Since updating can be tricky and tedious, I fear doing it.
My current version is 7.15.7. I have recovered only about half of my posts after the last update.
Could anyone tell me which version I should update it to with the least pain?
It depends a lot on the size of your site and whether it uses any legacy property editors...and how it is implemented, in terms of modelsbuilder or xslt or web forms etc
A lot of older Umbraco implementation methodologies were dropped with the move to V8, and quite a few third party community property editors became 'legacy' at this time or were reinvented under different plugins names.
As part of this reset a lot of the syntax around implementing templates changed. Along with the 'names of things'.
A move to the v8 series involves pointing a fresh v8.5.5 umbraco site at the v7 database, triggering the database migration scripts, and then updating any stored data for legacy editors to be transformed into an appropriate format for an equivalent v8 editor and then bring across all the templates and supporting code into the new project tweaking the syntax as you go...
... So you can see the level of pain depends on how the site is implemented.
The benefits are V8 is supported to Feb 2025, and is still based on Dot Net 4.x, so any integration code will likely remain the same..
Beyond V8, the underlying version of the dot net framework that Umbraco uses switches to Dotnet core versions. The current long term support version of Umbraco is V13...On Dot Net 8...
So there is another migration step to get from v8 to v10, from there upgrades get a whole lot simpler but getting there can be a lot of pain...
That can speed things up and reduce some pain, as you can jump from v7 to v13, in terms of migrating content and media in one step, along with migrating data from legacy property editors to their latest counterparts.. But you still need to reimplement all the templates for the syntax changes in v8. But also for changes in the dot net framework... It's a bigger level of change from what you have than to just go to V8, and it only gets you to Dec2025 in terms of support. But future updates will be easier...
... So doing anything will encounter pain and require investment of time ...
So it will depend on if you prefer one period of sustained pain to get you as far as possible or still quite significant pain to move you only slightly forwards a bit. :-(
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation. It is greatly appreciated.
It is my personal blog that has about 700 posts. Interruption is not an issue at all (e.g., it can be off for a few days without a problem) and cosmetics matter little. All I care about is preserving the contents (i.e., the text and media files). I am willing to lose all the customization work.
I will certainly give uSync Migrations a shot after backing up everything. I will do it after Christmas and report back here.
Then yes, uSync Migrations sounds like your best option, as you say you just want the content and media into a new Umbraco version and then you can reimplment... (I think my blog is still running on the release candidate of V7 :-P)
Upgrade from V7.15.7
Since updating can be tricky and tedious, I fear doing it. My current version is 7.15.7. I have recovered only about half of my posts after the last update.
Could anyone tell me which version I should update it to with the least pain?
Hi Hong
7.15.11?
It depends a lot on the size of your site and whether it uses any legacy property editors...and how it is implemented, in terms of modelsbuilder or xslt or web forms etc
A lot of older Umbraco implementation methodologies were dropped with the move to V8, and quite a few third party community property editors became 'legacy' at this time or were reinvented under different plugins names.
As part of this reset a lot of the syntax around implementing templates changed. Along with the 'names of things'.
A move to the v8 series involves pointing a fresh v8.5.5 umbraco site at the v7 database, triggering the database migration scripts, and then updating any stored data for legacy editors to be transformed into an appropriate format for an equivalent v8 editor and then bring across all the templates and supporting code into the new project tweaking the syntax as you go...
... So you can see the level of pain depends on how the site is implemented.
There is a good article here: https://www.proworks.com/blog/archive/how-to-upgrade-umbraco-version-7-to-version-8/
The benefits are V8 is supported to Feb 2025, and is still based on Dot Net 4.x, so any integration code will likely remain the same..
Beyond V8, the underlying version of the dot net framework that Umbraco uses switches to Dotnet core versions. The current long term support version of Umbraco is V13...On Dot Net 8...
So there is another migration step to get from v8 to v10, from there upgrades get a whole lot simpler but getting there can be a lot of pain...
There is a project called uSyncMigrations
https://github.com/Jumoo/uSyncMigrations
That can speed things up and reduce some pain, as you can jump from v7 to v13, in terms of migrating content and media in one step, along with migrating data from legacy property editors to their latest counterparts.. But you still need to reimplement all the templates for the syntax changes in v8. But also for changes in the dot net framework... It's a bigger level of change from what you have than to just go to V8, and it only gets you to Dec2025 in terms of support. But future updates will be easier...
... So doing anything will encounter pain and require investment of time ...
So it will depend on if you prefer one period of sustained pain to get you as far as possible or still quite significant pain to move you only slightly forwards a bit. :-(
Regards
Marc
Hi Marc,
Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation. It is greatly appreciated.
It is my personal blog that has about 700 posts. Interruption is not an issue at all (e.g., it can be off for a few days without a problem) and cosmetics matter little. All I care about is preserving the contents (i.e., the text and media files). I am willing to lose all the customization work.
I will certainly give uSync Migrations a shot after backing up everything. I will do it after Christmas and report back here.
Thank you again.
Hong
Hi Hong
Then yes, uSync Migrations sounds like your best option, as you say you just want the content and media into a new Umbraco version and then you can reimplment... (I think my blog is still running on the release candidate of V7 :-P)
regards
Marc
Hi Marc,
Sorry, but I have a rudimentary question. What does "On your source site install one of the uSync.Migration.Packer packages" mean exactly?
I downloaded the package as a zip file and I do not know what to do with it.
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