Upgrade Monitor module
Summarize
Summary of Upgrade Monitor module
The Upgrade Monitor module in ServiceNow enables administrators to schedule, track, and manage instance upgrades effectively. It provides real-time visibility into the upgrade progress, offers detailed reports post-upgrade, and helps identify and resolve conflicts arising from customizations versus platform changes.
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Administrators with the admin role automatically see the Upgrade Progress screen when logging in during an upgrade. Alternatively, they can access it via All > Upgrade Center > Upgrade Monitor when no upgrade is in progress.
How Upgrade Monitor Supports the Upgrade Process
The Upgrade Monitor is a key tool within the broader upgrade workflow, which includes cloning production instances, upgrading non-production and test instances, processing skipped records, thorough testing, and finally upgrading the production instance.
- During an upgrade, it shows the current state and remaining steps of the process.
- After completion, it presents an Upgrade Summary Report detailing the upgrade actions and duration.
- It assists in resolving conflicts between customizations and upgrade changes, particularly on the first non-production upgrade.
- Helps estimate upgrade duration for production based on non-production upgrade data.
Additionally, the Debug Upgrade feature offers detailed debug output for transactions impacted by recent upgrades, aiding in error resolution.
Monitoring and Reporting
While upgrading, the Upgrade Progress interface provides continuous updates on completed, ongoing, and pending tasks. Upon completion, the Upgrade Summary Report highlights any conflicts and includes links to reconcile them. This report is essential for understanding upgrade impacts and planning further actions.
Resolving Conflicts and Managing Skipped Records
To protect customizations, the upgrade process skips records that have been modified, listing them for review. Administrators should review and resolve these skipped records on the first non-production upgrade instance through the Skipped Changes to Review related list. Changes made during conflict resolution are captured in update sets.
For subsequent instance upgrades, there is no need to reconcile skipped records again; instead, administrators can apply the upgrade and import the update sets created earlier. This approach ensures customizations remain intact while maintaining upgrade integrity.
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 instanceNote: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.
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.