Upgrading to the New Version of DriveWorks – Everything You Need To Know

The new version of DriveWorks has just arrived, and I know that all of our lovely customers can’t wait to upgrade and start using the awesome new features. Let’s take a moment to review some best practices when it comes to upgrading DriveWorks.

DO NOT UPGRADE YOUR CURRENT PRODUCTION SYSTEM!

This point cannot be stressed enough. While in most cases upgrades go smoothly, in the unlikely event that a bug is found and ends up disrupting your main DriveWorks system, it could end up disrupting the day to day operation of your company. If your company is heavily dependent on DriveWorks, this could cause significant delays and lost data if IT must go to system backups to restore your setup.

Create a COMPLETELY separate testing environment, with a copy of your current DriveWorks group and all project files.

It is best practice, in general, to not actively edit a project that your company is using for day-to-day operations. When it comes to a new version, this is even more important. There are several different methods to achieve this depending on your setup.

Case A – Individual group with project files in DriveWorks 14

• Simply copy the group file and all project files to a new location and then use data management to remap everything.
• Another option is to use the copy group function in data management. This is a new function added to DriveWorks in version 14.2 and will be in all new versions going forward.

DriveWorks Tasks

Case B – Shared group with project files in DriveWorks 14

• A shared group within DriveWorks will be running a SQL server within your company. It is best to use the copy group tool to copy the group over, as well as all the project files.
• Manual backing up and restoring of the SQL databases is not recommended unless you are familiar with SQL Server.

Case C – Individual group with project files in DriveWorks version prior to 14

• Simply copy the group file and all project files to a new location and then use data management to remap everything if it is present in your current version.

Case D – Individual group with project files in DriveWorks version prior to 14

• As mentioned above, manual backing up and restoring of the shared groups is not recommended.
• An alternative method would be to create a new shared group in the admin tool, then use the data management to import your projects from the main production group the testing group. You may have to copy some of the related project files over manually.

Additional Considerations

If your project uses external resources such as ERP, MRP, CRM, External Databases, Web Services or has any custom add-ins running, you maybe want to create testing versions of those as well. This usually involves creating a testing version of the databases in question, or changing the connection in DriveWorks to use the sandboxes for these systems for the duration of the testing.

Consult this help file if you are unsure of how to use any of the tools mentioned above: http://docs.DriveWorkspro.com/Topic/Welcome

Ask for help if you need it!

Reach out to your IT staff if you need their assistance with databases, virtual machines or servers. They will most likely be your best resource to find out exactly how things are backed up now, and the easiest way for you to achieve your testing environment safely.

Upgrades are not typically covered under technical support unless error from within DriveWorks has caused an issue. This is due to the fact that DriveWorks’ projects can be interconnected with many company systems and often require considerations outside the scope of just DriveWorks technical support.

Javelin does however offer DriveWorks mentoring and upgrade services, if you require assistance or would simply like us to perform the upgrade for you.

If you encounter any strange unexpected behavior, contact dasupport@javelin-tech.com and report it to us. This way we can ensure DriveWorks is aware of any issues and ensure that the issues are addressed by either Javelin or DriveWorks.