What is PeopleSoft Upgrade?

What is PeopleSoft Upgrade?

The term upgrade or upgrade process could mean:

• Moving from one (current) release level to a higher (newer) release level

• Upgrade to a new release of your own by copying a subsystem from development to production.

• The PeopleSoft upgrade process begins when PeopleSoft issues a new release and ends when you have successfully upgraded to the new release.

For Example, if you are currently on PeopleSoft 8.9 Version, and since PeopleSoft 9.0 is already released, you can upgrade your HRMS system to 9.0 version. You have basically follow the Upgrade Methodology that is available.Most often this move comes with benefits -- technical and functional -- that are improvements to the way the current release functions.

PeopleSoft uses the term “Upgrade” in a special sense – an upgrade is the migration of any object or objects from one PeopleSoft Database to another, and the subsequent adjustment of the PeopleSoft system to accommodate the new objects.

When you upgrade to new PeopleSoft Release you are provided with a new database, as well as the information you need to adjust your system components – COBOL statement, SQR’s, the system messages and so on, to work with objects in the new database.

An Upgrade can consists of Upgrading one or more of the following PeopleSoft components:

· Internal tables which are used by PeopleSoft Programs called PeopleTools Tables. 

· Calculation programs for Payroll, Benefits, Time and Labor etc like COBOLS, SQR’s. 
· Application Tables and other definitions like Records, Pages, Menus, so forth.

· PeopleTools Programs which are used to run online system under windows.

PeopleTools Tables contain the PS no underscore tables and their companion tables contain the data dictionary for PeopleSoft Applications.
Application Tables contain the PS_ tables that contain the online Application

A PeopleSoft upgrade requires a lot of planning, time, resources, testing, and development.When upgrading to a new release of PeopleSoft it may be required to upgrade the hardware and software environment; You may have to install new RDMS software, new server machines, upgrade third party tools that make up the complete environment and all of this software should be supported by PeopleSoft. For this you need to consult the Hardware and Software Guide or the Platforms Supported from PeopleSoft Connections.
The PeopleSoft Upgrade process streamlines copying system objects such as records, pages and PeopleCode from one PeopleSoft database to another and finally into your current production database. 

When you do upgrade to a new PeopleSoft release, several upgrade passes are required to ensure that when you perform the final pass your upgraded production database performs as you expect. You must complete all of these passes to complete your upgrade. The first pass is called the initial pass. In this pass, you create a copy of your production database referred to as Copy of Production. You then take the delivered database (the one with the new PeopleSoft release delivered with your product) called the Demo database, and incorporate the modified objects into the Copy of Production to create your first upgraded Copy of Production. In this pass your Demo database is your Source and the Copy of Production is the Target.

After you complete the initial pass, you begin the first test Move to Production pass. In this pass you create another copy of your production database called the New Copy of Production. You take the upgraded Copy of Production (the one created in the initial pass) and incorporate the modified objects into the New Copy of Production to create your second upgraded Copy of Production. In this pass, the upgraded Copy of Production(from the initial pass) becomes your Source and the New Copy of Production becomes your Target.The test Move to Production is repeated until it runs smoothly. A New Copy of Production is created for every test Move to Production pass and is the new Target for each pass.

When you are ready for the final Move to Production pass, you freeze your production database and incorporate the modified objects from your most recent upgraded Copy of Production into the production database itself. Once again the upgraded Copy of Production (from the test move to productions) is your Source and your production database is the Target.

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Sai Krishna Kande