Upgrade a Data Archive server
- Last UpdatedNov 13, 2025
- 4 minute read
- PI System
- PI Server 2024 R2
- PI Server
There are four phases that make up the Data Archive upgrade process. Each phase contains tasks that are related to the goals for that part of the upgrade. The four phases are:
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Phase 1: Pre-upgrade
The first phase of any upgrade focuses on the planning and preparation essential for a successful upgrade of your Data Archive. This phase involves tasks, such as: identifying the operating system and server name of the target Data Archive, ensuring hardware and sizing compatibility with the target server, and downloading the PI Server install kit. It is also in this phase where you must evaluate whether your current Data Archive needs intermediary steps to qualify it for a direct upgrade using the PI Server install kit.
Install and configure the AVEVA™ Identity Manager if you plan to use OpenID Connect (OIDC) for claims-based authentication. These steps can also be done after an installation or upgrade.
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Phase 2: Qualify
The second phase involves some intermediary steps that qualify your current Data Archive for a direct upgrade through the PI Server install kit if your current Data Archive is not supported. Upgrading with the PI Server install kit requires that your current Data Archive is version Data Archive 2015 R2 or later and also that your current version is 64-bit. If your current server does not meet these requirements, you must qualify your server for a direct upgrade. Then, you can proceed with the next phase.
Note: If your version is earlier than PI Server 2015 R2, upgrade to 2015 R2 before proceeding to the current release.
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Phase 3: Upgrade
The third phase centers around upgrading the Data Archive server on the host computer using the install wizard or through the command line using the PI Server install kit.
The PI to CONNECT Agent is included with a default Data Archive upgrade.
Important: Upgrade paths can also depend on your Windows OS version. Newer version of PI Server (2018 and 2024) do not support older operating systems (for example, Windows Server 2008 R2). If your OS is not supported, you may need to move to a newer OS before upgrading PI Server. See System Requirements for details.
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Phase 4: Post-upgrade
The final phase of an upgrade involves verifying that your upgrade was successful, as well as some initial configuration tasks for your upgraded Data Archive server. In this phase, you will verify that the upgrade was successful and the proper services are running on your server and that new data is being collected by your updated server.
If you are OpenID Connect (OIDC) for claims-based authentication, configure the required TLS certificates and register all PI System components with the AVEVA Identity Manager.
Data Archive collectives
Follow these recommended best practices if you are upgrading a Data Archive collective:
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If your Data Archive is part of a collective, upgrade all secondary servers before upgrading the primary server. This ensures that synchronization records sent by a primary server are recognized by secondary servers. Additionally, upgrading the secondary server first presents an easier rollback path in the event of upgrade issues. For more information on collectives, see the High Availability topic PI Data Archive collective management.
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If using OpenID Connect (OIDC) for claims-based authentication, configure the required TLS certificates on primary and secondary servers before performing the upgrade by following these steps:
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Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) from the known servers table as the certficate's alternate name.
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Move the public certificates from all the secondary servers to the primary server's trusted root store.
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Move the public certificate of the primary server to all the corresponding secondary servers' trusted root store. This step ensures that the public certificates are available for TLS.
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After completing certificate management, update the secondary server(s) first.
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Upgrade the primary server after upgrading all secondary server(s).
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Don't create OpenID Connect (OIDC) mappings until all nodes are upgraded. If there are issues or the recommended upgrade order was not followed, upgrade all remaining old nodes and reinitialize all secondaries.
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Be aware that collectives use certificates for communication between primary and secondary members. Synchronization between members occurs after all members are upgraded and their certificates are in place.
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If you plan to upgrade a PI Data Archive server and also create a Data Archive collective, perform the upgrade first. Taking this approach means you only have to perform a single upgrade rather than creating the various members of the collective and then upgrading all of those members.
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If you are upgrading the members of a collective, perform all the phases of an upgrade, as described in the following sections, on each member of the collective.