The article walks you through the upgrade process to the VisualSVN Server 2.6. Upgrading to a newer VisualSVN Server version is usually straightforward, but this article helps you to workaround possible edge cases. You should not consider the article if you have VisualSVN Server 2.6 already installed and just applying a patch update for it.
The article consists of two checklists that should be completed before and after installation of VisualSVN Server 2.6:
- pre-upgrade checklist,
- post-upgrade checklist.
When this article is applicable?
You should consider this article only if you are upgrading from VisualSVN Server 2.5 or older. You should not consider the article if you have VisualSVN Server 2.6 already installed and just applying a patch update. Installation of patch updates is straightforward unless stated otherwise in the corresponding release notes.
For example, you should not complete the checklists provided below if you are upgrading from VisualSVN Server 2.6.1 to the version 2.6.3. However, you should complete the checklists if you are upgrading from VisualSVN Server 2.5 to the version 2.6.
Where can I get the latest version of VisualSVN Server 2.6?
Please download the latest VisualSVN Server 2.6 installer at the official download page.
Pre-upgrade checklist
You should consider only those steps in the pre-upgrade checklist that apply to the version of VisualSVN Server you have upgraded from. You can see a list of versions to which a checklist step applies in the "Upgrade from" column. For example, you should consider a checklist's step if you have upgraded from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and this version is listed in the corresponding "Upgrade from" column. You should skip the step if you have upgraded from a newer version.
Step | Upgrade from | |
Do not uninstall the existing VisualSVN Server instanceYou must not uninstall the existing VisualSVN Server instance before installing a newer version. VisualSVN Server is designed to be always installed over the existing version. Important server settings could be lost when you uninstall VisualSVN Server instance. |
2.5, 2.1; 2.0; 1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Make sure that you have administrative permissions on the computerThe step applies to an upgrade from all VisualSVN Server versions. To upgrade successfully, you should start the VisualSVN Server installation package under account with administrative permissions. |
2.5, 2.1; 2.0; 1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Estimate the time potentially required for manual reconfiguration of repository access permissionsThe step applies to an upgrade from all VisualSVN Server versions. VisualSVN Server 2.6 installer automatically migrates repository access permissions to a new format. It’s not always possible to perform this migration unambiguously and manual reconfiguration may be required. For further details regarding the migration of repository access permissions, consider the KB60: Reconfiguring access permissions after upgrade to VisualSVN Server 2.6 article. We recommend to examine existing repository access permissions and estimate the time that may be required for manual permissions reconfiguration after the upgrade. Please check the conditions listed below. Manual reconfiguration of repository access permissions may be required after the upgrade if both of the following conditions are met:
Repository access permissions settings will be migrated automatically and unambiguously if at least one of the above conditions is not satisfied. The time required for manual reconfiguration of repository access permissions depends on the number of repositories and on the complexity of configured access rules. For further details regarding the manual permissions reconfiguration, consider the KB60: Reconfiguring access permissions after upgrade to VisualSVN Server 2.6 article. |
2.5, 2.1; 2.0; 1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Adjust filesystem permissions if your repositories are stored on a network shareThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and older version. You should perform this step only if your server is configured to store repositories on a network share. Please skip this step if your repositories are stored locally in the folder such as C:\Repositories\. Before the VisualSVN Server 2.0, the server was set to run under the built-in Local System account. For better security and isolation, these defaults were changed in the VisualSVN Server 2.0. Your server will be automatically reconfigured to run under the built-in Network Service account if you are upgrading from VisualSVN Server 1.7 or older version. So you are required to grant appropriate network share access permissions to the built-in Network Service account. For the list of required filesystem permissions, consider the KB22: Storing repositories on a network share article. |
1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Adjust filesystem permissions if VisualSVN Server is installed to a custom locationThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and older version. Usually, this is an obligatory step if your VisualSVN Server is installed to a non-default location. As said above, starting from version 2.0 VisualSVN Server runs under the built-in Network Service account. It is required that Network Service account must have read access filesystem permissions to the folder where VisualSVN Server is installed and for all its parent folders. With the default settings, the Network Service account should have read access NTFS permissions to the following folders:
The upgrade process will fail if VisualSVN Server is installed to a non-default location (for example, D:\Applications\VisualSVN Server) or the computer has non-standard security settings configured. In this case you are requested to configure permissions for the above mentioned folders manually. For the further details please consider the KB37: Permissions required to run VisualSVN Server article. |
1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Upgrade without starting VisualSVN Server service if you run it under a custom accountThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and older version. Perform this step if you run VisualSVN Server under a custom user account. Please skip this step if have not changed default account used to run the server. To avoid issues during the upgrade process, you must perform installation without starting VisualSVN Server service. Run the installation package using the following command:
VisualSVN-Server-2.5.8.msi NO_START_SERVICES=1
The new version will be installed but the service will not start automatically after the upgrade. You are required to manually reconfigure the server to run under the custom account. For further detail please consider the corresponding step in the post-upgrade checklist. |
1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
Post-upgrade checklist
You should consider only those steps in the post-upgrade checklist that apply to the version of VisualSVN Server you have upgraded from. You can see a list of versions to which a checklist step applies in the "Upgrade from" column. For example, you should consider a checklist's step if you have upgraded from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and this version is listed in the corresponding "Upgrade from" column. You should skip the step if you have upgraded from a newer version.
Step | Upgrade from | |
Examine the upgrade report and reconfigure repository access permissions if requiredThe step applies to an upgrade from all VisualSVN Server versions. VisualSVN Server 2.6 installer generates a detailed report that helps you to determine which repository access rules have been migrated successfully and which ones require your attention. The report is saved to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VisualSVN Server\Install\. You have to examine the report and reconfigure repository access permissions accordingly. Please refer to the article KB60: Reconfiguring access permissions after upgrade to VisualSVN Server 2.6 for detailed instruction.
Note
It's strongly recommended to backup repository access permissions settings
immediately after manual reconfiguration. After upgrade to VisualSVN
Server 2.6, access permissions settings are stored in
VisualSVN-WinAuthz.ini or
VisualSVN-SvnAuthz.ini files in the conf
subdirectory of each repository on the filesystem.
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2.5, 2.1, 2.0; 1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Enable Integrated Windows AuthenticationThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 2.0 and older version. For better security and usability, consider to enable Integrated Windows Authentication that is new feature of VisualSVN Server 2.1. Please refer to the article KB43: How to configure Integrated Windows Authentication in VisualSVN Server for detailed instruction. |
2.0; 1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Reconfigure VisualSVN Server to run under your custom dedicated accountThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.7 and older version. If you run VisualSVN Server service under a dedicated custom account and upgraded from version 1.7 or older, you need to reconfigure the service back to the custom account and manually start the service. After the upgrade, perform the following steps:
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1.7; 1.6; 1.5; 1.1; 1.0 |
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Reconfigure repository access permissionsThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.1 and older version. If VisualSVN Server is set to use Windows Authentication, repository access settings will be lost during the upgrade from version older than 1.5. You should reconfigure the desired repository access permissions with the following steps:
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1.1; 1.0 |
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Upgrade format of repositoriesThe step applies to an upgrade from VisualSVN Server 1.1 and older version. To be able to use new Subversion functionality such as merge tracking, you are requested to upgrade repositories format with the following steps:
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1.1; 1.0 |