LiquidFiles Documentation
LiquidFiles Documentation

Migrate from LiquidFiles v3.x to LiquidFiles v4.x

When migrating from LiquidFiles v3.x to LiquidFiles v4.x, we're changing the underlying operating system from CentOS 7 to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. This means that it's not possible to do an in-place upgrade. In order to migrate from LiquidFiles v3.x to LiquidFiles v4.x, you will have to do a fresh install of LiquidFiles v4.x and migrate your data across.

Or alternatively, if you're using a physical server and wishes to use the same hardware, it is also possible to use the builtin backup and restore functionality to restore a LiquidFiles v3.7.x backup onto a LiquidFiles v4.x system. Please see this section for more information.

Also please note that migration is only possible from LiquidFiles v3.7.x. If you're currently using an older release, you will first need to update to LiquidFiles v3.7 and then migrate to LiquidFiles v4.x.

Migrate to a different server The Preferred & Safest Method

This is the safest migration method as it will give you an automatic fallback option. If the migration for whatever reason is not successful, you can just simply continue using the previous LiquidFiles v3.x system until you can retry the migration. Using this method, it's also easy to do a staged migration, you can try out the migration but still keep using the older v3.x system. Once you've verified that everything works as expected, you can repeat the migration and move the v4.x system into production.

The steps involved are:

  • Update the LiquidFiles v3.x system to the latest v3.7.x version.
  • Download the latest LiquidFiles v4.x version from https://license.liquidfiles.com/download and install using the Installation Instructions.
  • Use the same hostname on both systems to ensure that you can use the same license key on the LiquidFiles v4.x system as the v3.x system.

    • Follow the Move Server Guide for instructions how to move the data from the old v3.7.x system to v4.x or follow the video below.

Restore a LiquidFiles v3.7 backup to LiquidFiles v4.x.

Please note that this is NOT the preferred method of migrating. The preferred method is to install a new LiquidFiles system and use the Move Server Guide to migrate the data across. Only use this method if you cannot use the Move Server Guide for some reason.

If you haven't currently configured periodic backups, the procedure to migrate to LiquidFiles using the same system would be:

  • On the LiquidFiles v3.x system: Update to the latest v3.7.x version
  • On the Liquidfiles v3.x system: Configure backups in Admin → Backup
  • On the LiquidFiles v3.x system: Login to the console and run the command: ft backup to run the backup job immediately. Please make sure you don't receive any errors.
  • Install LiquidFiles v4.x using the latest version from https://license.liquidfiles.com/download/.
  • Use the same hostname as the LiquidFiles v3.x system and install the same production license.
  • Enable Console Access in Admin → System → Console Access.
  • Login to the console and run ft restore and follow the prompts.