Listed below is the general sequence of tasks to install a newer version of the ArcSDE component, upgrade the ArcSDE and geodatabase system tables, and install updated stored procedures and locators for geodatabases licensed with ArcGIS Server Enterprise. For more complete information about upgrading, consult the installation guides provided with the ArcSDE component of ArcGIS Server Enterprise.
Correct any schema inconsistencies.
Back up all databases.
If you are using a geodatabase in DB2, you must delete all multiversioned views before upgrading. If you do not, the geodatabase upgrade will fail. The multiversioned views can be re-created after the upgrade completes. Before deleting them, be sure to check the permissions on the views so you can regrant them after they are re-created.
Remove any custom functionality you may have added to the ArcSDE geodatabase system tables outside of ArcGIS such as triggers, participation in SQL Server replication, or additional indexes. The upgrade procedure cannot be aware of customizations you make to the system tables. If such customizations prevent the alteration of a system table's schema, the upgrade will fail.
If you are using an ArcSDE service, stop (do not pause) the service before uninstalling the ArcSDE component. If you plan to re-create the service after upgrading, go ahead and delete the service as well.
Uninstall the earlier version of the ArcSDE component.
Install the new release of the ArcSDE component.
Upgrade your geodatabase tables, stored procedures, and locators using the sdesetup –o upgrade command or, on Windows, run the repository setup portion of the Post Installation wizard. Consult the ArcSDE Administration Command Reference provided with the ArcSDE component of ArcGIS Server Enterprise for details on using the sdesetup command.
Be aware that if you are using Oracle and have geodatabases in user schemas in addition to the SDE master geodatabase, you must separately run sdesetup to upgrade each of these geodatabases. The upgrade must be run by the owner of the geodatabase.
For most DBMSs, elevated permissions are necessary for the administrative user to upgrade the geodatabase. These permissions are outlined in the ArcSDE installation guide for each DBMS.
In addition, the ArcSDE administrator must have write permission to either the SDEHOME/geocode directory on the server or the directory to which the TEMP environment variable is set. This is because, during an upgrade, ArcSDE attempts to make backups of the locator files in the geocode directory. If that fails, ArcSDE attempts to write the backups to the TEMP directory. If the ArcSDE administrator does not have write permission to either of these directories, a warning is generated and new locators are loaded.
If you received a new license file with the latest version of the ArcGIS Server Enterprise software, update the license key in the geodatabase by running the sdesetup –o update_key command or, on Windows, run the authorization portion of the Post Installation wizard. If you have more than one geodatabase, you need to update the license file in each of the geodatabases.
On Windows, update or re-create the ArcSDE service (if used) using the ArcSDE service creation portion of the Post Installation wizard or the sdeservice and sdemon commands. On UNIX or Linux, start an ArcSDE service using the sdemon command.
ESRI recommends that you test upgrades of the geodatabase, upgrades of your DBMS, or upgrades to both on a separate development server. After you have tested the upgraded geodatabase on the development server and everything is working as you expected, you can upgrade your production geodatabase.
The following is a list of things to keep in mind when you upgrade:
In some cases, older versions of the ArcSDE component software cannot be upgraded directly to newer versions. The upgrade sections of your installation guide will tell you to which versions this applies.
If you are using a direct connection from the client to your ArcSDE geodatabase prior to ArcGIS 9.3, you must maintain both the ArcSDE component and the client software at the same version. However, beginning with ArcGIS 9.3, you can make a direct connection from a 9.3 ArcGIS client to a 9.3, 9.2, 9.1, or 9.0 ArcSDE geodatabase. To do this, you must install the pre-9.3 geodatabase direct connect drivers. This installation is provided on the client installation media.
DBMS vendors also release new versions of their software from time to time. Upgrades to your DBMS software take place separately from your ArcSDE geodatabase upgrades. If you plan to upgrade your DBMS, be sure the DBMS version you want to use is supported with the version of the ArcSDE component you want to use by checking the system requirements page on the ESRI support site.
ArcIMS applications are not forward compatible with major new releases of ArcSDE. This means older versions of ArcIMS are not tested, certified, or supported with newer major releases of the ArcSDE component. Unlike ArcGIS Desktop, ArcIMS does not check the version of the geodatabase nor ArcSDE. It may be possible to connect to and use a newer version of the ArcSDE component; however, ESRI is not able to offer support for this configuration.
There is no formal mechanism to downgrade an ArcSDE geodatabase to a previous version. As always, before running an ArcSDE component and geodatabase upgrade, perform a full database backup. If after upgrading to a newer version of ArcSDE you want to downgrade the database, restore the old database from the backup.
Upgrades from beta or prerelease versions of the software are not supported.