Upgrading enterprise geodatabases
Did you know that enterprise geodatabases have versions? Getting stuck on an old version of the geodatabase can lead to compatibility headaches and challenging upgrade pathways. This blog aims to cover the key things you need to know when considering and planning for geodatabase upgrades.
Wait, enterprise geodatabases have a version? Yes, it’s true! And because they have a version, it means that they can (and should) be considered in your upgrade planning. However, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to upgrading an enterprise geodatabase, and there are several considerations you need to be aware of prior to hitting that upgrade button.
Why should you upgrade your enterprise geodatabase?
As ArcGIS grows and evolves, new functionality and bug fixes are incorporated into the software. An enterprise geodatabase, like ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Enterprise, also needs to be updated to incorporate fixes and new features. Ultimately, an enterprise geodatabase is a collection of stored procedures, functions and tables deployed within a relational database management system
(RDBMS), like Postgres, Oracle or SQL Server. Upgrading an enterprise geodatabase simply updates those functions and tables in your database.Geodatabase versions
When you create or upgrade an enterprise geodatabase using the Create Enterprise Geodatabase or Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tools from ArcGIS Pro, the geodatabase is created at the version of ArcGIS Pro with which you are using. For example, if you use ArcGIS Pro 3.5.1 to create or upgrade your geodatabase, your geodatabase will be at version 3.5.1. So far so good. You can check your geodatabase version by right clicking your database connection > Properties > Upgrade Status. The format of the version number is typically the Pro release version followed by the corresponding Enterprise release version:
You can view the geodatabase version under Database Properties > Geodatabase Version > Upgrade Status
This means that when a new release of ArcGIS Pro comes out, your existing geodatabase can be upgraded to the new corresponding version.
Supportability
What does this mean in terms of supportability of your enterprise geodatabase? Geodatabase versions follow the support lifecycle of the client versions that created them. If your geodatabase was created with ArcMap 10.6.1 (and therefore has a version number of 10.6.1), the geodatabase itself is no longer supported and should be upgraded to a supported version. This is because ArcMap 10.6.1 has retired. If the corresponding client version has retired, the enterprise geodatabase is also retired.
There can be an exception to this, however. For example, with long term Enterprise releases like 10.9.1, the corresponding Pro version (2.9) may have retired. However, because the associated Enterprise release has not retired, geodatabases at version 2.9.10.91 are still supported.
Geodatabase and RDBMS compatibility
So far, we have been talking only about the geodatabase version. But there is another key component when considering geodatabase upgrades, and that is the underlying RDBMS in which the geodatabase resides. It is critical that your geodatabase remains compatible with your RDBMS version when upgrading. You can check your geodatabase/RDBMS compatibility by checking out the documentation:
ArcGIS system requirements for Oracle
ArcGIS system requirements for SQL Server
ArcGIS system requirements for Postgres
For example, if your geodatabase version is at version 3.4.11.4, and you are using a SQL Server RDBMS, your SQL Server version can be 2017, 2019, or 2022:
ArcGIS 11.4/3.4 SQL Server Requirements
If, for example, your SQL Server version is at 2016 and your geodatabase is at version 3.4, this is not compatible.
List of Compatible SQL Server Versions
Client software and geodatabase compatibility
Okay, we have covered a lot of ground so far. This is where things get a bit tricky. Let’s say you have a 10.9.1 geodatabase and you want to upgrade it to version 3.5, but you still have some users that are on ArcGIS Pro 3.4. Can older client software connect to newer versions of the geodatabase? Yes, but there are some caveats. First, there may be some new functionality that has been implemented at the geodatabase level that older clients will not be able to use. I won’t go through all the possibilities, but you can find this in our documentation here:
Client and geodatabase compatibility
Client and RDBMS compatibility
The key thing to keep in mind is whether all your ArcGIS client software versions are compatible with the underlying RDBMS version. For example, let’s look at a hypothetical organization that has the following configuration:
ArcGIS Enterprise 11.3
ArcGIS Pro 3.5 and ArcGIS Pro 3.1
Enterprise Geodatabase at version 3.5
SQL Server database
We would have to ensure that all the client software is compatible with the underlying SQL Server database.
SQL Server Requirements for ArcGIS 11.3
SQL Server Requirements for ArcGIS 11.5
It looks like SQL Server 2022, 2019 and 2017 are compatible with all the client versions listed above.
Planning for an upgrade
Like any upgrade, there are a couple of essential considerations to ensure your upgrade is smooth and successful. The first is to run the upgrade in a test/development environment before running your upgrade in Production. The second is to ensure you have a full recent backup and a proven and established IT policy to restore that database if needed. Once the upgrade is completed, it is critical to test your normal workflows to ensure there are no unexpected changes.
Upgrading Geodatabases in a services-based environment
If your organization uses referenced feature services which connect to your Enterprise Geodatabase (especially if you are using branch versioned data), you may want to consider performing your geodatabase upgrades only from ArcGIS Enterprise (instead of ArcGIS Pro). Because ArcGIS Server comes with an ArcPy installation, you can run the upgrade of a geodatabase by calling the Upgrade Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool via Python on the ArcGIS Server machine. You may need to consider this kind of upgrade if a patch you installed for ArcGIS Server has a corresponding geodatabase upgrade requirement (which some patches do). By only running your geodatabase upgrades via ArcGIS Enterprise, this ensures that you do not accidentally upgrade the geodatabase to a version higher than your Enterprise release. If you did so, you may not be able to leverage ArcGIS Enterprise patches with associated geodatabase fixes. For more information, please see the following blog:
Managing geodatabase upgrades in a services-based architecture
Please reach out to Esri Canada Customer Support if you have any questions about this upgrade pathway.
Conclusion
Enterprise geodatabases are a foundational technology at the heart of many GIS organizations. Because of this, upgrading may not always be straightforward. Maintaining compatibility and supportability of your various software components is key to getting the most out of your GIS. And the longer you wait, the more challenging upgrading may be.
If you have any questions about geodatabase upgrades, our Technical Support team is always happy to help!