I can just upgrade a test DB while keeping my Production DB stable, right? Can I go through the upgrade process in my currently installed Administration console without causing issues with Production? I’ve never done this before.
Yes, you can but it does uplift your administration console. If you have done a 10.1.400 to 10.1.500 or .600 upgrade it works kind of the same way.
My preference is to do the uplift on a different server so you do not mess
with Production
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What is a “different server” in this context? Do you mean the physical server that Epicor is installed on, the Database server in Admin console, or an App server in the Admin console?
I have a virtual machine I run for my test server. That one will have SQL and Epicor both installed on it so it is a self contained testing environment.
Do you all clone your environments and then do an in place upgrade? or start from new and install Epicor on a fresh box?
I am assuming you are staying on the same OS.
that´s the best suggestion… to have a whole environment to run the upgrade test to prevent any possible damage to the production one.
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We have a dedicated VM server for testing. We installed SQL and App server and point all TEST add on’s here. We restore a back up from Production monthly and restore TEST to have an as up to date TEST environment as possible.
We may be extreme 
with our testing. . nothing will go into production without first passing through user testing. Therefore , we have 5 DBs on on test server: 1. user test environment , 2 one for patch testing (when IT want to download and pre-test a later patch than production and TEST is using and 3 DBs for IT debugging and development.
My suggestion is to keep production isolated from anything related with testing to minimize the chance for an ooopps.
Kristine Fierce
Business Systems Analyst
Ag Leader Technology
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Alright thanks for the advice folks! I guess I’ll get to work on setting up a VM for all testing in the future.
One last question: My Epicor rep set up a meeting with us tomorrow to talk about upgrading with their new Upgrade Services thing, and it’s starting to seem like a sales pitch. Are there any costs related to updating to 10.2, and is there any way to avoid those costs?
I’m with Kristine (you are not too extreme). These days setting up a VM is MUCH easier than in the past and offers you a chance to “try before you buy” the new version.
Epicor is getting MUCH better at upgrading than they were in the past - however, “once bitten twice shy” - Mock it up and test it for major issues. There will always be small bugs, changes, additions and those can be handled Ad-Hoc - the point is to find the BIG stuff i.e. cannot print anything, Stock Status total explodes between versions, etc.
Remember - this is NOT QuickBooks - plan MORE than a half hour to upgrade 
Take Care,
DaveO
3 Likes
Kristine, just to clarify, you have just one VM with SQL and the App server installed on it…correct? Thanks for the clarification.
That is correct. Our TEST VM have SQL Server 2016 installed. We have added multiple Epicor DBs to SQL and each of the DBs have one app server each installed. All managed from one Epicor Admin Console.
Kristine…thank you very much for that helpful information. Have a Merry Christmas!
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