Upgrading Decisions (v6 to v8)

The following article demonstrates how to upgrade a Version 6 (v6) installation to Version 8 (v8).

For upgrading v6 Multi-Tenancies, refer to Upgrading a v6 Mult-Tenancy to v8.

Pre Installation Backups 

1. Back up the Database (DB), noting the DB Server and DB name (or connection string).
2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Decisions\Decisions Service Manager.
3. Copy and paste the Settings.xml file to the Desktop.
4. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Decisions\Decisions Service Manager\Instances\Control. Copy and paste the Keys.dat and databaseid.txt file to the Desktop for future reference.
5. Navigate to and backup C:\Program Files\Decisions\FileStorage. 
   
   Then reference the v6 Settings.xml file, copied above, to re-configure the exact path later in the v8 Installer.

Version 6 Removal

1. Delete all the logs related to the SSO (SAML/OpenID) located at C:\Program Files\Decisions\Decisions Services Manager\Logs\{SSO Folder}.
2. Visit Download Decisions; select the Decisions 6 Installer that matches the current version (ex: 6.10.0)
3. Run DecisionsServerInstaller.exe. Then, click REMOVE.
4. After Uninstalling all the instances. Open Services.exe and confirm that the Service Host Manager is successfully removed.

Version 8 Downloads, Select Installation Type, and Database Setup

After removing v6: 

1. Download and install .NET 6 Runtime (x64), .NET Core Hosting Bundle and .NET Desktop Runtime. 
2. Download the desired Decisions 8 Installer from the Download Decisions webpage.
3. Right-click the newly downloaded installer and select Run as administrator. 
4. Click INSTALL.
5. Review the terms, check the I accept the terms of the License Agreement box, then click Next to proceed.
   
   
6. On the Select Installation Type window, choose the appropriate server type, then click Next.
   Additional Options

   To further customize all installation options, check the Show Advanced Settings box. 

   
   

7. Upon reaching the Settings screen, click Next.
   On the resulting Database Setup screen, select the appropriate Database Type, match the Connection Type and Connection Settings used for v6, then click Next. 
8. If upgrading the clustered environment, the installer will prompt users to enter the Redis Base URL. Enter the Redis Base URL for the clustered environment. For more information, refer to Setting Up Redis External Caching.
   
   
9. Select the appropriate Installer Hosting Option, then click Next.
   Typically the recommended option is Self Hosting. 

   

Portal Base URL

The following section demonstrates how to set up the Portal Base URL for the Decisions environment for both Hosting Options.

Self Hosting

1. By default, v6 was installed on IIS, which was using port 80. However, to install Decisions on this port, users must first release it from IIS. Refer to the following steps.
   
   
   • Navigate to Windows Services > World Wide Web Publishing Service > Properties.
   • Set Startup Type to Manual
   • Set Service Status to Stop
   • Click on Apply and OK.
     
     
2. Specify the Portal Base URL used in v6 within the Domain Name (ex: example.com) field. 
3. Select the desired HTTP/HTTPS configuration, along with the Certificate path and Password if applicable, then click Next.
   Default Port Values and Certificate 

   Note that Local installations default to localhost with HTTP (Port: 80) or HTTPS (Port: 443).
   
   Certificates may be selected via Physical File Path or Certificate Store. 
   

IIS Hosting

The following section details setting up Decisions via IIS Hosting using the Default Web Site.

1. Provide the Portal Base URL used in v6, then click Next.
   
   
2. From the Web Application window, under Application Pool, click Create new. Then, click Next. 
   Preexisting App Pool

   If an Application Pool with the same name already exists, use IIS Manager to change the .NET CLR version No Managed Code.

   

Finish Installation 

1. Select the Outbound E-mail Server option previously used in v6, then click Next.
   
   
2. If database encryption was previously used, click Restore Key File to upload the copied v6 Keys.dat, then click Next.
   
   
   
3. Define the v8File Storage location, then click Next.
   
   
4. Review and correct any System Requirements warnings before clicking Next.

   
   
   

5. Via the Review Install Options screen, confirm the expected installation summary details, then click Next.
   
   
6. Installation of v8 is underway.
   
   
7. Click Show Details to see the installation progress.
   
8. When the upgrade completes, click Finish to close the Installation Finished window.
   
9. Attempt to login into the new upgrade Decisions environment using the admin Username and Password.

Post Installation Process

System Validations

Users might face System Validations when they log in to decisions after upgrading successfully. Refer to the following Post Installation Process to resolve the system validation.

Validation: Database "database_ID" was moved from another system. Jobs and background work will be suspended by disabling Job Server capability on this server. Please check system validations and clear this issue.

When Decisions is installed using a database backup file, it fetches the databaseid.txt file at a specific location. If the file is not present, users may encounter a validation message that prevents the Decisions server from being used as a Job Server. Refer to the following points to resolve this Validation.

1. Paste the already copied databaseid.txt file at the following location, C:\Program Files\Decisions\FileStorage\Primary\Settings.

2. If somehow the databaseid.txt file is misplaced. Run the query in the database, select * from platform_version, copy the value from dbsettings_id and paste it within databaseid.txt and place the file at the above-mentioned location.

3. Login to the Decisions Server. Navigate to System Validation > Select the validation message > Resolve. This will resolve the issue and clear the validation message from the server.

4. Navigate to System > Administration > Servers. Right-click on the Server Name > Edit Server. Enable Can be a Job Server.

5. Restart the Decisions service.

Setting Inbound Rule to Port 80/443

To access the server from an external machine, admin users must open ports 80 and 443 and configure them for inbound traffic. One can configure this Rule in the Windows Firewall settings on the server or can execute the following PowerShell script by running it as administrator.

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Decisions' -Profile 'ANY' -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80, 443

After applying the inbound rules, ensure that you can hit the URL from an external machine. If unable to access the server, contact support@decisions.com.

Objects with allow_restapicalls Property

Any objects with the allow_restapicalls property (Flows, Rules, and Reports) will be marked as modified following the upgrade to v8. This has to do with an API layer, but otherwise will not change the objects and they will continue to work normally after the upgrade.

Feature Changes