Steps to plan and perform AEM upgrade – Part 3

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Step 8: Perform test migration and validate

With the preparation done, it’s time to perform a test migration. 

For direct instance migration, cloning the production instance and performing the test migration on the cloned instance is preferred. 

For fresh install, plan to sync content as closely with production as possible when performing test migration.

Execute the process as documented in the previous preparation step. Follow the document religiously, updating the document if required to reflect actual execution. 

Cover all aspects of migration starting with the pre-migration steps and following through to simulate cutover. Do not miss to simulate rollback scenario so that you are prepared for the worst case if the need arises when migrating your production.

Make sure to measure and validate the following in the test migration

• All the objectives set for the migration are achieved
• The application functions and performs as expected in the target environment
• You would be able to meet the downtime limits agreed for the migration

Step 9: Tweak the process and repeat test migration (Optional)

This optional step can be applied if required. If you are not able to meet any of your set objectives or if any change is needed in the migration execution, make sure to update the migration document and repeat the test migration starting from the beginning.

You may end up in situation where you have to go back to preparation step (step 7) to cover for any gaps identified and come back to step 8 to redo the test migration.

It’s essential to make sure a full end-to-end cycle of migration is performed in the test environment to be absolutely sure of repeating the same in production.

By the end of this exercise, you should have performed an end-to-end test migration and have a proven migration document that can be followed for doing the migration in production.

Step 10: Redefine the dev, ops and devops processes

After the successful test migration, you might want to start aligning the development, operations and dev ops processes for the target AEM version. 

Also start planning the migration for your lower environments (Dev, stage, …) to the new version. Update the maintenance procedures for these lower environments for the new AEM version. 

Development can also shift to the new version and sub-sequent releases can be planned for the new version. Dev ops process can now be updated for the new AEM version.

With the test migration successfully completed, we can jump into preparing for the final migration run detailed in the next part

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