IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Migrating and upgrading your IBM BPM environment > Migrating from previous versions > Migration methods
Runtime migration
Runtime migration uses migration procedures and tools to migrate topology configuration, applications, and databases to the new version of IBM BPM. The runtime migration process replicates the source production configuration into the target environment. During the migration process, the target production environment replaces the source production environment, so that the two environments are never operated in parallel.
When to use runtime migration
The runtime migration procedures and tools support both stand-alone and ND environment migrations, as well as variants that include migration to a remote system, migration while an operating system is being upgraded to a supported version, and ND variants to support full downtime migration windows and minimal downtime migration windows.
Runtime migration is supported for migration from the following products:
- IBM BPM Advanced V7.5 or V7.5.1
- WebSphere Process Server V7.0.0.x or V6.2.x
Use the runtime migration method in the following scenarios:
- You want to move your applications to the new version without a dependency on the development tools and the development environment.
- You want to have your source production environment configuration and applications automatically replicated in the target production environment.
- You have long-running process or human task instances that started in the source environment and need to complete in the target environment.
- You have product data in queues or failed events in product databases that were created in the source environment and need to survive the migration and be managed in the target production environment.
- You can tolerate a production environment downtime window to perform the migration.
Benefits
Runtime migration provides the following benefits:
- No dependency on the development tools
- Source environment configuration is replicated in the target environment
- Source environment applications are migrated to the target environment
- Source environment application data is moved, using existing database tables
- Process and human tasks can start in the source environment and complete in the target environment
- Application instance data on queues and failed events in the source environment can be handled post migration by the target environment
- Additional hardware and software resources not required to manage another production environment
Costs
Runtime migration incurs the following costs:
- Downtime is required when the target product environment assumes the role of the source production environment
- Requires all applications on a node to be ready to migrate at the same time
- New features are not enabled automatically and sometimes unavailable without migrating the application artifacts using artifact migration
- Parallel production environment cannot be set up
- Test focus:
- End-to-end testing to validate migration process
- Regression testing and performance tuning
Risks
Runtime migration involves the following risks:
- A rollback plan must be in place to handle a possible migration failure. See Rolling back your environment.
- Existing user applications should continue to run in the new runtime at the same level of function they had in the old runtime. In some cases, however, there might be a change in code on which the application depends, such as a JDK change, which might have a negative impact on the unchanged application.
High-level tasks
Runtime migration includes the following high-level tasks:
- Install the new product version.
- Back up all production profiles and databases.
- Migrate each source environment profile to the target environment.
- Migrate or upgrade the product databases.
- Migrate the product database data.
Related concepts:
