Upgrade, back up and uninstall

You upgrade Botream by running the newer MSI over the installed one; agents then update themselves. This page also covers what to back up, how to restore or move a server, and what uninstalling leaves behind.

#Before you upgrade

1. Back up the SQL Server database and C:\ProgramData\Botream\Server\server.json (see Back up). The upgrade updates the database, and the backup is your way back.
2. Choose a moment when no important task or schedule is due: the installer stops the BotreamServer service while it runs, and agents cannot reach the server until it is back.

#Upgrade the server

Run the new Botream-Server-<version>.msi on the server, over the existing installation.

• The port, the database connection and the settings are kept.
• Pending database updates are applied automatically when the server starts. There is no separate migration step.
• The new server MSI also contains the matching agent installer, so agents start updating once the server is up (see below).

Check Administration → System health afterwards: it shows whether the database and the scheduler are working.

Note: An upgrade only installs over a lower version number. Installing an older package over a newer one is refused ("A newer version of Botream Server is already installed."). To go back to an older version, uninstall, restore the database backup you took before the upgrade, and install the older package.

#Update agents

Agents update automatically:

• The BotreamAgent service asks the server every 30 minutes whether it offers a newer agent installer.
• If it does and no task is running, the agent downloads the package, verifies its integrity and installs it silently. A version that fails to install is tried again after 6 hours.
• Settings and the agent identity are kept.

The Version column under Administration → Agents shows each agent's version and marks agents that are behind with Update to version.

#Offer a newer agent without upgrading the server

To update only the agents, open Administration → Agents → Install an agent and click Upload a newer version to upload the new Botream-Agent-<version>.msi. From then on the server offers it, and agents install it when idle. Alternatively, copy the MSI into <server installation folder>\web\downloads.

#Turn automatic updates off

Switch off Update agents automatically under Administration → Settings (Agents settings). Agents then stay on their version until you update them.

#Update an agent by hand

Run the new agent MSI on the machine. The saved settings are kept.

#Same version number

Updates only work with packages that have a higher version number. A new package with the same version number is neither installed over the existing installation nor distributed to agents automatically. Uninstall the installed one first (see Uninstall), then install the new package. Settings, the database and the agent identity are kept when uninstalling, so the reinstallation finds them unchanged.

#Back up

Botream keeps its data in two places. Back up both, together:

Warning: Without the encryption key in server.json, the passwords stored in vaults, the mail password and the AI key cannot be decrypted. A database backup without the key restores everything except those secrets. Keep a copy of the key (it was also shown once at the end of the first-run setup) in a safe place, separate from the database backups.

server.json contains secrets: store its backups where only administrators can read them.

#Back up the database

Use your usual SQL Server backup method, for example a full backup with T-SQL:

BACKUP DATABASE [Botream] TO DISK = N'D:\Backup\Botream.bak' WITH INIT;

SQL Server Express has no SQL Server Agent to schedule backups; run the statement with sqlcmd from Windows Task Scheduler instead.

How much the database grows depends mostly on execution history and logs. Keep execution history for and Keep audit log for under Administration → Settings limit it (Settings).

#Agent machines

Agents hold no task data. C:\ProgramData\Botream\agent.json keeps the machine's agent identity and settings; it is protected for that machine and survives uninstalling the agent.

#Move or restore the server

Same machine: restore the database, put server.json back into C:\ProgramData\Botream\Server, and start the BotreamServer service.

New machine (or server.json lost):

1. Restore the database backup to SQL Server.
2. Install Botream-Server-<version>.msi on the new server and choose that SQL Server and database.
3. In the first-run setup the database check reports that the database already holds Botream data and that it is kept.
4. On the Administrator step, leave Keep the existing accounts checked and enter the Encryption key of the previous installation. Without it, stored passwords (vaults, mail, AI key) cannot be read and must be entered again.
5. Click Finish setup. Users sign in with their existing accounts.

The setup creates a new Agent registration token. Agents therefore need the new token, and the new server address if it changed: open Settings from each agent's tray icon, click Change as administrator and enter them (Install agents).

#Uninstall

Remove Botream Server or Botream Agent under Windows Settings → Apps (or Control Panel → Programs and Features).

Because the settings, the database and the agent identity stay, a reinstallation finds them unchanged.

To remove Botream completely, also delete C:\ProgramData\Botream on the server and the agent machines, and drop the database in SQL Server. Back them up first if you might need them again.