Pinning a MID Server to a specific version

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
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    Summary of Pinning a MID Server to a Specific Version

    This guide explains how to pin MID Servers to a specific version in your ServiceNow environment, outlining general recommendations and system properties that control versioning. Pinning should be approached with caution to avoid compatibility issues with your instance.

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    Key Features

    • System Properties:
      • mid.buildstamp: Identifies the MID Server version based on the build date and time. It resets to the default version upon instance restart or upgrade.
      • mid.version.override: Allows you to pin all MID Servers to a single version, disabling automatic upgrades. This property must be manually added to the System Property table.
    • Version Control Configuration:
      • mid.pinned.version: Used to pin individual MID Servers to a specific version by modifying the config.xml file. This setting is checked every 20 minutes or at restart.

    Key Outcomes

    By using these properties, you can manage the versioning of your MID Servers effectively. However, it is essential to recognize the risks of pinning, such as potential functionality issues due to version mismatches. For best practices, allow the instance to determine the appropriate MID Server version unless a specific need arises.

    You can pin all the MID Servers in your environment to a specific version by setting a system property, or you can configure specific versions for individual MID Servers.

    Note:
    Under most circumstances, do not pin the MID Server to a specific version. Pinning the MID server can make it out of sync with the instance, and lead to broken functionality. Instead, let the instance determine which MID Server version to use.

    Version control properties

    These system properties control the version for all MID Servers:
    • mid.buildstamp: Identifies the MID Server version with an identifier based on the date of the build. This property uses the format of mm-dd-yyyy-hhmm. The MID Server checks for version information hourly. If no override version is configured, the MID Server looks at the mid.buildstamp property for the version to use. This property resets itself to the default version (the version that matches your instance version) when the instance is restarted or upgraded, so any user changes are lost at that time. The system appends the release name and patch information to the date and time format.
      Warning:
      This property is not visible by default and should not be configured.
    • mid.version.override: Sets an override condition for the current version for all MID Servers in your environment. This action pins the MID Servers to a single version and disables the automatic upgrade feature. This property is not visible in the base system and must be added to the System Property [sys_properties] table when it is set. For details, see Add a system property.
      When the MID Servers check the version each hour, they look at the mid.version.override property first. If this property is empty, the MID Servers get their version information from the mid.buildstamp property. If an override version is configured, the MID Servers use this value and ignore the version information in the mid.buildstamp property. This override value remains when the instance is restarted and is passed to the MID Servers.
      Important:
      The value in the mid.version.override property is cleared during an upgrade, which forces the MID Server to reset itself to the version in the mid.buildstamp property.

    Version control configuration parameter

    To pin specific MID Servers on a desired version, set the mid.pinned.version parameter with the name of that version in the config.xml file of each MID Server. Use the format <version>-mm-dd-yyyy. This setting overrides the property setting for the pinned MID Server version. The MID Server version is checked every 20 minutes or whenever the MID Server restarts, at which point the pinned version is applied. For instructions, see Add a MID Server parameter.
    Note:
    The value set in this parameter is not affected by an upgrade.