Upgrading from opentaps 1.0 to opentaps 1.4

These instructions for upgrading existing opentaps installations are provided in two parts, the first part is for the users of unmodified 1.0.X versions of opentaps who would like to migrate their installation and existing database to the new Version 1.4. The second part of the instructions is for users of customized 1.0.X versions who want to upgrade to opentaps Version 1.4 and to migrate their customizations also.

In either case, opentaps Users should take note of a few changes in the installation requirements, and in the requirements for hardware, which are summarized here for convenience in preparing a migration strategy for your systems.

1. The change in JAVA SDK Requirements -- Some users of opentaps 1.0.X will find that the required version of the JAVA SDK has changed since their earlier version was installed. These are the details: opentaps 1.4 pre-compiled download from Sourceforge.com works with Java 6, and you must use the Sun Java SDK (software developer kit) version of JAVA for your opentaps installation.
2. The change in Hardware CPU and RAM Requirements -- With many software improvements, and functional additions that are included, the new opentaps Version 1.4 needs more hardware resources to provide snappy perfromance. For the details on recommended hardware, please see Hardware Server Guidelines.
3. Additional Installation options are discussed in Opentaps Installation Manual.

The new opentaps Version 1.4 offers many improvements in usability, functionality, and feature advantages that can make upgrading your system worthwhile. For a summary of the key enhancements in Version 1.4, please refer to opentaps Version 1.4 Summary

Introduction to Simple Upgrade for Users of Unmodified-opentaps

For the many users of an unmodified opentaps installations, we have condensed the migration instructions into a few simple steps that will convert your existing database, populate new database entities with the initial data required (based upon your historical data), and then come up running a newly installed opentaps Version 1.4.

We have not repeated the opentaps Version 1.4 Installation instructions here. It is a good idea to read the Opentaps Installation Manual first, before starting a migration. When we refer to them, use the separate instructions provided for the installation steps:

                Opentaps Installation Manual

WARNING: BEST PRACTICES ADVISE -- BACK-UP YOUR DATABASE BEFORE MIGRATING

YOUR EXISTING DATABASE WILL BE MODIFIED AND WILL NO LONGER BE USABLE WITH 
AN OLDER LEVEL OF OPENTAPS.  THEREFORE IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU PRESERVE YOUR
CURRENT DATABASE AS-IS WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS, TO SERVE AS A BACKUP IN CASE OF ANY
UPGRADE PROBLEMS.  

THEREFORE, BACK-UP YOUR DATABASE IN THE MANNER YOU ARE ALREADY USING FOR
PRODUCTION (SO THAT YOU KNOW THE BACKUP CAN BE RESTORED TO PRODUCTION IF NEEDED).

Follow the Step-By-Step guide for this upgrade,

               Simple_Migration_for_Unmodified-opentaps_Users

Introduction to Migrating Customized opentaps Installations

This section of the Upgrade guide is for opentaps Users who have implemented some customizations that go beyond the modification of "properties" values in XML files, or "configuration" options available in the standard release packages.

A summary of all data changes, and coding changes which will impact custom code modifications that have been implemented by Users of the opentaps source code are provided in this section.

This guide for Upgrading with customized code is available at,

              Upgrading_for_opentaps_Users_with_Customized_Code