Performing in-place upgrades of the feature level

The default method for upgrading the feature level of a schema repository or user database is to create an empty database container, and then to use the Maintenance Tool to upgrade from the existing database to the new database with the higher feature level.

However, you can perform an in-place upgrade to feature level 6. With an in-place upgrade, the new version of the database is written back onto the original database file, replacing the old database structure.

The advantages of an in-place upgrade are that you do not need to create a new empty database, and you do not have to point clients or servers at the new database. The disadvantages of an in-place upgrade are that it is impossible to restore the database to the previous state, and the database is not available to users until the upgrade process is complete. You must back up a full copy of the database and store it at another location before performing an in-place upgrade.

For more complex environments the risk of an in-place upgrade may outweigh the benefits.

In-place upgrade incompatible with metaschema change

You will not be able to perform an in-place upgrade if you are upgrading from feature level 3. The Maintenance Tool also upgrades the metaschema version of the schema repository when you are upgrading from feature level 3.

Upgrading the metaschema version is more involved than upgrading the feature level. Backing up your databases is critical when you upgrade both the metaschema version and feature level.



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