The information below provides guidance and recommendations on successfully upgrading FootPrints to the latest Service pack of 11.x



1)  Download the 11.x upgrade file from your BMC Support Central Profile at http://www.bmc.com/support/support-central.html. Be sure to download the correct upgrade file for your OS (to include bitness 32 or 64) and database type.  An alternate download site is the BMC Software Support Central EPD page.  Both pages will require a login with a valid support contract.

2) Review the current release notes and system requirements:
FootPrints 11.6.xx Release Note
FootPrints 11.6 System Requirements

3)  Schedule some downtime for the upgrade.  The information in the following article should be considered: Information about upgrading to FootPrints 11.6.x from earlier versions
This may increase the time needed for the upgrade some.  Additionally, if you look at the resolution section of the article, you will see there is an option for this formatting to also occur during normal hours.  If upgrading from from versions prior to Footprints 11.x, please carefully review this article, there are major changes.  What to know before upgrading to FootPrints 11.x from FootPrints version 10.0.2 or prior

5)  Before the upgrade, make NEW full backups of the folder where FootPrints is installed (C:\FootprintsServiceCore) and NEW full backup of the Footprints database on the database server.  Please see this article for additional information.  How to backup Footprints 11.x daily for disaster recovery?

6) Go into the SQL Server Management Studio, Security>Logins page and edit the FP SQL account. Ensure the Footprints database is listed as the default database.



7)  Make sure the upgrade file is on the application server in a folder that contains no spaces in it's name or full path.    

8)  Make sure the FootPrints server has enough free disk space to perform the upgrade.  While it may be hard to predict how much is needed, a minimum of 1GB is suggested (but 5GB or more free is better).  

9)  It is recommended to reboot the Footprints application server before the upgrade if at all possible (i.e. no other applications on the server that would be affected by a reboot).
 
10)  The upgrade must be run on the FootPrints server itself (you cannot simply access a network share to the server from your desktop).  System Administrator privileges are needed.  Assuming an rdp session will be used to access the server, the rdp session needs to be started in admin mode (using the "mstsc /console" command if initiating the remote session FROM Windows 2003, Windows XP SP2 or prior and "mstsc /admin" if initiating the remote session FROM Windows XP SP3 or later, Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008). See the following Microsoft article for additional information on the use of "mstsc" - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947723.  

11)  Stop IIS or the Application Pool that the FootPrints website is using if FastCGI is enabled. It recommended to do this if FastCGI is not enabled, but if required if it is.  This will ensure all application files are available for replacement by the upgrade, not in use by IIS or CGI.
Open a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges. This can by verified by the Title of the command prompt window 'Administrator: C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe'.
In the command prompt, type: IISRESET /STOP
 

12)  To begin the upgrade, simply execute the downloaded upgrade package, running as local administrator.   The wizard will walk you through the steps.
 

13)  After the upgrade is completes, start IIS (or the Application Pool, if this method was used):
Open a Command Prompt with Administrative privileges. This can by verified by the Title of the command prompt window 'Administrator: C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe'.
In the command prompt, type: IISRESET /START
 

14)  If any problems occur post-upgrade or the upgrade fails, it is suggested to call Tech Support at (800) 537-1813 Option 3 > Option 1 or (713) 918-2950 Option 3 > Option 1.  It is advisable to call for Support BEFORE restoring the backups of the application folder and/or database.  Many problems can be resolved through BMC Footprints Tech Support without requiring a restore.  However, if the backups are restored, this makes it more difficult to assist and troubleshoot as to why problems occurred or the upgrade failed.