How do you upgrade many sites?

[wms]

*This post will be more a discussion than anything else*

I was wondering how others do upgrades?  More specifically, upgrading many sites to a newer version(s).

I discovered CMSMS way back in the day around version 0.11 (or actually before that version I think), over five years ago, when I realized websites really needed a content management system to survive in the future (and after struggling with other cms apps, found CMSMS simply the best and simply the simplest).  Upgrading a couple of sites at a time was no big deal back then, nor time consuming.  But as my very, very modest side web business has slowly grown over the years, I find it very time consuming now to upgrade many sites.  [Trust me; this post is by far, no beef against CMSMS.  This open-source app and community is by far one of the best (if not the best) out there and I try to brag about CMSMS to anyone who would listen.]

I just spent a good part of a day upgrading over 30 sites running CMSMS.  Most were running version 1.7 (one 1.4.1 and another 1.5...yikes!).  Yes, I know...I've been dragging my heals on upgrading (all sites are running the most current version now....yeah!!!).  I was dragging my heals mainly because, I knew it was going to take me several hours to upgrade all of my sites.  

I copied the .zip files of versions 1.7.1, 1.8, 1.8.1 & 1.8.2 to my root directory (virtually hosting several domains) and then extracted the files to the individual domain directories (one version and one directory/domain at a time).  I then proceeded with the upgrade (/install/upgrade.php).

(Each domain [directory] has a separate installation of CMSMS).

I ran into a couple of snags while upgrading - nothing major that a quick restore couldn't fix though .  But, I did learn a couple of tricks by the end that made upgrading a little easier and faster.  

Sometimes I would get errors (mainly conflicts arose around module versions) during my upgrade of CMSMS or upgrading modules which would cause my site to crash and I would have to restore.  By the end this is what I found to work the best [for me]:


-Log into the admin console.
-Upgrade your modules first [Extensions -> Module Manager, select the Available Upgrades tab].
-I found upgrading the modules that didn't have dependences first helped [i.e. upgrade CGExtensions before upgrading CGBlog, or upgrade FrontEndUsers before upgrading SelfRegistration] gave me the least amount of errors.
-Upgrading to TinyMCE 2.7.3 was a hit and miss for me.  When upgrading, be sure to test it out by editing a page to see if the TinyMCE editor comes up.  I found sometimes, I had to uninstall and reinstall to get TinyMCE to work again.
-Once all modules are upgraded, clear the cache of the site and log out of the admin console.
-Unzip (over writing files) the first version that needs to be upgraded, and then run /install/upgrade.php.
-Once you've upgraded to the latest version [delete the /install directory], log back into the admin console to verify everything went ok and test your site out as well.


Doing the above, over and over again, is what takes a lot of time for me.  Is there a faster way?  Do others have any other suggestions on how to upgrade many sites?

Looking forward to the replies.

Thanks,

[wms]

hmmm....really.  That's ok.  Thanks Dr. CSS.

Yes, my host allows unzipping of files.  A very nice feature.  No FTP required.

[kendo451]

It would be good to sponsor a remote upgrade module that would allow you to remotely upgrade your client's websites to the latest versions of CMSMS. 

The steps would be:
1. backup database
2. make a tarball of site files plus database
3. wget the new version.
4. untar the new version
5. Set owner, group and permissions correctly
6. Run upgrade script.
7. Test to see if success or fail - if fail restore from the tarball with the files and db backup
8. If success then change permissions back for config.php
9. Report success or failure to remote client.

I wonder if five or six of us guys who use CMSMS for multiple client sites would be willing to commit some $ to sponsor a module like that?

I'm good for $100 for a LAMP compatible module to do this. 

There are a couple of modules now that collect this information from multiple sites - SimpleSiteMgr & SimpleSiteInfo.  It would be good to make an upgrade module to work with that information.

Anybody else want to pitch in?  Goal would be $2000 and then hire nullig (Noel McGran), or one of the core team to do it.

[wms]

That's a good idea...I would commit a $100 as well.  Anything to help speed up upgrading multiple sites would be great.  Upgrading is a looooong, but necessary process!

I do love upgrading and seeing the new features.  SUPER KUDOS to all those developers out there.

[Nullig]

It sounds like an easy task, but it is quite complex:

- differences between updates and upgrades
- version dependencies for modules
- server capabilities
- client capabilities

If it were easy, you'd see a lot more systems that have this functionality - and I don't think I've ever seen one.

Nullig

[kendo451]

I have a dedicated server that is CMSMS optimized that has 95% of my clients websites hosted there.  So, as for my part, if it works on my system it is good enough for me.

This is why I limited it to LAMP systems.  Making it work with Windows servers would be another project.

[replytomk3]

When I was active on the forum, I posted extensively on the correct upgrade process (see my website and my wiki posts), and the issues that you will encounter.

As I have seen a very large number of issues, no module in my mind would be expected to do a single click upgrade.

Upgrade is a task for an experienced developer. And FULL backup first, too (how to do a FULL backup is also documented on my website and wiki).

[kendo451]

There is something to be said for extensive testing of a module upgrade prior to using it live on a production site.