Upgrade Timextender Data Platform
Upgrades in Timextender Data Platform are rolled out on a schedule to keep the service reliable. Administrators and contacts are notified by email ahead of an upgrade and again when it is done, and administrators can take an upgrade immediately, book it for a day that suits them, or postpone one that is already booked.
Cloud only. This article is aimed at cloud customers. If you are running an on-prem installation, see Upgrading Orchestration and Data Quality.
The Gateway is yours to upgrade. Upgrading the cloud service does not upgrade your gateways. Each one is a Windows service on your own machine and has to be updated there, per server. See the Gateway section of the cloud upgrade article.
How you are notified
| When | In Timextender Data Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| A newer release is available | None | Upgrade available banner, for administrators |
| About 7 days before a scheduled upgrade | Advance notice | Service upgrade banner, for everyone |
| While the upgrade runs | None | Upgrade in progress banner, for everyone |
| When the upgrade has finished | Upgrade completed or Upgrade could not be completed | The banner disappears |
The banner and the upgrade windows are part of Timextender Data Platform 26.3 and later. A service on an earlier version, and Data Enrichment, receive the same emails without the in-app banner. To change the date of an upgrade for those, contact support@timextender.com.
Upgrade emails
Upgrade emails go to the service administrators, the service and primary contacts, and the partner contact. Each email names the service it is about, in the subject and in the message, so you can tell services apart if you manage several. They are sent from a no-reply address at timextender.com.
- Advance notice: sent about 7 days before an upgrade that Timextender schedules for you. It gives the scheduled date, the version you are on and the version you will move to, and a link to the release notes. If the upgrade is postponed, a new notice is sent ahead of the new date.
- Upgrade completed: confirms that the service is on the new version and links to the release notes. It also reminds you to upgrade your gateways and to update ODQ Desktop when it prompts you.
- Upgrade could not be completed: the upgrade was not applied and the service keeps running on its current version. Timextender retries the upgrade automatically. No action is needed.
Each email is sent once per upgrade.
Who can do what
| Role | Sees | Can act |
|---|---|---|
| Administrators | Every banner | Yes |
| Everyone else | The scheduled and in-progress banners | No, the window shows Close only |
The Upgrade available banner is shown to administrators only, since only they can start or book an upgrade. The scheduled and in-progress banners are shown to everyone signed in, because anyone can be affected by downtime.
The upgrade banner
The banner appears at the bottom of the left navigation sidebar, just above your profile. When the sidebar is collapsed, only its icon is shown. Hover over it to read the full text, and select it to open the window behind it.
| Banner | Shown when | Shown to |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade available TDP {version} · Learn more | Your service is behind the latest release and no upgrade is booked | Administrators |
| Service upgrade Scheduled {date} · Learn more | An upgrade is booked within the next 7 days | Everyone |
| Upgrade in progress Your service is being upgraded | The upgrade is running | Everyone |
Only one banner is shown at a time. The banner cannot be dismissed. It stays until the state changes, and disappears when the upgrade has finished.
Upgrade when an upgrade is available
Select the Upgrade available banner to open the Upgrade available window. It names the new version, lists what to expect, and links to the release notes. From here you can upgrade now, book a date, or select Remind me later to close the window. The banner stays, so you can decide another time.
Upgrade now
- Select the Upgrade available banner.
- Select Upgrade now.
- In Start the upgrade now?, select Upgrade now.
The message Upgrade started. confirms the request, and the banner changes to Upgrade in progress. Once it has started, an upgrade cannot be cancelled.
Schedule for a date
- Select the Upgrade available banner.
- Select Schedule for a date.
- In Upgrade date, select a day from tomorrow up to 30 days from today.
- Select Schedule.
The message Upgrade scheduled. confirms the booking. You choose the day, and the upgrade runs within the maintenance window on that day. Dates are shown in your service's configured timezone, not in yours or the server's.
The Service upgrade banner appears 7 days before the date you booked.
Postpone or bring forward a scheduled upgrade
Whether Timextender booked the upgrade or you did, select the Service upgrade banner to open the Upcoming service upgrade window. It shows the date, the target version, the Maintenance window and the Expected downtime. Administrators have three actions: Remind me later, Postpone and Upgrade now.
Postpone
- Select the Service upgrade banner.
- Select Postpone.
- In New upgrade date, select a later day.
- Select Postpone.
The message Upgrade postponed. confirms the change. You can move an upgrade up to 30 days from the date it was originally booked, not from today, and the window names the last date you can choose. Days outside that range cannot be selected. A new advance notice email is sent ahead of the new date.
Bring it forward
- Select the Service upgrade banner.
- Select Upgrade now.
- In Start the upgrade now?, select Upgrade now.
A scheduled upgrade can be moved but not cancelled.
Selecting Upgrade now twice is safe. Starting an upgrade is idempotent. If one is already running, because the scheduled run reached it at the same moment or because the button was selected twice, it does not start a second time. Starting it is instant, and the upgrade itself runs in the background and finishes a little later. The banner shows the final state when it is done.
What happens during an upgrade
- The upgrade runs within the maintenance window of 08:30 to 12:30 UTC.
- The service is unavailable for about 30 minutes.
- Running jobs are stopped and pick up again after the upgrade. Scheduled jobs resume afterwards.
- Your data and pipelines are preserved.
- Everyone signed in sees the Upgrade in progress banner. Its window shows the target version and the expected downtime.
If the upgrade cannot be completed, your service keeps running on its current version, and Timextender retries the upgrade automatically.
After the upgrade
Two things are not upgraded for you and need attention on your own machines:
- Upgrade each Timextender Gateway, per server. This is not automatic.
- Upgrade ODQ Desktop, which prompts for its own update the next time you connect.
Best practices
- Book the upgrade rather than waiting to be told. The scheduling window is 30 days, which is enough to land it on a quiet day. An upgrade you chose is easier to staff than one you were given.
- Allow email from timextender.com. Upgrade emails are sent from a no-reply address at timextender.com. Adding the domain to your safe senders list keeps the advance notice out of spam folders.
- Check your gateways the same day. A gateway does not have to run the same version as the rest of Timextender Data Platform. For reliability and full access to new features, we recommend upgrading your gateways as well.
Troubleshooting
I cannot see the banner. One of the following applies:
- Your service is already on the latest release.
- An upgrade is booked more than 7 days ahead. The Service upgrade banner appears 7 days before the date.
- You are not an administrator, so the Upgrade available banner is not shown to you.
I cannot select the date I want when postponing. An upgrade can be postponed up to 30 days from the date it was originally booked. Later days cannot be selected.
The confirmation said Upgrade started. but nothing seems to have happened. If the service had already moved past the planned version, the request succeeds without doing anything, because the service is already at the target version or newer.
I received an Upgrade could not be completed email. Your service is still running on its current version. Timextender retries the upgrade automatically, and you receive a new advance notice for the new date.
A gateway stopped working after the upgrade. Its build is older than the service. Upgrade the gateway on that server.
Related articles
- Upgrading Orchestration and Data Quality Cloud, for the gateway and ODQ Desktop procedures
- Packages in Timextender Data Platform
- Timextender Data Platform 26.3
