Upgrading OpenSearchServer

Upgrading OpenSearchServer to a newer version is a quick and easy process.

Backing up your data

Before upgrading OpenSearchServer it is strongly recommended to back up all your data. To do so, locate the data folder used by OpenSearchServer. This is the folder where all indexes and settings are stored.

The location of this folder is written in the start.bat script (used on Windows) or start.sh, on the set OPENSEARCHSERVER_DATA=%cd%\data or OPENSEARCHSERVER_DATA=data line. Generally, the data folder is located in the root folder wherein the .zip or .tar.gz was uncompressed.

If using the Debian package you will find the location of the data folder in the file /etc/opensearchserver. Location is defined in the OPENSEARCHSERVER_DATA variable. The default value in the Debian package is /var/lib/opensearchserver/data.

To actually make your backup, stop OpenSearchServer then simply copy the whole data folder to a safe location.

Upgrading OpenSearchServer

Upgrading a default install

If OpenSearchServer was installed by uncompressing a .zip or .tar.gz file, upgrading simply consists in replacing the existing .war with the new one.

To do so:

  1. stop OpenSearchServer
  2. in the root folder wherein OpenSearchServer was uncompressed, open the server/webapps subfolder
  3. rename the ROOT.war file to ROOT.war.backup to create a backup of the existing version
  4. delete the server/webapps/ROOT folder
  5. download the .war file for the new version
  6. copy it into the server/webappsfolder
  7. rename the new .war file to ROOT.war
  8. start OpenSearchServer

OpenSearchServer is now upgraded! You can verify by checking the version number at the top of the interface.

It is recommended to first test a new version of OpenSearchServer on a test server, using your data. To do so you can make a fresh install of OpenSearchServer and copy your data there:

  1. download the .zip or .tar.gz package
  2. uncompress it on your test server
  3. copy your data from your current data folder to the data folder of this fresh install
  4. start your test version of OpenSearchServer
  5. check the behaviour of this new version before actually upgrading your production environment.

Restoring a previous version of OSS

If you notice irregularities after upgrading you can restore a previous version of the software. Since some versions of OpenSearchServer modify the index, you may also need to restore your data.

To resume running an older version follow the upgrading steps above -- but with your backup .war file (ROOT.war.backup) being the one that becomes active.

Upgrading a Debian package

To update a version of OpenSearchServer installed with a Debian package:

  1. stop OpenSearchServer
  2. download the new .deb file and run the dpkg -i <downloaded_package.deb> command
  3. start OpenSearchServer

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