SOP-6 Manage EPC Upgrades
REVISION HISTORY
| Version | Modifier | Date | Comments |
| 0.1 | Matias Fontecilla | 2020-08-20 | First draft |
| 1.0 | Matias Fontecilla | 2020-10-13 | First publication |
Governance #
This process is governed by the Support Guidelines described in your Service Agreement with Interfacing. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the information in this document and any terms or conditions set forth in your Service Agreement with Interfacing, the terms and conditions set forth in the Service Agreement shall prevail.
For Interfacing’s standard Cloud Service Agreement – Support Guidelines, see: https://www.interfacing.com/help/cloud-service-agreements/legal/en/topic/interfacing-customer-agreement
Description and Scope #
This document describes the process to trigger EPC Cloud Server upgrades, including communication loops, upgrade scheduling and notices of completion.
Purpose #
A process is required to properly communicate and schedule EPC upgrades so that clients can benefit from EPC releases.
Procedure #
New Release #
The first trigger to this process is once a new release is available. In such cases, the next task is for Interfacing to Communicate new release information.
Desire to upgrade EPC #
The second trigger to this process is an ad-hoc desire to upgrade EPC. In some cases, clients do not react to new release communications for reasons such as preferring to remain on their actual version, but may have a desire to upgrade at a later time as a result of a touchpoint with a member from the Interfacing team, a general passing of time since the last upgrade, etc.
Communicate new release information #
Interfacing Technologies sends out a communication every release. These communications include items such as release notes and an invitation to schedule an upgrade.
These communications are routed to key business contacts that have been assigned in Interfacing’s CRM. It is also customary for Interfacing personnel to communicate with their contacts to further expedite upgrades.
While effective, it is important to note that these channels are not full proof: business contacts may change over time, communication emails may be routed to junk folders, etc. It is therefore encouraged that client contacts keep in touch with the Interfacing team through the Request EPC upgrade task.
Request EPC upgrade #
EPC upgrades can be requested either as a result from receiving new release information or on an ad-hoc basis (as the need presents itself). The request can be made by:
- Contacting the assigned account manager, consultant or any other Interfacing team member in your contact list.
- Following the process described in SOP-7 Submit Support Requests and Report Issues
- Submitting a request through links provided in the new release communication
At this stage, please communicate a series of 1-hour timeslots where the Interfacing team can shut the Cloud Server down to perform the upgrade.
Coordinate and Schedule upgrade #
The Interfacing team will then coordinate together to ensure that the upgrade is performed effectively and at a date-time that is consistent with the SLAs stipulated in your Cloud Service Agreement.
A support ticket is also created as a means of recording the event.
Once a date is confirmed, the Interfacing team will inform the requester of this information and of any implications pertinent to the upgrade.
Upgrade EPC #
On the scheduled date and time, the EPC Cloud Server will be temporarily turned of while it is upgraded. Depending on a few variables (e.g. the nature of the upgrade, the number of upgrades being performed, the size of the databases, etc.), upgrades typically take less than one hour to complete. At this time, the server is brought back up and sanity tests are performed to validate that the upgrade was completed successfully.
Communicate Notice of Completion #
Once complete, the requester is informed of the completion.
Perform Sanity Tests #
Although rare, it is possible that some potential issues do not arise during Interfacing’s post upgrade testing. The client must therefore also perform sanity tests to validate the completion. This may include activities like:
- Signing into EPC, especially with SSO integrations
- Verifying that content appears as it did prior to the upgrade
- Issues found on the Release Notes appear in the new version
If any issues to occur, the client must relay the information back for Interfacing to troubleshoot the issues. Otherwise, the process is completed.
Troubleshoot Issues #
If any issues are found, Interfacing resolves them and informs the client of the actions taken.
