Issue

Tips on Upgrading Large PME Systems

Product Line

Power Monitoring Expert 8.x

Power Monitoring Expert 9.x

Power Monitoring Expert 2020

Power Monitoring Expert 2021

Power Monitoring Expert 2022

Power Monitoring Expert 2023

Power Monitoring Expert 2024

Environment

Windows Server

Windows Pro

Windows Enterprise

SQL Server

Cause

Upgrading systems with a large database and many devices can be difficult due to the volume of information on the server.

Resolution

1. Follow all steps in the pre-upgrade instructions as per the system guide. Take particular note of confirming at LEAST 4 times the size of the ION_Data database in free space when there is a large database. Because of table changes, ION_Data log files and tempDB have the potential to grow larger than ION_Data.
2. Confirm with the customer on which reports, diagrams, dashboard and trends are of critical importance. Any custom reports and trends purchased by the customer should be confirmed upgraded and operable prior to the upgrade.
3. Side by side upgrades are recommended if possible as it reduces down time for the production server, offers the opportunity to upgrade supporting software (Windows versions, SQL versions, hardware, etc.) and gives adequate time for troubleshooting efforts if necessary.
4. Migrate tempDB and ION_Data log file to separate drives with enough space to accommodate each. Each of these files can grow up to and in certain cases larger than the size of ION_Data.
5. When transferring configuration files, it is best to establish networking file sharing between new and old database servers and new and old application servers.
6. For large database upgrades, you may need to edit the Database.Core broker file for timeouts for configuring permissions and upgrading the ION_Data database. In the event that the database does not upgrade after timeout, you can take the file ION_Data.sql in the Power Monitoring Expert -> Diagnostic folder and run the script directly in SSMS. Some pieces may need to be commented out as the script will error if the tables already exist in the database.
7. Confirm message queueing setup as per FA409765.
8. When first re-enabling devices on the server, it is best to do it on a rolling basis. Large amounts of data will come into the server if all devices are enabled at once. This can effect logging and end up overloading the message queues or crashing a service (site service, log inserter etc). Devices enabled should be disabled on the old server afterwards.
9. Confirm communication via diagnostic viewer.