Upgrade Monitor module
Summarize
Summary of Upgrade Monitor module
The Upgrade Monitor module in ServiceNow allows you to schedule and track the status of ongoing instance upgrades. It provides visibility into upgrade progress, upgrade summaries, and lists of records causing conflicts. This tool is essential for managing upgrades effectively, especially when dealing with customizations and ensuring smooth transitions across different instance environments.
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Accessing Upgrade Monitor
If you log in with the admin role during an upgrade, the system automatically opens the Upgrade Progress screen. Otherwise, you can navigate manually via All > Upgrade Center > Upgrade Monitor.
Role in the Upgrade Process
The Upgrade Monitor focuses on the individual instance upgrade phase within the broader upgrade workflow, which includes:
- Cloning your production instance to test and non-production instances.
- Applying and testing upgrades on non-production and test instances.
- Processing skipped records and resolving conflicts on non-production instances.
- Applying upgrades and importing update sets on the production instance.
Within this process, the Upgrade Monitor:
- Displays real-time upgrade progress.
- Summarizes upgrade outcomes and timings after completion.
- Helps resolve conflicts between customizations and upgrade changes on the first non-production instance.
- Provides data to estimate upgrade duration for production instances.
Monitoring an Upgrade
During an upgrade, the Upgrade Progress screen shows completed steps, current activities, and pending tasks. Upon completion, the Upgrade Summary Report offers detailed insights into conflicts and upgrade duration. This report also links to tools for conflict reconciliation, aiding in processing skipped records.
Resolving Conflicts
To protect customizations, the system skips upgrading records that have been modified and lists them as skipped records. When upgrading your first non-production instance, you should review and resolve these skipped changes. The modifications made during this process are stored in update sets.
For subsequent instance upgrades, you do not need to reconcile skipped records again. Instead, simply apply the upgrade and import the update sets containing your reconciled changes. This approach ensures consistency and minimizes disruption.
Schedule an upgrade and monitor the status of an ongoing upgrade using the Upgrade Monitor module. You can also view the upgrade summary and the list of records causing conflicts in your instance once the upgrade is complete.
Access Upgrade Monitor
If you log in with the admin role while an upgrade is underway, the system automatically displays the Upgrade Progress screen. If no upgrade is in progress, you can navigate to .
How the Upgrade Monitor fits into the upgrade process
- Clone the production instance to a test instance and a non-production instance.
- Apply the upgrade to the non-production instance.
- On the upgraded non-production instance, process the skipped list.
- Test the non-production instance to confirm that the instance still works and performs adequately. Compare to benchmark data from pre-upgrade production instance.
- Apply the upgrade to the test instance. Import the update sets created on the non-production instance when you processed the skipped list. Repeat the testing to make sure that the process is working.
- Apply the upgrade to the production instance. Import the update sets created on the non-production instance when you processed the skipped list. Test to confirm that the instance works and performs adequately.
- During the upgrade, it shows where in the process the system is
- After the upgrade, it reports what the upgrade did and for how long
- As you upgrade the first non-production instance, it helps you resolve conflicts between customizations and changes that are part of the upgrade
- On non-production instances, it provides information that can help you estimate how long the upgrade might take on the production instance
Monitoring an individual instance as it upgrades
While the upgrade is in progress the Upgrade Progress shows what the upgrade process has done, what it is doing, and what remains to be done.
When the upgrade completes, the system displays the Upgrade Summary Report. The Upgrade Summary Report provides information about conflicts between customizations versus changes in the upgrade and provides a link to reconcile these conflicts. For information about understanding and resolving these conflicts, see Process the skipped records list.
When you upgrade a non-production instance, the Upgrade Summary Report can help you estimate how long the same upgrade might take on a production instance. For details about the elements on this report and how to use this information, see Upgrade Details form.
Resolving conflicts
To prevent losing customizations, the system skips upgrading records you have customized and provides you with a list of these skipped records.
As you upgrade your first non-production instance, go through the Skipped Changes to Review related list and resolve these conflicts. The system records the changes you make during this process in update sets. See Review skipped records using related lists, for more information.
You do not need to reconcile the skipped list on any instances you later upgrade. Instead, you can apply the upgrade then import the update sets containing your changes.
For details on reconciling conflicts, see Process the skipped records list.