How to Upgrade Jira Data Center to Version 7.2x: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products on the Data Center platform.

Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.

*Except Fisheye and Crucible

Summary

To help provide a detailed guide to help with the upgrade process of large scale and business critical Jira environments to Jira 7.2.latest. Other methods for upgrade also exist, see here: Upgrading JIRA applications

Solution

Before You Start

  • Check Jira 7.2 Supported Database Versions:

    • Oracle 12c

    • MySQL 5.5, 5.6

    • PostgreSQL 9.2, 9.3, 9.4

    • Microsoft SQL Server 2012, 2014

  • Check plugin compatibility

    • Within your current installation of Jira, go to Administration > Add-ons > Manage add-ons. At the bottom of the page, there is a link for Jira update check.

    • Third-party plugins may have upgrade requirements, please ensure to be familiar with these requirements as it may require additional intermediate upgrade steps

  • Check other Atlassian product compatibility, see Application links version matrix. Jira 7.2 uses AppLinks 5.2.3, based on that, minimal versions for Jira 7.2 for other applications:

    • Bamboo 5.10+

    • Confluence 5.6+

    • Crucible/Fisheye 3.6+

    • Stash 3.4+

  • Review the Recommended Readings (links to the right)

Optimizing the Upgrade Process

These steps will help reduce the amount of time needed for the full upgrade process to complete

  • Disable Upgrade Index and Automated Upgrade Backup

  • (For Jira <= 7.2.7) Apply the workaround for JRA-61383. In large installations the upgrade rename of "Agile" fields to "Software" increases the length of your outage. Doing this via SQL is fast and low risk so long as you test your upgrade procedure in advance.

Testing

We strongly recommend performing your upgrade in a test environment first. Do not upgrade your production Jira server until you are satisfied that your test environment upgrade has been successful. If you have any problems with your test environment upgrade which you cannot resolve, create an issue at our support site so that we can assist you.

Details: Establishing staging server environments for JIRA applications.

Upgrade Steps for Jira Software

Before Proceeding

  • Using Jira Agile? - Ensure to first upgrade the Jira Agile add-on to the latest version compatible with your version of Jira. Jira Agile version must be 6.4.5 or greater before proceeding.

  • Using Jira Service Management? - Ensure to first upgrade to Jira to version 7.0 and Jira Service Management to version 3.0 (or later in the 7.0.X and corresponding 3.0.X range)

  • Third-party plugins may have upgrade requirements, please ensure to be familiar with these requirements as it may require additional intermediate upgrade steps

Supported Database Versions:

  • Oracle 12c

  • MySQL 5.5, 5.6

  • PostgreSQL 9.2, 9.3, 9.4

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012, 2014

Upgrading to Jira Software 7.0.latest

Required if upgrading from Jira 6 with Service Management. Skip to next section if not using Service Management.

  1. Stop the current Jira instance

  2. Make a copy of the Jira database to a new database

  3. Make a copy of the Jira_HOME to a new location

  4. Please check that all Jira bundled plugins are enabled (eg: jira-importers-plugin). Check pluginstate table.

  5. Remove the plugins/ folder located in the new Jira_HOME

    • Performing the upgrade without plugins has been found to be more reliable and faster

    • If you run Jira DataCenter, also remove (and backup) <Shared>/plugins/ folder

  6. Modify the dbconfig.xml file in the newly copied Jira_HOME

    • Configure the file to point to the newly copied database

  7. Download the latest Jira Software 7.0.x Archive version

  8. Extract the Jira Software 7.0.latest archive to a new target Jira_INSTALL folder

  9. Configure your Jira Home folder path and point to the newly copied Jira_HOME

  10. Create a jira-config.properties file in your Jira Home folder (How to Edit the jira-config.properties File in Jira Data Center) and add the options below:

    upgrade.reindex.allowed=false jira.autoexport=false

    • If the file already exists, simply add these lines to the start of the file

    • These parameters will disable the automated upgrade backup and automated index after upgrade

  11. Copy memory allocation settings and any other custom parameters you deem necessary from the previous installation to the new one, as described in Setting properties and options on startup

  12. Start Jira and review the logs to ensure the upgrade completed successfully.

  13. Navigate to Cog Icon > Applications > Version & Licenses

  14. Click on Install in the Jira Service Management application. This should install version 3.0.11

  15. Re-install plugins via the Cog Icon > Add-ons > Find new add-ons

    • If prefered, upload the add-ons manually via Cog Icon > Add-ons > Manage add-ons > Upload add-on

      Not all plugins are compatible with Jira 7.2.latest. Ensure to verify compatibility first!

  16. Test and ensure that the instance is functioning to satisfaction

    • Perform a Lock Jira and rebuild index is required if you want to perform full functionality testing, otherwise, you can continue to 7.2.latest upgrade first.

  17. Proceed to next section for upgrading to 7.2.latest

Upgrading to Jira Software 7.2.latest

  1. Stop the current Jira instance

  2. Make a copy of the Jira database to a new database

  3. Make a copy of the Jira_HOME to a new location

  4. Remove the plugins/ folder located in the new Jira_HOME

    • Performing the upgrade without plugins has been found to be more reliable and faster

    • If you run Jira DataCenter, also remove (and backup) <Shared>/plugins/ folder

  5. Modify the dbconfig.xml file in the newly copied Jira_HOME

    • Configure the file to point to the newly copied database

  6. Download Jira Software 7.2.latest Archive version

  7. Extract your Jira Software 7.2.latest to a new target Jira_INSTALL folder

  8. Configure your Jira Home folder path and point to the newly copied Jira_HOME

  9. Create a jira-config.properties file in your Jira Home folder (How to Edit the jira-config.properties File in Jira Data Center) and add the options below:

    upgrade.reindex.allowed=false jira.autoexport=false

    • If the file already exists, simply add these lines to the start of the file

    • These parameters will disable the automated upgrade backup and automated index after upgrade.

  10. Copy memory allocation settings and any other custom parameters you deem necessary from the previous installation to the new one, as described in Setting properties and options on startup

  11. Start Jira and review the logs to ensure the upgrade completes successfully

  12. If using Service Management, navigate to Cog Icon > Applications > Version & Licenses

    • Update/Install the Jira Service Management application to the latest version

  13. Re-install plugins via file the Cog Icon > Add-ons > Find new add-ons

    • If prefered, upload the add-ons manually via Cog Icon > Add-ons > Manage add-ons > Upload add-on

      Not all plugins are compatible with Jira 7.2.latest. Ensure to verify compatibility first!

  14. Test and ensure that the instance is functioning to satisfaction

  15. Restart Jira

  16. Perform a Lock Jira and rebuild index

Recommended Reading

Jira 7.2 Platform Release Notes

Upgrade Notes

Jira 7.2 Supported platforms

Developers - Preparing for Jira 7.0

Known Problems

Problem

Workaround

JSDSERVER-4220

This is a one-time occurrence until Jira is restarted.

JSDSERVER-4239

Upgrade to Jira 7.0.latest + Service Management 3.0.11 before then upgrading to Jira 7.2.latest.

JRASERVER-62669

Access the index admin page and use the Copy the Search Index from another node functionality.

Fixed as of Jira Core 8.19.1, 8.20.0

JRASERVER-63239

The workaround is to modify the export URL and set a value. Please refer to the bug report for full details.

Fixed as of Jira Core 7.4.0, 7.2.11, 7.3.9

JRASERVER-63189

Currently, Structure Plugin has been identified to be able to prevent Jira Data Center from locking the index. The structure has fixed this as of v3.3.3, please upgrade.

JRASERVER-61383

Workaround is to update the changes in the Jira database before upgrading. Please refer to the bug report for full details. Fixed as of Jira Software 7.2.8

JSWSERVER-13355

The problem is due to querying for unarchived versions.

Ensure to archive any versions that are not actively used by the system to help improve speeds.

Managed Sprints Permission

Users may experience Sprint permissions issues as Jira introduced the "Manage Sprints" permission. This may result in users noticing the inability to perform Sprint actions. If problems arise, please check the permissions for users:

Using Manage Sprints permission for advanced cases

JSWSERVER-13530

Re-index Jira. Fixed as of Jira Software 7.2.7

JRASERVER-61007

Using database native backup tools when creating backups. If it is required that Jira can generate backup XMLs, use the Oracle 11g driver. Fixed as of Jira Core 7.2.7

JRASERVER-60604

Update bundled Oracle driver from 12.1.0.1 to 12.2.0.1 version

JRASERVER-64095

See workaround section in the ticket.

Fixed as of Jira Core 7.2.13, 7.6.4, 7.7.2, 7.8.0

JRASERVER-29310

See workaround section in the ticket.

Fixed as of Jira Core 8.0

Updated on June 4, 2025
Platform
Data Center only
Product
Jira Software Data Center
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