If you've ever even read about upgrading DNN, you know that any number of things can go wrong. There's no shortage of horror stories, for sure. Did you know that nearly 100% of those horror stories were avoidable, though? After maintaining DNN websites for over 15 years, you'll learn the approaches I take to upgrading DNN websites. Following this session, you'll learn the processes, tips, tricks, and methods that help me upgrade client websites flawlessly.

1. DNN Upgrades Made
Simple
Will Strohl
@WillStrohl | @UpendoVentures

3. We Want Your Feedback!
Download the DNN
Summit Mobile App now
and take the survey at the
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4. Will Strohl
• Using DNN since 2003
• CEO & Founder, Upendo Ventures
• Former CEO, Hotcakes Commerce (2013-2017)
• Former DNN Corp employee
• DNN MVP since 2013*
• Leader of the Awareness EAG
• DNN Author & Technical Editor
• Founder of DNNCon (Day of DNN)
• Founded 2 DNN User Groups*
• 25+ open source projects
https://upendoventures.com/How/People/Will-Strohl
“hismightiness”
@WillStrohl

5. Upendo Ventures
We use technology to help your business change people’s lives
• Platform & Evoq
• E-Commerce
• Implementations
• Integrations
• Custom Modules
• Upgrades & Downgrades
• Custom Themes
• Training
• Fixing stuff other people did ;) @UpendoVentures
UpendoVentures.com

6. DNN Upgrades Made Simple

7. Objectives
I hope you learn…
• Critical steps to begin
• Preventative maintenance
• Pitfalls to look for
• Our process
Prerequisites
• Some local/server SysAdmin
experience
• Knowledge of how ASP.NET &
SQL Server work and interact with
each other

8. Common Complaints
“My website keeps redirecting!”
“Upgrading is really hard!”
“I don´t know how to upgrade DNN.”
“My upgrade page is blank!”
“Every time I upgrade, I get an error!”
“Upgrades take too long!”
“The security analyzer is failing the upgrade.”
“I upgraded and now some of my
images are broken!”
“The upgrade only works
locally… Argh!”

9. Preventative Tips
• Upgrade DNN often
• Upgrade extensions often
• Uninstall extensions as soon as
possible
• Vet extensions thoroughly before
installing them anywhere
• Never “test” a module in your
production website
• Never change core code
• Smoke test your website
whenever installing a new module

10. Before You Begin…
Eliminate
Distractions!

11. Information Gathering
Try to Find Out
• Version & edition of DNN
• File system size
• Database size & version
• Number of, name, and version of
third-party extensions
• Timeline
Special Concerns
• Custom extensions (source code)
• End-of-life extensions
• Extension licensing
• Perform a risk assessment

12. Get a Backup
File System & Database Size
• Many DNN websites are very large
• Lengthens the time it takes for all
steps
• May need to consider cleaning the
website first
Considerations
• Clean the DB user data
• Remove all cache data
• Remove log files
• Remove search data

13. Preparation Work
Better Safe Than Sorry
• Run a virus scan on all files
• Perform a search for *.asp & *.php
• Clean the DB user data
• Rebuild DB indexes*
• Remove all cache data
• Remove log files
• Remove search data
• Remove /Install packages
• Remove source control files
• Note the URL provider
Useful Tools
• FileLocator Lite
• https://www.mythicsoft.com/fileloc
atorlite/download/
• Test Plans

14. Restore the Website
Nothing Special Here…
• Create a local URL
• Restore the DB
• Add a user & attach to the DB
• Add the URL to the DB
• Restore the files
• Apply permissions
• Add the website in IIS
• Run the website
• Add a superuser*
Optional Steps
• Change the SMTP setting
• Change autoupgrade to false
• Enable debug mode
• Update Robots.txt:
User-agent: *
Disallow /

15. General Steps
Action
Test
Backup
Document

16. Create an Initial Backup
Have a naming convention
website-backup-201902201320.bak
Additional Examples:
website-backup-201902201320-SITE-RESTORED.bak
website-backup-201902210939-Updated-to-DNN6.bak

17. Remove Unused Extensions
Do…
• Review Extensions view
• Review themes / containers
• Confirm extensions to be removed
• Some extensions may not cleanly
uninstall*
Review Bin
Review DesktopModules
Review DB
Why?
• Lowers the footprint of the website
• Increases security
• Potential performance increases
• Reduces potential upgrade issues
DOCUMENT and BACKUP!

18. Determine Upgrade Path
This can be somewhat unique for
almost every upgrade.
General Rule: Upgrade the latest
release of each major version.
Documentation:
• Before
• During
• After
Example:
• 07.04.02
• 08.00.04
• 09.01.01*
• 09.02.02*
• 09.03.00
DOCUMENT and BACKUP!

19. DNN Editions
Be sure to pay attention to the edition of DNN… Evoq* vs. Platform
https://www.dnnsoftware.com/wiki/version-history
https://www.dnnsoftware.com/docs/developers/product-versions.html

20. Upgrade Packages
Recent Releases
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Platform/releases
Older Releases
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Releases.Archive.9x
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Releases.Archive.8x
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Releases.Archive.7x
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Releases.Archive.6x
https://github.com/dnnsoftware/Dnn.Releases.Archive.5x
Evoq Releases
https://www.dnnsoftware.com/services/customer-support/success-
network/software-downloads

21. Upgrading DNN
General Instructions
• Disable the website (App_Offline.htm)*
• Backup!!!
• Extract the DNN version over the website
• Re-apply the permissions to the file system
• View the website; OR run the upgrade URL (preferred)

22. Upgrading DNN
Use the upgrade URL:
/Install/Install.aspx?mode=upgrade
http://example.com
Becomes…
http://example.com/Install/Install.aspx?mode=upgrade

23. Upgrade Extensions
Upgrading Extensions
• Upgrade all existing extensions*
• This is an iterative process.
• You may need to do this multiple
times, after specific DNN
upgrades.
Additional Tips
• Backup after each successful
upgrade, after testing.
• Review Extensions view to see
which pages to test.
• Contact vendors for upgrade tips
DOCUMENT and BACKUP!

24. Upgrade Version Tips
07.04.02
• May need to manually add Entity
Framework DLLs
08.00.04
• Review the container files for
Actions Menu skin object
references, and remove them
• Uninstall Security Analyzer*
09.01.01
• Apply security patches
All
• Compare & merge web.config
updates
• Security review

25. Core Code Changes

26. We Want Your Feedback!
Download the DNN
Summit Mobile App now
and take the survey at the
end of the conference to
be entered to win a $100
Amazon gift card!

28. Thank You So Much!
We use technology to help your business change people’s lives
UpendoVentures.com
548 Market St. #65401
San Francisco, CA 94104
(650) 381-9160
solutions@upendoventures.com @UpendoVentures