ProjectWise Upgrade Planning - Part 1
With the frequent upgrade cycle we are now experiencing with ProjectWise, it is a good idea to get your upgrade plans together in order to ensure a smooth transition to the new version of ProjectWise. In this month’s installment, we will talk about system requirements and the procedures to ensure your client and server applications are compatible with each other.
Review the System Requirements– Check the readme file that is delivered with the version of ProjectWise you are planning to install to make sure that your existing infrastructure will support the new version of ProjectWise. Things to check for include the operating system, required service packs (if any), database platform, and ODBC driver versions. Bentley also publishes recommended system specifications such as processor, system memory, and free disk space for both server and client systems.
Generally speaking, the system requirements don’t vary greatly from one version of ProjectWise to the next, but it is always a good idea to double check as older operating systems and databases eventually will no longer be supported. For example, as of the SELECTseries 1 release of ProjectWise, Windows 2000 Server has been removed from the list of supported operating systems.
Client and Server Upgrades– Since ProjectWise is a client-server based system, any upgrades will require that all server components are upgraded at the same time. In the past, a client upgrade to the same version that is running on the server was also required. With the release of the SELECTseries updates to ProjectWise, this is no longer the case. You can verify this information for the specific version of ProjectWise you are planning to install by checking the “Compatibility with Previous Versions” section of the ProjectWise readme.
Because the upgrade will require the simultaneous updating of multiple servers and potentially all of your client installations, now is the time to develop a preliminary schedule for when the final upgrade will occur. Your schedule should also include resource allocation in order to complete the update in a reasonable amount of time. We recommend scheduling your upgrade to occur overnight or over a weekend in order to minimize the amount of down time to your users.
In next month’s installment, we will discuss application compatibility, the database upgrade process, and the importance of testing your upgrade before making any updates to your production system.