sql-servertfsazure-devops-server-2019

Upgrade TFS2017.3 to Azure DevOps Server

I'm trying to upgrade my TFS2017 Update 3 environment, to a new Azure DevOps Server (on-premise) environment.

I've created a new server for Azure DevOps Server, as I'd like a newer version of Windows Server, and in general just want a completely fresh environment. I took backups of my databases, shut down the old TFS2017, without deleting anything.

I migrated the databases to a new SQL Server instance (where I have all my other databases), as I see no need to use an SQL Server license just for source control.

Now comes the fun part. I tried to configure Azure DevOps Server to use the existing database (after the migration to the new SQL server instance was done). I had some issues with the TfsJobAgent service, but got those resolved.

I then tried to reconfigure Azure DevOps Server (as it failed the first time), but during configuration, it now tells me that data is corrupt, and that the existing database cannot be used. Good thing that I took backups :)

Configuration error

It should be said, that the new SQL server instance is a 2019 version, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm not quite sure what is happening here, and why it's giving me this error. Am I migrating in a wrong way? There's not much documentation out there describing this flow.

Solution

  • Please go through the documentation below before upgrade:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/devops/server/upgrade/get-started?view=azure-devops

    And follow the steps in article Upgrade scenario walkthrough for Team Foundation Server to upgrade your TFS. Summarize the steps here:

    1. Prepare your environment. The first step is to check the system requirements for TFS 2018. Upgrade SQL Server is necessary for your scenario. Including SQL Server, you also need to check other system requirements and prepare the environment.
    2. Expect the best, prepare for the worst. You must have a complete and consistent set of database backups in case something goes wrong.
    3. Do the upgrade. Once the preparation is done, you'll need to install the new version of TFS to get new binaries, and then run through the upgrade wizard to upgrade your databases.
    4. Configure new features. Depending on what version you upgraded from, you may need to configure each team project to gain access to some of the new features made available.