides recommendations

to align customer configurations with ServiceNow best practices

Contact your ServiceNow sales representative

for more details

Comparing upgrades and patches

ServiceNow organizes its releases into families

such as Eureka or Fuji

example

Within a family

A family is a set of releases that are named a

er a major city

erentiated by patch and hotfix number. For

releases are further di

the following releases are both part of the Fuji family

Fuji Patch
Fuji Patch

1
2

Hot Fix

1
erent family than your current release. For example, if

Upgrading is the act of moving to a release that is in a di

you move from Eureka Patch

to Fuji Patch

2,

erent families.

this is an upgrade because Eureka and Fuji are di

For details and best practices on upgrading your instances

continue with the following sections in the Upgrades

Best Practices

Patching is the act of moving to a release that is in the same family as your current release
move from Fuji Patch

to Fuji Patch

2,

and best practices on patching your instances

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

Note that in both cases

For example

this is a patch because both versions are part of the Fuji family

title

if you

For details

see Patches Best Practices

Patches

the target release is Fuji Patch

Best

2.
.

).

Practices

erence between the old and new releases

It is the di

that determines whether you are upgrading or patching

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Understand the ServiceNow release cycle

It is important to understand the ServiceNow release cycle and the types of releases available

Knowledge of the

release cycle helps ensure that the appropriate upgrades and versions are applied to your instance without

,
_

compromising system functionality

release cycle

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availability

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or performance

For more information

see Upgrades and the

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ServiceNow automatically updates customer instances to ensure that customers receive the enhancements and

fixes included in the most recent version of the so

cycle

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ware

For more information

see Upgrades and the release

0547244).

About rollbacks and backups

When planning an upgrade

backups

note that ServiceNow does not provide a rollback option or perform on demand

Instances are automatically backed up daily during non peak business hours on schedules defined by

ServiceNow

We do not adjust the timing of existing backup schedules

Avoid restoring a production instance from backup

when possible

due to downtime and data loss

Restoring a

production instance from backup is a final option when a problem cannot be solved using other methods
provide customer support

24/7

We

to provide assistance with critical post upgrade issues

The best method for successfully upgrading a production instance is to first test thoroughly on a sub production

instance

The testing process explained in this article helps identify critical problems and related fixes on the

sub production instance

Use the information identified during testing to create a plan for addressing issues a

er

upgrading the production instance

Review upgrading phases

The upgrading process consists of three major phases

Each phase builds on the the previous one to

methodically move the new code to the production instance without compromising system stability

Prepare for upgrading

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View the ServiceNow Upgrade Planning Checklist

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Determine current release version

System administrators can check which release is running on an instance at any time

1. Navigate to System Diagnostics > Stats > Stats.

2. Locate the Build name, Build date, and Build tag.
3. Match the build name to the release name in the release notes (http://wiki.servicenow.com/index.php?
title=Release_Notes).
4. Match the build date and tag to the build date and tag in the release notes.

Review release notes

ServiceNow provides release notes

release

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

title

Release

Notes

for every

er valuable information about new functionality, notable changes, and fixes

The release notes o

available in a particular version

Read the release notes to determine whether an upgrade contains functionality

ecting your instance. The release notes can also help you determine

you need and fixes that resolve any issues a

whether items you previously customized are being upgraded

If your instance is more than one release behind

current and two previous family releases

article

see Upgrades and the Release Cycle

0547244).

ServiceNow fully supports the

For more information about releases

sysparm

you can still upgrade directly

as well as any interim hot fixes and patch releases

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Create system benchmarks

er deciding which release you should upgrade to

performing the upgrade

analyze the current operating environment before

Specifically

review the following

Key functionality
Integrations
Instance performance

Assign a consistent core team of power users and key stakeholders to validate important functionality in the
ServiceNow instance before and a

er upgrades

Pre upgrade instance validation can provide a reliable benchmark of the current operating environment and
alert you to any issues that may appear a

functionality is broken by an upgrade

the production instance

er the upgrade

For example

in some cases

it appears that specific

Analysis sometimes shows that the functionality did not work properly in

even before the upgrade

Create comprehensive test plans

Create a comprehensive test plan that includes test cases for all core instance functionality and integrations
Perform the tests before and a

er upgrading

iciently, create a set of detailed test scripts that your

To test e

testing team can use consistently and methodically to evaluate system functionality

er upgrading

track any defects or deviations from the pre upgrade testing results

identify root causes and create fixes

When a fix is identified

Defect tracking can help

capture the fix in a single update set

The resulting

update sets hold the cumulative fixes that should be applied to the production instance

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If you have CreateNow

://

http

),

development suite html

developing test cases

www servicenow com products service automation platform createnow

use ServiceNow to manage ServiceNow

To manage an instance upgrade

Create an application in your instance for

tracking defects

and reporting upgrade compatibility

consider using a spreadsheet with the following columns to track all required

test cases

Column

Description

Test case ID

A unique identification number for the test case

Test object

The object to test

For example

Test case
The type of test to run
type

transaction

For example

Test role

The role required or if applicable

admin or ESS user

field value

or variable value

accuracy test or security test

individual responsible for running the test

For example

Actor

Precondition

Any existing precondition

For example

The list of steps to perform

Execute

run another test case before running this test case

The list may contain a single step or several steps for the test role

to perform

Success
The expected state a

er the test case is completed

criteria

Post
The new condition that is established a

er running the test case

condition

Result set

The expected result set created when the test case is run

Misc

Any additional

if applicable

relevant information

Consider using a spreadsheet with the following columns to track all defects

Column

Description

Test case ID

A unique identification number for the test case

Test name

A reference name for identifying a specific test case

.
.

Expected
The expected state a

er the test is completed

results

Defect
Detailed description of the defect as compared to the expected results
identified

Name of the person or team responsible for validating the defect

Owner

.
,

researching the root cause

and creating a fix

Update set

Name of the update set containing the fix for the defect

Another option is to use the ServiceNow SDLC application

title

SDLC

Scrum

Process

(
.

://

http

.
.

wiki servicenow com index php

to manage defects and stories

Evaluate log data

In addition to specific business functionality

general system performance and operating information is also an

important benchmark to check before performing an upgrade

available in the system logs

Performance and operating information is

er an excellent source of information for evaluating the inner workings of a

which o

ServiceNow instance

Use this information to help resolve as many errors as possible before the upgrade

To access the log data

navigate to System Logs

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>

System Log

>

Errors

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Review the system logs

and their frequency

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

title

Viewing

System

Logs

to identify errors

Track the total volume of errors to spot any sudden increase that could indicate degraded

system performance or failing operations

In the following example

the sys

trigger with the associated sys

id

can be examined for root cause

When reviewing log files

look at log file size

be an indicator of issues on the instance

Excessively large log files

especially those larger than

GB

could

Evaluate large log files for frequent errors or other excessive logging

that should be fixed

Review prior upgrade history

Each upgrade cycle is an opportunity to evaluate prior upgrade history records

Upgrade History module tracks all upgrades applied to an instance

upgrade is tracked and the action taken is listed as the disposition

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

title

Upgrade

)
,

History

View the most recent upgrade records to see what was skipped

The System Diagnostics

>

Every record that is examined during an

Use the Upgrade History

module to locate and resolve upgrade conflicts

updated

inserted

or deleted

Note objects that

iciently.

were skipped so you can manage customizations e

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Manage customizations

If viewing the upgrade history shows that a base system object was skipped during the previous upgrade

determine if you want to revert the object back to base system status so it is upgraded automatically in the

future

title

For more information

Upgrade

see Reverting Customizations

History

Reverting

When an object is customized

://

http

).

a corresponding record is added in the Customer Update

customizations from being overwritten by system upgrades

Update table and how customizations are tracked

://

wiki servicenow com index php

title

sys

update

xml

table

To prevent

the upgrade process automatically skips changes to

objects that have a current version in the Customer Update table

http

Customizations

The table maintains the current version information for all objects that have been modified

wiki servicenow com index php

For more information about the Customer

see Update Sets Tables

System

Update

Sets

Update

Sets

Tables

).

To determine the base system objects that were skipped in a specific upgrade

1.
2.

>

Navigate to System Diagnostics

Upgrade History

In the From column

select an upgrade

To make it easier to identify an upgrade

3.

Under Upgrade Details

title

4.
5.
6.
7.

File Gear png

)).

Add the Created by column to the Selected list

Click OK

filter n a out of the From column

click the gear icon

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

Filter the Disposition column to show Skipped

Filter the Created by column to show system

Consider allowing the upgrade to overwrite a customization if the upgrade contains a desirable enhancement to

a feature that you already customized

Note

There are two methods of restoring a customization a

customization in an update set

Alternatively

you can restore it a

er an upgrade

If you saved the

er the upgrade by reapplying the update set

you can recreate the customization manually

To prevent customizations from being overwritten by system upgrades

changes to these objects

example

version

the upgrade process automatically skips

You may want to overwrite your customizations with the next so

ware version

For

you may change a script to implement a temporary workaround for a problem that is fixed in the next

You would want to overwrite your workaround when upgrading to the next version to ensure that you

receive any future enhancements to the script

.
:

To allow an upgrade to overwrite a customization

1.
2.

Open the customized object

for example

).

right click the header and select Show Application File

Configure the form

://
/
.
.

https

.
_

upgrade field

docs servicenow com bundle geneva servicenow

platform page administer form

4.
5.

the ArrayUtil script include

Alternatively

3.

Right click the header and select Show Latest Update

/_

administration task t

ConfigureAForm html

to add the Replace on

if necessary

Select Replace on upgrade

Click Update

The customized object will be replaced on the next upgrade

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Review scheduled jobs for upgrading

Watch the following video to learn about scheduling an upgrade

In the system scheduler

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

title

System

),

Scheduler

the Upgrade and Check Upgrade Script scheduled jobs execute the upgrade process across all nodes of an

instance

It is imperative that you verify that the two scheduled jobs are set properly for upgrading

:
.

Upgrade
new

runs every

60

minutes to check if there is a new

war file is associated with the instance record a

. ,

the Upgrade scheduled job finds a new

the

war file

war file associated with the instance

er you submit an upgrade request

war file associated with an instance

and then restarts the active node

:
.

Check Upgrade Script

a new and unpacked

runs automatically when a node is restarted

war file

If

it downloads and unpacks

If the Check Upgrade Script job finds

it processes the file and begins updating the database

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To determine when the Upgrade scheduled job runs

1.
2.
3.

Navigate to System Scheduler

In the list

>

>

Scheduled Jobs

Scheduled Jobs

find the Upgrade scheduled job

View the Next action column to determine when the job next runs

For example

past the hour every hour

11:10:00,

if the next action is

11:10:00
60

the scheduled job will run at

because the scheduled job is set to run every

and then at

10

minutes

).

minutes

To verify that the Upgrade scheduled job is set properly for upgrading

1.
2.
3.
4.

Navigate to System Scheduler

Open Upgrade

>

>

Scheduled Jobs

Scheduled Jobs

.
.

Check that the Trigger type is set to Interval

Check that the System ID field is set to None

To verify that the Check Upgrade Script scheduled job is set properly for upgrading

1.
2.
3.

Navigate to System Scheduler

>

>

Scheduled Jobs

Open Check Upgrade Script

Scheduled Jobs

Check that the Trigger type is set to Run at System Startup

Other scheduled jobs

During the upgrade process

the system only runs scheduled jobs that are set as Upgrade safe

All other

scheduled jobs are paused until the upgrade is complete

Create an implementation plan

Create an implementation plan that includes all upgrade steps in the correct sequence for your instances

The

high level steps in your implementation plan could be based on the steps listed in this best practices page

Document all unique and individual steps

For each step

include the following information

Date and time the step should take place

Date and time the step actually took place

Individual or team responsible for completing the step

Current step status

Any details about the step that would be helpful in the future

Review the implementation plan with all upgrade team members

Upgrade and validate sub production instances

Proper preparation and testing on sub production instances can help ensure an accurate and successful upgrade

on your production instance

Clone production over sub production

To perform accurate tests

development and test

clone your production instance over sub production environments such as

Because the production instance is the final destination for any new ServiceNow release

it is important that testing be done on a system that reflects the production instance as closely as possible

The System Clone

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

the process and enables users with the admin or clone

Note

title

System

Clone

application automates much of

admin role to clone data from one instance to another

Users should perform a full clone by clearing Exclude Audit and Log Data and Exclude Large

Attachment data when performing a clone from prod to subprod to do their upgrade testing

Tips for upgrading sub production instances

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Information for upgrading a sub production instance

When upgrading a sub production instance

record is modified

title

Upgrade

do not modify a base system record to experiment

reverting to base system functionality

#
.
-

History

Reverting

Customizations

://

http

Once a

wiki servicenow com index php

is a manual process

This activity should only be done

on a sandbox instance

When upgrading a sub production instance

actions

UI pages

UI macros

avoid modifying records that are global

and script includes

If a record is modified during the upgrade of a sub production instance

state why the record was modified

such as global UI

.
comment all changes and clearly

This information can help determine if the record should be reverted

at a later date

Request an upgrade for sub production instances

.
(/).
0541128).

Request an upgrade using the ServiceNow Customer Support system named HI at hi service now com

more information

see How to upgrade a ServiceNow instance

When requesting an upgrade

60

which is every

minutes

set the upgrade to start

10-15

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minutes before the Upgrade scheduled job runs

This allows the upgrade request to update HI before the Upgrade scheduled job runs

For information about how to determine when the Upgrade scheduled job runs

'

sysparm

For

see the

'

Review Scheduled Jobs

."

for Upgrading

section of this article

The size of the company database determines how long the upgrade process takes to complete

The amount of

time it takes to upgrade a sub production instance that is a clone of your production instance is a good indicator

for how long it will take to upgrade your production instance

Validate sub production instance upgrade

To view the status of the current upgrade

title

Upgrade

is Complete

Monitor

Running

application

use the Upgrade Monitor

://

http

orFailed

You can also use the Upgrade History

://

http

wiki servicenow com index php

title

Upgrade

first confirm that the upgrade is in progress and then confirm that the process completed

shows theUpgrade started and the Upgrade finished times

but the Upgrade finished column is blank

History

module to

Upgrade History

If the Upgrade started column contains information

the upgrade is still in progress

er the upgrade process finishes

://

http

er the upgrade is applied

wiki servicenow com index php

to the instance

made

perform the following steps to validate the sub production instance

Immediately a

wiki servicenow com index php

The Upgrade Monitor can be used when the upgrade state

use the Upgrade History

title

Upgrade

History

module to understand the changes made

View the upgrade record to determine what was modified and where the changes were

Upgrade History also lists updates that were skipped because of customizations on your instance

Work with the testing team to run all test cases against the newly upgraded sub production instance

Closely compare the test results to the data gathered during the pre upgrade testing

deviations from previous test runs should be confirmed and analyzed

deviations or errors that occurred in the upgrade process

Any defects or

When a fix is created for any

capture each fix in a single update set

The

resulting update sets hold the cumulative fixes that should be applied to the production instance

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Use a simple and descriptive naming convention for all update sets

on project tasks or user stories

items

In the update set naming scheme

,
, Upgrade Remediation 03/15/13 for Eureka Patch 1.
.

project name

example

task name

user story name

date

version

It can be useful to name update sets based

consider using some combination of these

revision

and patch number For

Be sure to add a detailed description of the

update set contents to the update set record

ServiceNow Customer Support

If you find issues during the testing process

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to

Upgrade and validate a production instance

er completing the steps to prepare

test

and resolve issues on sub production instances

upgrade and validate

your production instance

Tips for upgrading a production instance

Information for upgrading a production instance

Do not clone a sub production instance over production instead of upgrading

Apply the upgrade and any

required update sets directly to the production instance

Obtain confirmation from IT and management that all sub production instance defects have been fixed

validated

and included in an update set

.
.

Use the change management process established by your organization to track the upgrade

ectively with your user community regarding changes, new features, and process

Communicate e

updates resulting from the upgrade

Submit the upgrade request

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time for all users of the ServiceNow system

impact to your users

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article

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for a negotiated and suitable

schedule the upgrade a

Remember to schedule the upgrade to occur

15 20

er hours

to minimize

minutes before the Upgrade

scheduled job interval

Company database size determines upgrade process time

that was a clone of your production instance

If you upgraded a sub production instance

you should have a good indicator for how long it will take to

upgrade your production instance

Allow time in your change window to run all test cases and validate that all integrations

functionality

and system performance are acceptable

key business

er for responding to errors without

Add a time bu

breaching the change window

A

er the upgrade

conduct a lessons learned meeting

Document improvements and ensure that they are

incorporated into the next upgrade cycle

Following is a sample lessons learned document template

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Request an upgrade for a production instance

.
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Request an upgrade using the ServiceNow Customer Support system named HI at hi service now com

more information

see How to upgrade a ServiceNow instance

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For

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Configure a completed upgrade notification

To configure an instance to send an email when an upgrade is successfully completed

1.
2.
3.
4.

Navigate to System Policy

>

Email

>

Notifications

Open the System Upgraded notification

Select one or more contacts in the Users field

Click Update

The selected users now receive a notification when an upgrade completes successfully

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Confirm an upgrade

Watch the following video to learn about determining upgrade status

There are several methods of verifying that an instance has been upgraded to a recent feature release

Navigate to System Diagnostics

>

Upgrade Log and locate the message Notifying HI that upgrade has

been completed

Navigate to System Definition

>

Navigate to System Diagnostics

System Upgrades

>

Information about all system upgrades is listed

Upgrade History and search for the most recent upgrade

Article Information

:2016-08-22 16:26:12
:2016-08-22

Last Updated
Published

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