The following document contains a number of strategies that can be used to upgrade your existing Discus or Discus Pro board to the new version 4.0. You can identify which version of the software you are currently running by logging into your administration program as the board administrator (typically admin).

Discus 4.0 can import only that data created by version 3.10 and higher. Therefore, upgrading your board is a two-step process:

1. Upgrade your board to Discus Freeware or Discus Professional 3.10. (If you are now using Discus Freeware, upgrade to Discus Freeware 3.10; if you are now using Discus Professional, upgrade to Discus Professional 3.10.) You should use the upgrading to version 3.10 instructions.

2. Once you are running version 3.10, follow appropriate instructions below to upgrade to version 4.0.

A critical step of any upgrade is to make a backup of your existing files. Since Discus Freeware does not contain the "Backup Manager" function, it is up to you to create the backup manually. There are two ways you can create a backup:

1. If you have telnet access, use the unix 'tar' command to back up the files. Your command would look similar to this:

   tar -cpvf backup310.tar admin_dir html_dir script_dir

2. If you do not have telnet access or you are not familiar with the 'tar' command, transfer the files individually from your server to your own computer by FTP. On your own computer, you must create the subdirectory structure to match that on your server. Be sure that all files are transferred in ASCII mode, except for any images or attachments (generally with extension .gif, .jpg, and so on), which must be transferred in binary mode.

Once your backup has been created, complete the appropriate upgrade procedure:

• FTP Upgrade: Note that you can use your Version Manager to obtain version 4.0 by checking the option to download a beta version if one is available.

• Telnet/SSH Upgrade on Unix: Download Discus 4.0 from the DiscusWare site and use the "upgrade.pl" script to upgrade your board.

• Console Upgrade on Windows: Download Discus 4.0 from the DiscusWare site and use the "upgrade.pl" script to upgrade your board.

After you have successfully uploaded the files, it is essential that you immediately log in to your administration program as the board administrator (typically admin). You will be prompted to run the file upgrade procedure, which you do by clicking the link from the main menu. This could take several minutes depending on the size of your board.

A critical step of any upgrade is to make a backup of your existing files. With Discus Professional, you can use the "Backup Manager" interface to create a full backup of your board, and then download that backup to your computer. We suggest doing this before continuing with these instructions.

Once your backup has been created, there are two upgrade paths from Discus Professional 3.10 to 4.0:

Upgrade via traditional method

The traditional method overwrites the files of your older version with those from the newer version, essentially replacing your board with the newer version. The traditional method is the same as noted above. Note that for the telnet or console installation, you must download the Discus Professional distribution through the Discus Professional download area.

Upgrade via Backup Manager

Discus Professional 4.0 introduces the possibility of a risk-free backup, where you install an entirely new board and import your data from version 3.10. Then, once you are certain that your new board is up and running, you shut down the old 3.10 board and redirect the traffic to your 4.0 board. The tradeoff is that your users will need to bookmark a new URL.

To do this upgrade, perform a first-time installation of Discus Professional onto your server by one of the following methods (be sure to download the appropriate files from the Discus Professional download area):

• Telnet installation for unix
• Console installation for Windows
• FTP installation for any platform

When you are performing the installation, it is essential that NONE of the directory names you choose for your new board are shared with any other Discus board. In particular, you are NOT overwriting your existing Discus Professional 3.10 board when you perform this step. You are creating an entirely new instance of Discus Professional on your server at a different URL.

Once you have set up your board and tested it to verify correct operation, perform the following steps to import your data from version 3.10:

1. Put your version 3.10 board into "maintenance mode" using the Options Manager. This will prevent postings while you are upgrading.

2. In your version 3.10 board, create a "minimal backup" using the Backup Manager. Download the resulting file to your computer using the Backup Manager "download" button.

3. Using FTP, upload the minimal backup file to your version 4.0 "backups" directory. This transfer must be done in binary mode. (If you have telnet access and prefer simply to copy the minimal backup to the appropriate directory, feel free to do this.)

4. Log in to your version 4.0 board and go to Backup Manager. Click the "Open" button next to the recently uploaded/copied minimal backup. Choose the first option (complete restoration) -- check the box and click the button to start. You will observe that data files are restored, and then, the Discus 3.10 to 4.0 file update process automatically begins. This could take several minutes depending on the size of your board. When it completes, you will be prompted to register Discus to complete the upgrade.

5. Redirect traffic from your 3.10 board to your 4.0 board (exactly how you do this is up to you; consider replacing the index.html file of your 3.10 board with a link to the 4.0 board).

6. Disable your 3.10 board by either removing it entirely or ensuring that it is still in "maintenance mode" in Options Manager.