M-Files server Operating System upgrade, in-place or clean installation?

Overview

This document describes M-Files server operating system upgrade choices, in-place or clean installations.
In-place upgrade is often used method to upgrade server OS as it will keep settings, server roles, and data intact. It is good practice to check that server hardware, or in case of virtual environment resources for virtual server, meets new OS version hardware requirements, to avoid performance issues after upgrade.
Especially environments where vault(s) are large and/or applications have high workload it should be examined that server hardware or virtual server resources have capacity to run well with new OS version and current applications under workload.
Another way to upgrade the server is to have new server hardware or virtual server environment and fresh OS installation. This is a common way to upgrade when new and better hardware or expanded virtual server resources are required. After OS installation it is necessary to reinstall/restore M-files.

After looking at these factors, it is up to environment administrators to choose the way for upgrade. Regarding M-Files there is no difference in which way it is done. The only difference is in the latter way providing more capable server hardware or expanded virtual server resources and thus better performance.

When the upgrade process is in the starting phase, it is highly recommended to have fresh back up before proceeding. It is up to admin to decide if it is necessary to back up the Master Database as well.
Another aspect to remember is described in the article Windows Server's in-place update may break IIS configuration (site.com).

Reference Documents