Plan the upgrade

Find the upgrade path

Refer to Upgrade to see if you need a drop-in upgrade or a major upgrade.

Find out what changed

Read the release notes for all releases between the current version and the new version. Understand the new features and changes in the new version compared to the current version.

Check the requirements

Make sure you meet all the requirements in the release notes for the new version. In particular, make sure you have a recent, supported Java version.

Plan for server downtime

At least one of your PingGateway servers will be down during upgrade. Plan to route client applications to another server until the upgrade process is complete and you have validated the result. Make sure the owners of client application are aware of the change, and let them know what to expect.

If you have a single PingGateway server, make sure the downtime happens in a low-usage window, and make sure you let client application owners plan accordingly.

Back up

The PingGateway configuration is a set of files, including admin.json, config.json, logback.xml, routes, and scripts. Back up the PingGateway configuration and store it in version control, so that you can roll back if something goes wrong.

Back up any tools scripts you have edited for your deployment and any trust stores used to connect securely.

Plan for rollback

Sometimes even a well-planned upgrade fails to go smoothly. In such cases, you need a plan to roll back smoothly to the pre-upgrade version.

For PingGateway servers, roll back by restoring a backed-up configuration.

Prepare a test environment

Before applying the upgrade in your production environment, always try to upgrade PingGateway in a test environment. This will help you gauge the amount of work required, without affecting your production environment, and will help smooth out unforeseen problems.

The test environment should resemble your production environment as closely as possible.