DNN Upgrades

We recommend that DNN upgrades be done by our Managed.com support team, or by a trusted developer familiar with DNN.
 
Although you can attempt a DNN upgrade yourself, we do not recommend it or provide instruction for doing so due to the high potential for complications during this process. In addition, we are not able to provide support for issues resulting from a self-upgrade attempt due to a lack of visibility on the steps taken leading up to the fault. If you do attempt to perform a DNN upgrade on your own, we recommend the following:
 
  • Always take a backup! In most cases, we will restore a site backup you have taken free of charge.
  • If you have installed any third party URL re-writers, we would highly recommend that you disable them first before performing or requesting an upgrade because URL re-writers are a common cause of failed upgrades.
  • When planning an upgrade to your site, you will need to ensure that all 3rd party modules and skins/themes are compatible with the version of DNN you are upgrading to (and upgrade them first, if they aren't). There have been many changes to DNN throughout the years, and the most common errors after an upgrade are related to these two items.


Managed.com DNN Upgrade Service Agreement

We offer DNN upgrade support both as a live update, or as a staging/development site.
 
Option 1: Standard Upgrade
One-Time Fee: $25 per DNN installation
 
We take a complete backup of your website (file structure and database), and take note of the basic appearance of the home page. We then apply the needed upgrades to your live site, and will troubleshoot any issues that occur during the upgrade process. We will log in to the site if possible to check for any visible errors, and troubleshoot as necessary. We will make note of errors related to 3rd-party skins or modules, and will provide as much relevant information as possible so that you may take the necessary steps in getting those items resolved. If the site can not be upgraded due to unresolvable errors, we will restore the site from the backup. 
 
If we restore your website there will still be a $25 charge placed on your account for the service provided, however, we will attempt the upgrade again at no cost any time within 30 days of the original upgrade request. You will not be able to engage a standard upgrade on this website again until the site's errant components have been upgraded successfully to versions compatible with the DNN version to be installed.  Components of your site that may need to be upgraded outside of the DNN upgrade may include modules, skins or extensions that were developed by a third party, and any non-DNN core modules developed or modified by you or a third party. If you are already working with a partner, we would highly recommend continuing to work with them through this upgrade.  If you are in need of a development partner, please take a look at DeveloperMatch.com to match you to a developer based on your needs.
 
 
Option 2:  Staging Upgrade
One-Time Fee: $125 per installation*
 
We create a new subscription for your staging upgrade. We take a complete backup of your website and restore it to the staging subscription.  We then perform the requested upgrades on the staging site. We will troubleshoot any issues that occur during the upgrade process, and will verify that the site loads successfully once upgraded. We will log in to the site if possible to check for any visible errors, and troubleshoot as necessary. We will make note of errors related to 3rd-party skins or modules, and will provide as much relevant information as possible so that you may take the necessary steps in getting those items resolved. Once you are ready to do so, we will assist you in taking the updated site live. This is typically done by cloning the staging site back to the live subscription, or by making the staging site the new live site.
 
Components of your site that may need to be upgraded outside of the DNN upgrade may include modules, skins or extensions that were developed by a third party, and any non-DNN core modules developed or modified by you or a third party. If you are already working with a partner, we would highly recommend continuing to work with them through this upgrade.  If you are in need of a development partner, please take a look at DeveloperMatch.com to match you to a developer based on your needs.
 
If you are a shared hosting customer, staging subscriptions kept longer than 30 days will be billed at $50/month* for each additional month.
 
Regardless of which option you choose, after the upgrade, you can do one of the following:
 
  • You Bless the upgrade, take the site live, and we close out the ticket.
  • You Curse the upgrade and troubleshoot issues on your own, or with the aid of a developer.
  • You Give Up.
    • Standard - we restore the site to the backup made prior to the upgrade.
    • Staging - we remove the clone from your staging subscription.
 
 

DNN Upgrade Responsibilities

It is important to note that our DNN upgrades cover the following items and actions:
 
  • Taking or restoring a full-site backups
  • Application of the requested upgrade versions
  • Troubleshooting during the upgrade process
  • Troubleshooting post upgrade
  • Correcting outstanding errors, if possible
  • Documentation of errors related to 3rd party skins or modules, to be supplied to the customer for further resolution
  • Cloning of an installation (2x, Staging option)
 
While we will do our best to review a website post-upgrade, we are not familiar with individual websites and may not be aware of particular features or content. Please be aware that you are responsible for ensuring that all components of your website are working. In the event that you find a component that does not work after an upgrade, you will need to alert your support technician for further troubleshooting.
 
Please note that when planning an upgrade to your site, you will need to ensure that all 3rd party modules and skins/themes are compatible with the version of DNN you are upgrading to. There have been many changes to DNN throughout the years, and the most common errors after an upgrade are related to these two items.
 
  • DNN versions 5.x to 6.x will require your skin to be compatible with DNN 6.x
  • DNN versions 7.x to 8.x will require your skin to be compatible with DNN 7.x, please see this KB article on the changes outlined for DNN 8.x

Lastly, even though we have a very high success rate in upgrading DNN websites, we can't guarantee that your site will be able to be upgraded.  If you are running a very old site, have installed old or incompatible third-party extensions, or are running a "degraded" website, we might not be able to successfully upgrade the site. If we perform an upgrade that must be rolled back or canceled during the upgrade process, you will still be charged $25 for the service. This covers the time and focus spent on your project.
 
Please submit a support ticket and specify what upgrade option you would like and we will get you upgraded as soon as possible! Please keep in mind that when you schedule the upgrade and approve the option you would like, you will not be able to edit anything on your website as your site will likely "break" if you are doing any work on the website during the upgrade process.

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