Upgrading MyWorkDrive Server Guide

MyWorkDrive server is designed to be upgraded in place. Upgrades are free to licensed clients, we do not charge a fee for upgrades or a software maintenance fee for access to upgrades.

Servers using Active Directory or Entra ID for the user directory use the same upgrade Process

Before you begin

• Download the new version of MyWorkDrive server installer from the portal
• Backup your settings. Either by making a manual backup of the settings folder in c:\wanpath\Wanpath.Data or, if your upgrading from version 5.2 or later, using the Export feature in settings. Note that you cannot copy any of the files in settings back into a newer install to “fix” it, however you can use pieces of the saved files to ease in disaster recovery. See the Backup MyWorkDrive settings section of the Server Guide for additional details.
• Have your license key readily available. In some instances you may need to re-apply your license key in settings after upgrade. You can retrieve your license key by logging into the portal at https://www.myworkdrive.com/login with your licensed email. Contact support if you do not know your login email or need help retrieving your License Key.
• Review the release notes so you are aware of changes and new features.

We would always encourage you to test the new version of the server in a QA or Lab environment prior to upgrading any production servers.

Conducting the Upgrade

The install is designed to be run on the existing server. You do not need to stop any services or make any changes. Just run the downloaded server update installer.

During the installation existing connections to the server by users and clients will be disconnected, and new connections will not be serviced. Make sure to conduct the upgrade at a time that it is acceptable for the service to be unavailable.

Depending on versions you are upgrading from, you will get different prompts to confirm during the upgrade.

MyWorkDrive server can take several minutes. You are encouraged to complete this process at a time when connections are closed and a reboot is possible. Leaving the server pending a reboot is not advised.

If the installer detects that a .NET upgrade is required, note that the installation may take a bit longer while .NET is installed and a reboot may be required.

The MyWorkDrive install process for upgrades will preserve all of your existing settings and migrate/apply them to the new version. Unless otherwise noted by the installer or release notes, you will have a fully functional server after Setup completes.

You may receive a message on the admin or web client consoles if you attempt to immediately re-connect after the upgrade that the services are starting up and to please wait. This is normal, retry after 60-90 seconds

• Upgrades and downgrades within the same version, ie 5.2.0 to 5.2.1 to 5.2.4 to 5.2.3 will work seamlessly.
• Upgrades to newer versions, ie 5.2.1 to 5.3.0 will also work seamlessly, unless otherwise noted by the installer or the release notes.
• Downgrades to previous versions, ie 5.3.2 to 5.2.1 are not advised without consulting MyWorkDrive and will result in the loss of any features, enhancements or functionality introduced in the newer version. Additionally, you may encounter licensing issues when going back to prior versions, and you are strongly encouraged to contact support prior to downgrading.
• Downgrading from 6.x back to 5.x is not possible due to signifigant changes to configuration files and a restore is recommended to revert to 5.x from 6.x

 

As always, it is prudent to backup any data stored on the server. We do not recommend keeping your shares local to the MyWorkDrive server or running any other applications on the same server, but if you do, you are strongly encouraged to back them up prior to upgrading.

Scripting the upgrade

Starting with version 5.4.2 or higher, MyWorkDrive Server setup now supports installing via a script. Simply run the setup.exe with /q to upgrade silently retaining existing settings.

Things to check after Upgrade

• In settings, check that your server is properly licensed, if it is not, reapply your license key.
• If you are using the Cloud Web Connector, check that it is enabled in settings. If it is not, re-enable it.
• If you are using Office 365, check that it is enabled in settings. if it is not, re-enable it.
• If you are using SSO, verify that it is enabled and configured on the Enterprise tab.
• If you are using Two Factor Authentication, verify that it is enabled and configured on the Enterprise tab.

If you have an issue during install, you are encouraged to review the installation log file at c:\wanpath\Wanpath.Data\Logs\Installer for details about the installation process and errors.

Migrating from Active Directory to Entra ID for the user directory

From Verison 7, MyWorkDrive supports using either Active Directory or Entra ID for user directory.

Migrating MyWorkDrive servers configured with Active Directory to Entra ID authentication is unsupported. No upgrade path exists between MyWorkDrive server Active Directory identity and Entra ID, due to differences in storage provisioning and user access as well as the numerous features which are no longer required with Entra ID.

To deploy a MyWorkDrive server with Entra ID identity native authentication, it’s advised to set up a new server and configure it from scratch. To ease the new installation process, we’ve created a more robust setup wizard which runs the first time you login to a new server connected to Entra ID, making connecting to Azure for the user database and storage easy.

Upgrading an existing server configured with Active Directory is fully supported, as described in this article, continuing to use Active Directory, optionally with a SAML SSO or Duo MFA, for the user login.

If you have any questions about upgrading your MyWorkDrive server please contact support prior to upgrading.