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Preparing to move into 4.0.0 or 4.1.0/4.1.1

For some customers, the transition into or past version v4.0.0 of ArchivesSpace will be no different than any other ArchivesSpace upgrade; but for others, it will be a highly disruptive event with failing plugins, uncertainty on the future of those plugins, and the (probable) need for changes for any plugins authored by your institution. This still applies if you are moving into v4.1.0/4.1.1 from any version of ArchivesSpace before v4.0.0.

This article is meant to help you determine which of these scenarios applies to you, or to what degree you can expect disruptions.

How can I determine what this update means for me?​

This article will walk you through the steps to take, but first, a note about the resources available for this topic.

  1. Please consider watching the webinar Proactive Change Management for Plugins for critical advice related to managing and anticipating the risks associated with plugins. A major disruption such as this is a good time to understand the larger picture of plugins in the ArchivesSpace community. The advice in this webinar is universal and will continue to apply beyond 4.0.
  2. Watch the Plugin Supplement Video for Atlas Customers, recorded specifically for you, our customers. If you choose to skip the longer webinar, please do watch this supplement.
  3. If you watch those two resources, you will be in great shape. But you can also review the following articles relevant to plugins at Atlas:

1. Determine what plugins you have on your server(s)​

For how to do this, please refer to the Plugin Supplement Video for Atlas Customers or the help article Managing your ArchivesSpace Plugins.

2. Compare that list to the Baseline Plugins at Atlas​

These are the Baseline Plugins at Atlas, meaning the plugins that most customers have and that Atlas tests with every update:

  • lcnaf
  • atlas_hosting
  • custom_locales
  • local with only logo changes
    • How do I know if I only have logo changes in my local plugin? Watch the Plugin Supplement Video for Atlas Customers.
  • aeon_fulfillment (Aeon customers)

If you only have the plugins listed above, you are in a great position for moving into v4.1.0/4.1.1 and you are unlikely to suffer any downtime or issues with your server. You can stop here and proceed with your update.

The presence of any plugin in addition to those listed above makes you more likely to suffer disruptions. How great the disruption is related to how many more plugins you have and who maintains them.

3. Whatever is not on that list, reference our article on plugin status​

Due to the extraordinary nature of this disruption, Atlas is attempting to share information about plugins as we learn it. This will not be sustainable in the long term, but we will do our best to assist the community by tracking the plugin statuses we are aware of in our article titled Third-party plugin status in v4.0+. Please read the caveats on that page.

4. Determine who is responsible for what you have remaining​

Remember that your own institution may be responsible for some of your plugins, in which case please read Managing your ArchivesSpace Customizations with Atlas Systems.

The status of whichever plugins are not on the Baseline Plugins list and not referenced in the associated article on plugin status is assumed unknown by Atlas. You can reach out to community members or the developers to ascertain the status of those plugins, or, Atlas can try installing them as part of the update and see if they fail. Please see our article ArchivesSpace Plugin Responsibility and Troubleshooting and the webinar Proactive Change Management for Plugins for more information.

5. Decide what to do next​

If you're here in this article, it's likely that you have plugins that are either unknown or known to fail. They may or may not have fixes expected.

For plugins known to fail with fixes expected​

Some plugins that are known to fail may be in active development, in which case you can check back on our status page and then request the upgrade when you know your plugins are ready. Once you request your upgrade, Atlas will automatically install the updated versions of those plugins when we know updated versions are available, which is an action we take during your upgrade.

Atlas does not automatically install newer version of plugins outside of the context of an upgrade. In more everyday situations, we only install plugins or upgraded plugins by request, or unless we have learned of a serious failure or security concern, in which case we contact you.

For plugins known to fail and development status is unknown​

You may now have a list of plugins that you know will fail, but you have no information on whether they can or will be fixed or on what timeframe. You should assume that we also do not know. Some options:

  1. You can proceed into v4.1.0/4.1.1, just without those plugins and then contact us later when the plugins have been updated and we will install them for you.

    • This option to drop problematic plugins is available for you to select in our new update form.

  2. You can update to v3.5.1 if you're not already in it, in which case your plugins are more likely to work, though there is always a notable risk with branding and theming plugins.

    • This option to try v3.5.1 instead is available for you to select in our new update form.
    • This does not apply if your server uses the Oauth plugin, which must be updated to at least v4.0.0 as a security concern, or removed.

  3. You can delay your update entirely and wait for plugin updates. Simply contact us at a later time.

For plugins expected to be abandoned​

There is a chance that some plugins will never be updated and the code abandoned by the developer. There is always this risk with plugins, but especially with major releases such as v4.0. You should consider this a possibility as you decide on options.

For plugins that you're not sure about​

Sometimes we just won't know until we try. Some options for you to consider:

  1. If this is a plugin authored at your institution, ask your developers to test locally.

  2. We can try installing your plugins. If they fail, then we'll know! You then have the same options as the sections above depending on whether a fix is expected.

  3. You can ask the ASpace community whether anyone has experience with a certain plugin in your target version. ArchivesSpace Members can contact the members listserv. Non-members can contact the ArchivesSpace Google Group. Please note that the ArchivesSpace Program Team nor developers are responsible for diagnosing or updating plugins that they are not responsible for.