Upgrading P6 Professional is straightforward, but upgrading your existing database to match can be troublesome. Here we walk you through the process and make it more routine.
Oracle recently released P6 Professional r24.12. https://tensix.com/primavera-p6-professional-24-12-is-released/
Updating the P6 Professional client and database requires the following downloaded file folders from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud.
- P6ProfessionalSetup
- P6_R2412_Database
- P6_Pro_Documentation
In most cases, upgrading the P6 Professional client and database should not involve updating the server. To update the client software, you must execute the P6ProfessionalSetup.exe file in the P6ProfessionalSetup folder.
Then, to upgrade an existing database, you must dive into the P6_R2412_Database folder and run the dbsetup.bat file. I found from my experience that you cannot skip upgrades. I attempted to jump from P6 22.12 to P6 24.12 without first upgrading to P6 23.12. A rather cryptic error message resulted. However, I successfully upgraded the database from P6 22.12 to P6 23.12 and P6 23.12 to P6 24.12.
This article demonstrates upgrading P6 Professional to 24.12 and a SQL Server database from 23.12 to 24.12.
Confirm P6 Professional File Downloads
Once you’ve download P6 Professional from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud, I have the following P6 folders in the P6_Pro_R2412 folder, Figure 1.
Figure 1
Confirm that you have these folders and Zip file in your P6_Pro_R2412 folder.
Upgrade P6 Professional Client
To install the P6 Professional client software, we open the P6ProfessionalSetup folder and execute the P6ProfessionalSetup.exe file, Figure 2.
Figure 2
Choose the typical installation, Figure 3, replace the existing version, and click OK.
Figure 3
During installation, the software displays a P6 Professional Setup progress dialog similar to Figure 4.
Figure 4
When complete, the P6 Professional Setup dialog will display, “The operation you requested has been completed successfully” Figure 5.
Figure 5
Click the X icon at the top right of the dialog to exit. Done! The P6 Professional client is updated.
Upgrade A P6 Database
We could create a new database compatible with our P6 r24.12 client. However, our demonstration is to upgrade an existing P6 database to match our P6 r24.12 client. This database upgrade process requires more information.
Activate the Database Upgrade Wizard
Dive into the P6_R2412_Database folder, Figure 6.
Figure 6
In the P6_R2412_Database folder, click to run the dbsetup.bat batch file, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7
This runs the batch file to perform the database upgrade.
Select Upgrade Option and Server Type
In the Primavera Database Setup Wizard, we upgrade an existing database, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8
In the Figure 8 dialog box, you can upgrade the database on an Oracle or Microsoft SQL server. For this demonstration, the server type is Microsoft SQL Server, which we toggle in Figure 8, then click next.
Enter Connection Information
In the Connection Information dialogue, Figure 9, we must enter the database server connection information.
Figure 9
- Database host address
The database host address (or host name) is found by locating and activating the command prompt in Windows, as shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10
In Figure 10 above, we enter the command “Command Prompt” and depress the return key. Then, in the list of matches, we click on the Command Prompt feature. In Figure 11, at the command prompt, we type in the following command: ipconfig /all.
Figure 11
Windows returns listing your computer’s Windows IP Configuration, Figure 12.
Figure 12
At the top of the list, you will find “Host Name.” For the connection information in the Primavera Database Setup Wizard, enter this hostname in the “Database host address” field, Figure 9.
- Database name
For database names, log into your Microsoft SQL Server, Figure 13.
Figure 13
In the Figure 13 Connect to Server dialog, the Server Name ends with \SQLEXPRESS. This is the typical naming convention. Of course, your system administrator could have set up your server using a unique naming convention, so you might have to consult your system administrator for the Server name. The username and password should be populated, Figure 13.
After connection, click to expand the Databases in the Object Explorer window, Figure 14.
Figure 14
The Object Explorer will display a list of all the databases associated with that server, Figure 14. For our demonstration, we want to upgrade the PPMDB database. The acronym PPMDB stands for Professional Project Management Database. In the Primavera Database Setup Wizard dialogue, Figure 9, we enter PPMDB in the “Database name” field. Remember that the name you enter in this field will differ for each P6 database you upgrade.
- Administrative username and password
In Figure 9, Microsoft SQL Server’s default administrative username is “sa,” which is an acronym for system administrator. Of course, your system administrator could have changed the name. You should consult with your system administrator to confirm the administrative username and get the password.
To locate the dialog box where the username and password are entered, in the Object Explorer dialog, expand Security, then expand Logins, right-click on the “sa” Login, and choose properties from the popup menu, Figure 15.
Figure 15
Figure 16 displays the Login Properties dialog box showing the default Login name: sa.
Figure 16
It is beyond the scope of this article to reset the server’s administrative Login name and password. Assuming sa is the login name, enter the password from your system administrator in the appropriate field, Figure 9.
The filled-in server connection information for our demonstration is displayed in Figure 17.
Figure 17
Note in Figure 17 the database name PPMDB for our demonstration. Click next.
Upgrade P6 Database from P6 r23.12 to P6 24.12
In the Ready to Begin Upgrading Data dialog, Figure 18, we toggle “Yes, upgrade my database” and click the upgrade button.
Figure 18
Figure 19 displays the upgrade in progress.
Figure 19
Confirm that all the steps are complete, then click next, Figure 20.
Figure 20
To conclude the upgrade, click Finish, as shown in Figure 21.
Figure 21
Done! The P6 database is upgraded to 24.12.
Setting Up the Windows P6 Taskbar Icon
We want the P6 Professional application pinned to the taskbar. In Windows, right-click the start button, find the application P6 Professional 24 (x64), right-click on it, choose More and left-click on Pin to taskbar, Figure 22.
Figure 22
Then go to your window taskbar, locate the red and white P6 icon, and click on it, Figure 23.
Figure 23
Setup P6 PPMDB Database Login Screen
We want to set up the login screen for our upgraded PPMDB database. The P6 Professional 24 login page appears in Figure 24.
Figure 24
We want to find the alias associated with the PPMDB database. In Figure 24, we click on Edit database configuration to view a list of databases and their associated aliases.
When we click through the list of database aliases, we find that the “P6 Professional Work” alias corresponds to the PPMDB database, Figure 25.
Figure 25
To exit the Database Configuration dialog box, click the X in the upper right corner.
We then click the P6 icon again in the Windows taskbar and at the P6 Professional 24 login screen, Figure 26:
- We click the carat to display Advanced settings.
Figure 26
- We then select the “P6 Professional Work” alias for our respective PPMDB database
- Type in the appropriate Login Name and Password, which should be the same as before the database upgrade.
- Click the connect button to log in.
That’s it! The client is updated to P6 Professional r24.12, and the PPMDB database, alias “P6 Professional Work,” has been upgraded from P6 r23.12 to P6 r24.12. Your login to the PPMDB database using P6 r24.12 will be successful.
Summary
There are two primary steps to upgrading P6 Professional and database:
- Install the P6 Professional client application to replace the existing one.
- Upgrade each Primavera P6 database.
In most cases, the installation for upgrading P6 Professional is typical and simply overwrites the current version. The upgrade of the P6 database requires more information. Your system administrator will need to provide the Microsoft SQL Server login information.
The database host address is readily found using the command prompt feature in the server computer’s Windows OS. The database name (not its alias) is listed when logging into the Microsoft SQL Server. Then, that information should be sufficient to upgrade the P6 database successfully.
After you upgrade the database, use the P6 Professional 24 login screen’s Edit database configuration feature to locate the alias associated with your recently updated database name. Then, in the login screen, Advanced options, select the alias in the list of databases to log into that P6 24 Professional database.
If, when you are upgrading P6 Professional, you have multiple P6 databases to upgrade, you only need to install the P6 Professional client once. However, you must repeat the P6 database update process for each database. Recall that you will most likely be unable to skip over releases between your current and target database releases.
If you are setting up a P6 Professional standalone client using the Microsoft SQL Server for a first-time installation, refer to the following article Setting Up a P6 Professional Standalone Client using SQL Server.
SQLite databases require only the installation of the P6 Professional client. After this client installation, you log in to the respective SQLite database; it returns an error message but asks if you want to upgrade the database. Answer yes, and P6 Professional automatically completes the SQLite database upgrade, which you can log in to.