"Upgrading from BPM to BAW" is an in-place migration that IBM supports from IBM BPM 8.5.7, 8.6.0 (and BPM 8.5.6 in two steps) to BAW 20.0.0.x / 22.0.x / 24.0.x. The steps:
- Prepare: check the detailed system requirements of the target BAW (WebSphere 8.5.5.x fix pack level, Java 8, database versions), take full backups (profiles, install root, databases), read the interim-fix list, and clean the environment (delete old snapshots, stop event manager work).
- Install BAW with Installation Manager on the existing WebSphere cell using the same install root and profiles (the installer treats BPM as the base; the "BPM" offering becomes "Business Automation Workflow").
- Run the upgrade scripts from <install_root>/bin: BPMConfig -update / BPMUpdateSystem (also called upgradeDB) to migrate database schemas and cell configuration; on Process Center the repository is upgraded automatically at the first start.
- Start and verify: startManager, startNode, startServer; check SystemOut.log for schema and cache warnings, then Process Admin > Installed Apps and run a smoke test of every app.
- Clients: install the matching Process Designer / Integration Designer, upgrade toolkits (System Data, UI Toolkit) in every app when you next take a snapshot; heritage coaches keep working but are deprecated.
Side by side (new cell, export / import snapshots, migrate instances) is the alternative when the WebSphere level cannot be upgraded or the hardware changes - see question 3135.
Typical pitfalls: the ProcessPortal customizations under ProcessPortal.war are overwritten, the 100Custom.xml settings need review (some properties moved), Oracle needs the newer JDBC driver, and the event manager must be paused before the schema upgrade.
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