Which one should I upgrade first, JIRA 5.15 to JIRA 6.0.6 or Confluence 2.9.3 to Confluence 5.2.x?
Asked by Sm Tahsin:

In my organisation, currently we are using JIRA version 5.1.5 and Confluence version 2.9.3. We are looking forward to upgrade our both versions of Confluence and JIRA and also at the same time, we need to upgrade our Crowd which we use for both JIRA and Confluence users authentications.

Our questions is, which Atlassian product should we upgrade first, JIRA or Confluence?

Like every organisation, we like to have an Atlassian product for our production environment which has least bugs in it for a major release and most importantly very stable in nature. From the studies on JIRA and confluence release notes, we can see that Altasssian already fixed several bugs for their Confluence 5 and also reached to the version 5.2.3. On the other hand, Atlassian had fixed 146 bugs so far for their JIRA 6 and reached to JIRA version 6.0.6. We also heard from Atlassian Support that we need to upgrade our Conflunce ASAP due compatibility issues with JIRA 6 and also it already had become antique.

So, I am seeking recommendation from Atlassian Answer users that which Atlassian product should we upgrade first, JIRA or Confluence?

Many thanks in advance.   


Answers:
author: Theinvisibleman
body: Hi there,

I would generally recommend that you first try to upgrade your Confluence first. This is because in my opinion, there is a world of difference between Confluence 2.9.3 and Confluence 5 (and above). There are a lot of new features, and improvements that you might want to check out.

Of course, upgrading your JIRA is also important, but at version 5.1.5, I think your JIRA is rather stable, compared to your Confluence 2.9.3, which is rather unstable and no longer supported.

However, I wouldn't recommend directly upgrading your Confluence to version 5.2.3, as it's currently rather buggy. Also, you probably want to upgrade your Confluence first to version 3.5.x, via the steps mentioned [here](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Upgrading+Confluence+Manually), and then upgrade it to Confluence 5.1.x via the steps [here](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Upgrading+from+Confluence+3.5+to+5.1+-+Simplified+Guide).

comments: author: Sm Tahsin
body: Hi Joe,

Many thanks for your recommendations which really counts. We are going to look into upgrade Confluence first.

Now we have few concerns about JIRA 6 in terms of bugs. We are really keen to upgrade our JIRA to JIRA 6. Few features of JIRA 6 in comparison to 5.1.5 will be very beneficial for our organisation. As you agreed that JIRA 5.1.5 is stable at the moment as it has less bugs in it, so can we have same less amount of bugs in JIRA 6? If so then which version shall we choose of JIRA 6?

From the Atlassian's own JIRA, we can see that there are lots work going arround on differents bugs, specially some them are highly related GreenHopper and its worth to mention that we use GreenHopper quite heavily. From the JIRA bug fixing rates by Atlassian and also from the rate of quicker releases of JIRA, we have a feeling that we are not so far from STABLE version of JIRA having less bugs in it. For example, JIRA 6.1 in works and also Atlassian is releasing 6.0.7 tomorrow. So shall wait a bit for that least buggy version?

Apologies, if I am wrong and if we already have that to go for.

Kind Regards,


author: Theinvisibleman
body: Hi there,

Of course, upgrading your JIRA is also important :)  

Seeing as you are keen to upgrade your JIRA to JIRA 6, I would recommend that you upgrade to JIRA 6.0.7, the latest released version of JIRA. There are some new features as well as some fixed bugs, which you can check out [here](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/JIRA+6.0.7+Release+Notes#JIRA6.0.7ReleaseNotes-updatesandfixes).

Currently, there is no solid release date as to when JIRA 6.1 wil lbe released yet, so you might want to go to 6.0.7 first.


author: Sm Tahsin
body: Hi Joe,

Thanks again for your reply. It's true that we are keen to upgrade JIRA due to lucrative features of it but surely we do not want to go for a version where risk of instability is higher than the existing environment. A stable JIRA without the new features of JIRA 6 is always preferable than slightly instable JIRA with full of lucrative features.

We are having approximately 2000 (and growing) users within JIRA-Confluence-Crowd-Greenhopper VM environment and the impact of introducing them into slightly instable environment compared to existing one is definitely not a good practice here like all the other organisations. JIRA is our top priority and it has to up 24/7 and we also made all the BAU communications with all stakeholders and CPs around the world though JIRA and JIRA's stability also puts a heavy weight on our organisation's reputation.

I hope, I am able to draw a little scenario where exactly we are now and also seeking your expert and skill opinion about the JIRA upgrade.

Kind Regards,


author: Theinvisibleman
body: Hi there,

Apologies for the late response.

As far as I know, JIRA 6.0.6 and the latest version 6.0.7 is quite stable. Of course, I understand your concern, seeing as JIRA is highly used by your company.

What I would suggest is that you first perform the upgrade on a test instance/server, and see if everything works fine, and if it suits your requirements. Once adequate checks on the functionalities have been done, then you can proceed with the upgrade of your production instance :)


author: Sm Tahsin
body: Hi Joe,

Thanks for your response. We are looking forward to have test instance for JIRA 6 and will run a complete test on it.

I do highly appreciate your efforts in this regard.

Best regards

Tahsin

comments: author: Theinvisibleman
body: Hi Tahsin,

No problem :)

I hope that your test of JIRA 6 proves satisfactory.

Also, please feel free to accept my earlier answer if you are satisfied with it :D


author: Sm Tahsin
body: Hi Joe,

Many thanks for your recommendations which really counts. We are going to look into upgrade Confluence first.

Now we have few concerns about JIRA 6 in terms of bugs. We are really keen to upgrade our JIRA to JIRA 6. Few features of JIRA 6 in comparison to 5.1.5 will be very beneficial for our organisation. As you agreed that JIRA 5.1.5 is stable at the moment as it has less bugs in it, so can we have same less amount of bugs in JIRA 6? If so then which version shall we choose of JIRA 6?

From the Atlassian's own JIRA, we can see that there are lots work going arround on differents bugs, specially some them are highly related GreenHopper and its worth to mention that we use GreenHopper quite heavily. From the JIRA bug fixing rates by Atlassian and also from the rate of quicker releases of JIRA, we have a feeling that we are not so far from STABLE version of JIRA having less bugs in it. For example, JIRA 6.1 in works and also Atlassian is releasing 6.0.7 tomorrow. So shall wait a bit for that least buggy version?

Apologies, if I am wrong and if we already have that to go for.

Kind Regards,


Tags: jira

upgrade