Preparations

Preparations#

This chapter lists things to do before you migrate Plone.

Gather information#

  • Read the "What's new in..." for your relevant Plone version, and read the release notes. You will find these in the online directory of released versions on dist.plone.org. As an example, you can find the file RELEASE-NOTES.md for 6.0.0b2.

  • Check for dependencies.

    • Read the release notes of the Plone release to which you are upgrading, in particular:

      • What version of Python is required?

      • What version of Zope is required?

      • Do you need any new Python libraries?

    • Make sure all the add-on products you are using have been updated to support the version of Plone to which you are upgrading.

    • Start with the third-party products that are in use on your site. Verify that they have been updated or verified to work on the new version, and get them upgraded in your existing instance before you start the Plone/Zope/Python upgrade, if possible.

    • If Zope depends on a newer version of Python, install the new version of Python first.

    • If the newer version of Plone depends on a newer version of Zope, you will need to install that before proceeding with the Plone upgrade.

See also

Zope has its own documentation of migration guidelines. Of most interest for migration are the following documents.

If Plone is being upgraded at the same time as a Zope version, Plone will usually handle the Zope upgrade with its own migration script.

Back up your Plone site#

Danger

Always back up your Plone site before upgrading.

See also

See Plone 5.2 documentation, Backing up your Plone deployment.

Todo

Migrate the Plone 5.2 docs for Backing up your Plone deployment into Plone 6 docs.

Setup a test environment to rehearse the upgrade#

Danger

Never work directly on your live site until you know that the upgrade was successful.

Always create a test environment to rehearse the upgrade. Copy your instance into a new environment and upgrade the copy. This is a good way of working through your third-party products and dependencies in preparation for the final upgrade of the live site.

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