rConfig V8 Core Update Process: System Upgrade Procedures

rConfig V8 Core Update Process

Critical Update Prerequisites

Before updating rConfig V8 Core:

System updates require careful planning and preparation. Prior to executing updates:

✅ Complete Backup Requirements (detailed section below)
✅ Follow Update Best Practices (detailed section below)
✅ Review the Update Procedures (detailed section below)

Failure to follow these procedures may result in data loss, system downtime, and operational disruption.

Reference sections:

• Backup Requirements
• Update Best Practices
• Update Procedures

Update Process Overview

rConfig V8 Core follows a continuous development cycle with regular releases containing new features, enhancements, security fixes, and bug fixes. Updates are distributed through the GitHub repository.

If you are deploying a fresh environment, complete the V8 Core Installation steps before using this update workflow.

Related Guides:

• Operating System Configuration for system requirements
• Security Hardening Guidelines for production environments
• rConfig V8 Core Features Overview to understand update capabilities

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Backup Requirements

Critical: Backup Requirements

Prior to Executing Any System Update:

Always create complete backups before updating:

• Database Backup: Full backup of the rConfig database including all configuration data, device inventories, and historical data
• Configuration Files: Backup your .env file and any custom configurations
• Storage Directory: Backup the entire storage directory containing configuration files and logs
• Backup Validation: Test that your backups can be restored successfully

Never update without verified backups. System failures, data corruption, or compatibility issues during updates can result in extended downtime and data loss.

See the Backup Procedures section below for detailed commands.

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Update Best Practices

Update Best Practices

For Production Environments:

1. Test in Non-Production First: If possible, test updates in a development or staging environment before updating production
2. Schedule Maintenance Window: Plan updates during low-usage periods to minimize impact on users
3. Monitor After Updates: Verify all functionality works correctly after updating
4. Keep Backups: Maintain multiple backup versions to enable rollback if needed
5. Review Release Notes: Check the GitHub Releases page for breaking changes or special instructions
6. Document Changes: Keep a log of when updates were performed and any issues encountered

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Backup Procedures

Step 1: Database Backup

Create a complete backup of your rConfig database:

# Navigate to a backup directory
cd /home/backups

# Create database backup with timestamp
mysqldump -u rconfig_user -p rconfig > rconfig_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).sql

# Verify the backup file was created
ls -lh rconfig_backup_*.sql

Important: You’ll be prompted for your database password. Use the same password configured in your .env file.

Step 2: Configuration File Backup

Backup your environment configuration:

# Backup .env file
cp /var/www/html/rconfig/.env /home/backups/.env.backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# Backup Apache virtual host configuration
# For CentOS/Rocky/RHEL:
cp /etc/httpd/conf.d/rconfig-vhost.conf /home/backups/rconfig-vhost.conf.backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

# For Ubuntu:
cp /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/rconfig-vhost.conf /home/backups/rconfig-vhost.conf.backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

Step 3: Storage Directory Backup

Backup the storage directory containing configuration files and logs:

# Create compressed backup of storage directory
tar -czf /home/backups/rconfig_storage_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S).tar.gz /var/www/html/rconfig/storage

# Verify the backup file was created
ls -lh /home/backups/rconfig_storage_backup_*.tar.gz

Step 4: Verify Backups

# List all backup files
ls -lh /home/backups/

# Check database backup file size (should not be 0 bytes)
ls -lh /home/backups/rconfig_backup_*.sql

Automated Backup Script

Consider creating a backup script that runs all these commands. Save it as /usr/local/bin/rconfig-backup.sh and run it before each update:

#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/home/backups"
TIMESTAMP=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

echo "Starting rConfig backup at $TIMESTAMP..."

# Database backup
mysqldump -u rconfig_user -p rconfig > $BACKUP_DIR/rconfig_backup_$TIMESTAMP.sql

# .env backup
cp /var/www/html/rconfig/.env $BACKUP_DIR/.env.backup_$TIMESTAMP

# Storage backup
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/rconfig_storage_backup_$TIMESTAMP.tar.gz /var/www/html/rconfig/storage

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR"
ls -lh $BACKUP_DIR/*$TIMESTAMP*

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Update Procedures

Once backups are complete, follow these steps to update rConfig V8 Core.

Step 1: Check Current Version

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# Check current installed version
php artisan --version

# Check Git status
git status

Step 2: Stash Local Changes (If Needed)

If you have local modifications that conflict with the update:

# Stash your local changes
git stash

# You can restore them later with:
# git stash pop

Step 3: Pull Latest Updates

CentOS, Rocky, RHEL, Alma

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# Pull latest changes from GitHub
git pull

# If you encounter conflicts, review them and resolve manually
# or restore from your backup and try again

Ubuntu

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# Pull latest changes from GitHub
git pull

# If you encounter conflicts, review them and resolve manually
# or restore from your backup and try again

Handling Git Conflicts

If you see merge conflicts:

1. Review the conflicting files (Git will tell you which files)
2. Either manually resolve conflicts or stash/discard local changes
3. If unsure, restore from backup and contact support

Step 4: Update Dependencies

# Update Composer dependencies
composer install --no-dev

# This may take several minutes

Step 5: Run Database Migrations

# Run any new database migrations
php artisan migrate

# When prompted, confirm by typing 'yes'

Database Migrations

Database migrations modify your database schema to support new features. They are designed to be non-destructive, but this is why backups are critical.

Step 6: Sync Scheduled Tasks

# Sync scheduled tasks with the system
php artisan rconfig:sync-tasks

Step 7: Clear Caches

# Clear all application caches
php artisan rconfig:clear-all

Step 8: Restart Web Server

CentOS, Rocky, RHEL, Alma

# Restart Apache
systemctl restart httpd

# Verify Apache is running
systemctl status httpd

Ubuntu

# Restart Apache
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# Verify Apache is running
systemctl status apache2

Step 9: Restart Queue Workers

# Restart Supervisor to reload queue workers
systemctl restart supervisord

# Verify Supervisor is running
systemctl status supervisord

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Post-Update Verification

After updating, verify that everything is working correctly:

1. Check Application Version

cd /var/www/html/rconfig
php artisan --version

2. Access Web Interface

Open your browser and navigate to your rConfig URL:

• Verify you can log in
• Check that the dashboard loads correctly
• Review any new features or changes

3. Test Core Functionality

• Add/View Devices: Verify device management works
• Run Backup: Test a manual device backup
• View Configurations: Check that existing configurations are accessible
• Check Logs: Review logs for any errors

# Check application logs
tail -f /var/www/html/rconfig/storage/logs/laravel.log

4. Verify Services

# Check Apache status
systemctl status httpd     # CentOS/Rocky/RHEL
systemctl status apache2   # Ubuntu

# Check Supervisor status
systemctl status supervisord

# Check queue workers
php artisan queue:work --once

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Troubleshooting Updates

Issue: Git Pull Fails with Conflicts

Solution:

# Option 1: Stash local changes
git stash
git pull
git stash pop  # Restore your changes after

# Option 2: Reset to remote (loses local changes)
git fetch origin
git reset --hard origin/main

Issue: Composer Install Fails

Solution:

# Clear Composer cache
composer clear-cache

# Try again
composer install --no-dev

# If still failing, update Composer itself
composer self-update --2

Issue: Migration Errors

Solution:

# Check database connection
php artisan db:show

# If connection works, try migration again
php artisan migrate

# Check for migration status
php artisan migrate:status

Issue: Permission Errors After Update

Solution:

CentOS, Rocky, RHEL, Alma

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# Fix ownership
chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/rconfig

# Fix permissions
chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/rconfig
chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

# Clear caches
php artisan rconfig:clear-all

Ubuntu

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# Fix ownership
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/rconfig

# Fix permissions
chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/rconfig
chmod -R 775 storage bootstrap/cache

# Clear caches
php artisan rconfig:clear-all

Issue: Blank Page or 500 Errors

Solution:

# Clear all caches
cd /var/www/html/rconfig
php artisan rconfig:clear-all

# Check logs
tail -f storage/logs/laravel.log

# Verify permissions (see above)

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Rolling Back an Update

If an update causes issues, you can roll back to your previous version.

Step 1: Stop Services

# Stop Apache
systemctl stop httpd        # CentOS/Rocky/RHEL
systemctl stop apache2      # Ubuntu

# Stop Supervisor
systemctl stop supervisord

Step 2: Restore Database

# Replace 'YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS' with your backup timestamp
mysql -u rconfig_user -p rconfig < /home/backups/rconfig_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.sql

Step 3: Restore Configuration

# Restore .env file
cp /home/backups/.env.backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS /var/www/html/rconfig/.env

# Restore storage directory
cd /var/www/html/rconfig
rm -rf storage
tar -xzf /home/backups/rconfig_storage_backup_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.tar.gz -C /

Step 4: Revert Code

cd /var/www/html/rconfig

# View recent commits
git log --oneline -n 10

# Revert to previous commit (replace COMMIT_HASH with actual hash)
git reset --hard COMMIT_HASH

# Or revert to last working version
git checkout HEAD~1

Step 5: Restart Services

# Start Apache
systemctl start httpd       # CentOS/Rocky/RHEL
systemctl start apache2     # Ubuntu

# Start Supervisor
systemctl start supervisord

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Update Schedule Recommendations

Security Updates

• Critical: Apply immediately (same day)
• High: Apply within 1 week
• Medium/Low: Apply during next maintenance window

Feature Updates

• Major versions: Plan carefully, test in non-production first
• Minor versions: Apply during regular maintenance
• Patch versions: Low risk, can apply more frequently

Maintenance Windows

For production systems, consider scheduling updates:

• Weekly: Patch releases (8.0.x)
• Monthly: Minor releases (8.x.0)
• Quarterly: Major releases (x.0.0) - with extensive testing

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Getting Help

Community Support

• 📖 Documentation: v8coredocs.rconfig.com
• 🐛 Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• 💬 Community Forums: community.rconfig.com
• 📺 Video Tutorials: YouTube Channel

Before Requesting Help

When requesting help with update issues, provide:

1. Current rConfig version (php artisan --version)
2. Operating system and version
3. Error messages from logs
4. Steps you’ve already tried
5. Output of git status and git log --oneline -n 5

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Related Documentation

• Installation Guide - Fresh installation procedures
• CLI Commands - Command-line tools
• Security Hardening - Production security
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

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