Upgrade Monitor overview

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Upgrade Monitor overview

    The Upgrade Monitor is a tool included by default in the Xanadu release that helps ServiceNow customers manage and monitor the upgrade of individual instances. It tracks the progress of an upgrade, reports on activities and durations, and assists in resolving conflicts between the ServiceNow upgrade changes and your customizations.

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    It is accessible automatically when an upgrade is in progress (for admin users) or via System Diagnostics > Upgrade Monitor when no upgrade is running.

    Role in the Upgrade Process

    The Upgrade Monitor supports a specific part of the broader upgrade workflow, which generally involves:

    • Cloning production to test and non-production instances
    • Applying the upgrade first to the non-production instance
    • Processing skipped records caused by customization conflicts
    • Testing upgraded non-production instances and comparing performance to benchmarks
    • Applying the upgrade and importing resolved changes to the test and then production instances
    • Final testing to ensure the instance operates correctly post-upgrade

    Within this workflow, the Upgrade Monitor provides real-time visibility into the upgrade status, reports on upgrade actions and timing, helps resolve conflicts on non-production instances, and aids in estimating upgrade durations for production.

    Monitoring and Reporting

    During an upgrade, the Upgrade Progress screen shows detailed step-by-step progress, including completed, in-progress, and pending upgrade tasks.

    After completion, the Upgrade Summary Report is displayed, summarizing any conflicts between your customizations and the upgrade. It includes direct links to tools for reconciling these conflicts.

    This report is particularly useful for gauging how long an upgrade might take on the production instance based on the non-production upgrade experience.

    Resolving Conflicts

    The Upgrade Monitor identifies records skipped during upgrade due to customization conflicts. It provides a Skipped Changes to Review list for your first non-production upgrade where you can review and resolve conflicts.

    Changes made during this reconciliation are saved in update sets. These update sets can then be imported into subsequent upgraded instances, avoiding the need to resolve the same conflicts repeatedly.

    Additional Tools

    For troubleshooting upgrade errors, ServiceNow offers the Debug Upgrade feature, which provides detailed debugging output on transactions affected by recent upgrades.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Gain clear visibility into each stage of instance upgrade progress
    • Effectively manage and resolve conflicts between upgrades and existing customizations
    • Make informed decisions on upgrade timing and impact by reviewing progress and summary reports
    • Streamline upgrades across multiple instances by using update sets created during conflict resolution

    The Upgrade Monitor helps you upgrade an individual instance. You can monitor the progress of an upgrade and resolve conflicts between the upgrade and customizations.

    Set up for the Upgrade Monitor

    In Xanadu, the Upgrade Monitor is installed by default.

    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 System Diagnostics > Upgrade Monitor.

    How the Upgrade Monitor fits into the upgrade process

    Note:
    For detailed information about the upgrade process, see Upgrade your instance.

    The Upgrade Monitor concerns only part of the larger upgrade process:

    1. Clone the production instance to a test instance and a non-production instance.
    2. Apply the upgrade to the non-production instance.
    3. On the upgraded non-production instance, Process the skipped records list
    4. Test the non-production instance to confirm that the instance still works and performs adequately. Compare to benchmark data from pre-upgrade production instance.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    Within this larger process, the Upgrade Monitor helps you upgrade individual instances:
    • 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 takes on the production instance.
    Note:
    Debug Upgrade provides detailed debugging output for transactions containing artifacts affected by the most recent upgrade, and is designed to assist in upgrade error resolution. See Debug upgrade.

    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 the upgrade and provides a link to reconcile these conflicts. For information about understanding and resolving these conflicts, see Resolve Conflicts form.

    When you upgrade a non-production instance, the Upgrade Summary Report can help you estimate how long the same upgrade takes on a production instance. For details about the elements on this report and how to use this information, see Upgrade Progress.

    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.

    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.