Question
Mandiri
ID
Last activity: 5 Sep 2025 16:20 EDT
Upgrade Pega 8.6.6 to Pega Infinity 24.1 with no downtime
In order to keep Pega within its supported period, we plan to upgrade Pega from version 8.6.6 to Infinity 24.1. We intend to perform the upgrade first on the standby database (whose replication has already been stopped). For data gap, we will use export/import of cases. Is this feasible to do?
Pegasystems Inc.
IN
In theory, this approach should work. Please test this approach in lower environment to uncover any issues
HCA Healthcare
US
No upgrading the standby database first and trying to fill the data gap by exporting and importing cases is risky and not a supported way to get zero downtime. Here’s the safer plan: use a split-schema or side-by-side upgrade, keep primary and replica in sync, and upgrade the rules and data schema with the standard tools. Upgrade a green environment of app nodes that point to the upgraded schema, then roll app nodes gradually and keep servicing traffic on the blue environment. Do not stop replication and do not rely on case exports to “catch up” because they miss runtime items like assignments, history, queues, and attachments. Run pre-upgrade checks, back up the database, and consider a brief feature freeze for high-risk operations. Validate end-to-end in the green environment: reindex search, verify Kafka, Hazelcast, SRS, email, file storage, and any external integrations. When everything passes, switch traffic at the load balancer to the green stack and monitor closely. Keep a timed rollback plan ready that simply flips traffic back if KPI checks fail. Bottom line: follow the split-schema zero-downtime approach with a controlled blue-green cutover, not a standby-DB-first plus case import approach.