Upgrading from 4.3 to latest instance

[Bullsback]

I have a rather large forum that runs on Invision and I am looking to upgrade from my current version (which is old - version 4.3) to the latest version and was going to see if there are any major things I should be considering or known issues I might be running into or should this be relatively straight forward. This is a forum that has been on Invision since the early days of Invision.  Apologies - if there is an existing post or two that are already pretty detailed and someone can point to me that works fantastic as well (I couldn't find - but I will admit I don't check this site very often so might not have been looking / searching right way). 

Thanks in advance! 

[teraßyte]

Depending on the server configuration, installed modifications, and how things are setup there can be a large number of different issues. Or if you're lucky (no modifications installed, etc) none at all.

When a forum is several versions behind I usually suggest trying the upgrade on a test copy in order to see how it goes, and eventually fix any bugs you encounter so that you're ready for upgrading the live site with no surprises.

Another thing would be checking which modifications and custom themes you use (if any) and see if there are updated versions of them for the suite version you're going to upgrade to. For example if a modification critical to keep your forum working is not updated you'd have to first reach out to its developer and see if they can update it. If they're not available you may need to update it yourself (if you know how) or you may need to hire a different developer to update it for you. There could also be modifications that aren't updated but that you don't mind losing either. Some modifications might still work without changes, but themes surely won't since they won't support all the new features IPS added.

 

As an example I recently upgraded a client's forum from 4.2 and beforehand I updated 3 custom modifications for them since the original developer wasn't available anymore. We also did a test upgrade and found some columns from old uninstalled modifications that caused errors during the upgrade process. Thanks to that we fixed the live site's database and ended up avoiding the error completely.

 

As I mentioned above anything can happen and there isn't really a list that covers known issues: the best way would be to compile your own list by making a test upgrade and seeing what happens directly.

[Marc Stridgen]

In addition to the above, you will want to ensure you can update your server to a compatible version of PHP. On this upgrade, you are likely to need to upload a fresh set of files and upgrade from /admin/upgrade. The reason for this is you are going to need to update to PHP 7.4 to upgrade, and Im not sure 4.3 will work on that version.

In general

• Make sure you can obtain newer versions of any plugins/applications that are needed
• Make sure you can obtain newer versions of your theme
• Make sure your server can meet the latest minimum requirements
• Test if you can do so first
• Most importantly - Ensure you have full backups of both files and database, and that you can restore them to fully working order if something should go wrong.

[Bullsback]

On the theme - if I don't have newer versions is that an issue - or more just the fact that I can go back to a standard theme and then in meantime (after the fact) kind of refresh a current theme (I presume the theme is almost a moot point given the fact that the changes from 4.3 up to 4.7 are so drastic or am I mistaken there).  

Additionally - any context in terms of the time it might take to go through the various gyrations (I get it - it depends).  The good news I don't believe I have any custom plugins/applications - it is a pretty standard forum install with really the only customization the theme we have (including the various avatrs and images used within the theme/skin).  

Sorry - one other question - is easiest way to test if the instances can handle to just do a fresh install of the forum software on my server. Basically if that works - than the server is set up with the right php, etc and than its really just a matter of making sure I actually do the upgrade right (or at least at that point - I will have narrowed down the issue, if one would arise, would be entirely driven by how I implemented the upgrade).  

[Marc Stridgen]

4 hours ago, Bullsback said:

On the theme - if I don't have newer versions is that an issue - or more just the fact that I can go back to a standard theme and then in meantime (after the fact) kind of refresh a current theme (I presume the theme is almost a moot point given the fact that the changes from 4.3 up to 4.7 are so drastic or am I mistaken there). 

You would just go to the standard theme in that scenario until you can either obtain one for 4.7 or create one for 4.7. You could update from 4.3 to 4.7 if you wish, but there would indeed be quite a lot of changes

4 hours ago, Bullsback said:

Additionally - any context in terms of the time it might take to go through the various gyrations (I get it - it depends).  The good news I don't believe I have any custom plugins/applications - it is a pretty standard forum install with really the only customization the theme we have (including the various avatrs and images used within the theme/skin).  

I think you answered your own question in the first line there. It really depends. For example, if you want to make a copy, its going to depend on whether you have a place to copy it to, the speed you are able to copy, and your own ability. To give an example of how impossible a question it is to answer, some may be able to copy their site in less than 5 minutes, where others it might take them an few hours or so to get a copy up and running.

4 hours ago, Bullsback said:

Sorry - one other question - is easiest way to test if the instances can handle to just do a fresh install of the forum software on my server. Basically if that works - than the server is set up with the right php, etc and than its really just a matter of making sure I actually do the upgrade right (or at least at that point - I will have narrowed down the issue, if one would arise, would be entirely driven by how I implemented the upgrade). 

That would test if a new install works, not if an upgrade of your platform works. One thing you need to bear in mind there is its not 'if' the server is set up in the correct PHP version. It most certainly isnt at present (4.3 would not be working if it was). Its checking to see whether it can support it.