Migrating node to an older version [1.6.3 -> 1.5.2]

Hi!

I´m preparaing a migration of a node from Windows GUI to Linux.

I know it´s syncing the files (rsync) several times until it´s almost completed in a few minutes. Then stop the node, copy identity, DBs and final sync.

The issue I´m facing is that currently the Windows version is in 1.6.3, and the Docker one in 1.5.2. The database migration version is also different (42 in windows, 39 in linux), so i´m a bit concerned about if it´s possible to do the migration or i should wait until 1.6.3 release in Docker.

Thanks in advance!

There is no way to downgrade the version.

I would recommend that you do not migrate your v1.6.3 windows node until both versions are the same. Which may mean waiting for a new release for both Windows and Linux/Docker/

You should absolutely wait for the docker release to be on the same version before migrating, in case something about the DBs gets changed between versions.

Unless someone from the forums with more in-depth knowledge about how the node software confirms otherwise, just wait.

Would it be safe to use the 1.6.4 image tag before it hits the latest tag?

I saw the docker images generated by the CI are properly tagged, and there is one of the v1.6.4 branch/tag. Is it a final image or it can change before the release? I suppose it is better to wait for the release but… just wondering about those Docker images :smiley:

Yes. I understand you are in a situation but patience will pay dividends for you. :slight_smile:

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So why is it that Windows seems to get all the attention with the upgrades? Seems it’s the priority. I look at the current version and wonder why my node is not updating. Would be good if there was a flag that told us when we should be updated and when it’s just a windows thing.

Well, that´s probably because Windows is one of the first OSes to get upgrades (alongside with other binary distributions that use the storagenode_updater mechanism) and also because there are a lot of SNOs running on Windows machines.

Also, I suppose Windows updates got more attention because the 1.6.3 update contains a bug pretty annoying for the SNO that caused the node termination.

That release was halted on the windows release phase and the issue was investigated and solved very fast by Storj team (:clap:) , so there are some SNOs running on Windows and waiting for 1.6.4 to rollout in order to solve their issues:

In my particular case, I’m just trying to move away to a Linux and Docker releases, and it needs to be on the same version to do it in a safe way.

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The answer is a lot simpler: On windows storjlabs can make the rollout of a new version a lot more controlled than on docker. With docker they have to publish the new image and then it is available for everyone. The recommendation is to use watchtower which randomly checks within 3 days for the new image. So docker is a lot less controllable than windows.
Therefore it makes sense to slowly roll out a new version to windows only and in the speed that they think might be right. If then a bug occurs, it’s typically the windows nodes that experience them because docker didn’t even get the update yet.
That may seem like the windows nodes get all the attention but it’s just a result of how the update rollout works. The windows port is definitely not more important than docker.

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I’m quite happy with the Windows users being our guinea pigs :slight_smile:

Just let watchtower do its job. I don’t get people’s obsession with getting the updates as quickly as possible. Just let your node run and stop looking at it every 5 minutes…

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I think its the miner’s mindset. Since most have/had experience running a miner they obviously think :arrow_down:

update x.x: 10% increase in GET requests

PS: Any new user reading ^ should note there is no such thing

Well, at least in this thread the question is not related to anything like that. Just wanting to change the operating system and waiting to match versions to avoid DB issues :smile:.

I really hope no one is thinking that a new version would magically increase the income from a node.

We know. We have seen numerous SNOs eager to update hence it was a generalized statement. Anyone who has read the whole thread knows your situation.

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As long as my node is working OK I’m quite happy for anyone to be the guinea pigs.
Let them get the latest version and iron out the bugs :wink:

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With no way to know when ones node should be updated if there is a problem with Watchtower it will go undetected. Not a particularly robust or quality setup.

If you don’t look at it every 5 minutes, it might silently fail.

What expert advice. No ability to monitor updates. Just forget it and wait until something fails, not that we would notice. Perfect! We can all do that. Nice quality managed system.

If you monitor your node with uptime robot, you’ll get a notification when something like that fails.

You’ll receive an email to update your node long before it becomes a problem that it’s running on an old version. For what it’s worth watchtower has never failed me. And I have several less techie friends running nodes who never look at them because they really wouldn’t know what to look at. They do monitor them with uptime robot, as do I, so I can contact them and help out if something goes wrong. This has not been needed so far.

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Another 3rd party tool… :roll_eyes:
Isn’t the satellite supposed to email a SNO if a node is not reachable?

Not yet. We figured out that offline notifications are not useful while we do not have a disqualification for downtime enabled:

So, such messages are currently disabled.