Microsoft SoftGrid 4.1 SP1 Now Available

We recently released Service Pack 1 for Microsoft SoftGrid 4.1.  The release notes and download locations are documented in Knowledge Base article 938497.

So now that you have Service Pack 1, what's the best way to go about performing the upgrade?  Great question, so once you've read through the release notes here are some general guidelines to get you started:

Upgrade paths:

Sequencer - The sequencer cannot be upgraded.  To use the new sequencer simply install the new version on your base image for all future sequencing projects.

Client - A SoftGrid client running version 3.2, 4.0 or 4.1 can be upgraded directly.  For all other versions, you can either upgrade to one of the versions above or you can remove the old version of the client before installing the new 4.1 SP1 version.

Server - A SoftGrid server running 3.1, 3.2, 4.0 or 4.1 can be upgraded directly.  For all other versions, you can either upgrade to one of the versions above or you can remove the old version of the server before installing the new 4.1 SP1 version.

Upgrade Order:

- Upgrade your SoftGrid clients prior to upgrading the SoftGrid server.
- Upgrade your SoftGrid Sequencer to the same version as your SoftGrid clients.

The newer client versions are compatible with prior Server versions and existing packages should be compatible with the new clients.

Avoiding issues: Avoid possible issues by reviewing considerations below prior to performing an upgrade.

1. Perform a test upgrade on a “copy” of the production SoftGrid environment (server, database, content and client).

2. Verify that the production SoftGrid server is error free prior to performing the upgrade.

3. Upgrades from SoftGrid versions prior to v3.2.2.8 have not been fully tested. We recommend a v3.2.2.8 upgrade prior to a v4.x upgrade.

4. The presence of a 4.x sequence in a v3.x SoftGrid database may cause the upgrade to fail. In this situation remove the v4.x Sequences using the SoftGrid Server Management Console prior to the upgrade.

5. A SoftGrid client upgrade to 4.1 Service Pack 1 will require a system restart.

6. Sample command line client upgrade: msiexec /qn /i softgrid-wd-setup.msi REINSTALL=ALL
REINSTALLMODE=vomus IS_MINOR_UPGRADE=1 /L*vx c:\4.1.1.302.Upgrade.log

7. Most properties cannot be changed by an upgrade. For example an upgrade cannot change where the product is installed. (e.g., C:\Program Files\Softricity\).

We're all very excited about this new release and think you'll find it the most robust version yet.