Debug upgrade

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Debug upgrade

    The Debug Upgrade feature in ServiceNow helps administrators and technical personnel diagnose and resolve issues that may arise after the most recent system upgrade. By enabling debug upgrade during a user session, you can track detailed information about artifacts affected by the last family-to-family or patch version upgrade. This tool complements the Upgrade History and Upgrade Monitor modules by providing granular insights into upgrade-related changes at the transaction level.

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    Key Features

    • Debug Upgrade Activation: Enable debug upgrade for a user session, perform transactions (e.g., loading forms), and then analyze detailed upgrade information.
    • Artifact Status Sections: The debug output organizes artifacts into three expandable sections for easy diagnosis:
      • Skipped During Last Upgrade: Lists artifacts that missed ServiceNow changes because they were previously customized by users.
      • Customer Customized: Shows all user-customized artifacts involved in the last transaction, regardless of upgrade processing during the last session.
      • ServiceNow Modified During Last Upgrade: Displays standard artifacts modified by ServiceNow in the last upgrade that also ran during the last transaction.
    • Artifact Details and Version History: Clicking an artifact provides access to its record and update version history, enabling examination of state changes over time.
    • Conflict and Impact Analysis: Use the debug output to determine:
      • Which artifacts have changed or remained unchanged
      • Which changes were missed or skipped
      • Whether artifacts behave differently than expected due to upgrade modifications
    • Customization Handling: Customizations marked for replacement during upgrades (Replace on Upgrade = true) do not appear in the Customer Customized list, reflecting intended upgrade behavior.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    By leveraging Debug Upgrade, you can quickly identify and investigate upgrade-related anomalies at the artifact level, which is crucial for troubleshooting post-upgrade issues. This enables informed decisions on whether to modify artifacts to restore expected behavior or accept new functionality introduced by the upgrade. The tool also helps identify skipped records and customization impacts, allowing for targeted follow-up actions to resolve conflicts or dependencies.

    Recommended Workflow

    • Enable Debug Upgrade before testing or using the system after an upgrade.
    • Perform relevant transactions that exhibit issues or require verification.
    • Review the debug sections to assess artifact changes, skips, and customizations.
    • Analyze artifact details and version history to understand changes over time.
    • Take appropriate corrective actions such as modifying artifacts or accepting upgrade changes.
    • Disable Debug Upgrade once troubleshooting is complete to maintain performance.

    Diagnose and resolve issues you suspect may have resulted from the most recent upgrade by enabling upgrade debugging during a user session. Each transaction lists whether an artifact was skipped, customized by the customer, or modified by ServiceNow during the last family-to-family or patch version upgrade.

    Administrators and technical personnel can use this output as an adjunct to the Upgrade History and Upgrade Monitor modules. Debug Upgrade is a component of standard ServiceNow session debugging. You enable Debug Upgrade, process a transaction (for example, load a form), then analyze the reported upgrade information. See .

    Reported debug information

    Debug Upgrade includes several expandable sections:
    • Skipped During Last Upgrade
    • Customer Customized
    • ServiceNow Modified During Last Upgrade
    These sections serve as a starting point for diagnosing when a function or artifact does not operate as expected after an upgrade. Each listing sorts by the dates the artifacts were processed, with the most recent appearing first. Expand the appropriate section, and click the name of a listed artifact to view the underlying artifact record. These records include update version history, which represents the state of a customizable object at specific times. See Version records.
    The listed artifacts may require some kind of possible user intervention or action. Using underlying artifact detail, you can determine:
    • what artifacts have changed?
    • what artifacts have not been changed that would or should have?
    • what changed artifacts were missed?
    • what artifacts operate differently than expected (if referencing something that has changed during last upgrade)?

    Depending on the answers to these questions, you may have to modify the selected artifact so it works in the way you expect. Conversely, you might simply accept the new updates made to the artifact, and its changed functionality.

    Skipped during last upgrade

    Lists artifact records that were skipped during the last upgrade that also ran during the last transaction. These records are standard objects that missed changes from ServiceNow because they were modified at some point by a user. See Resolve conflicts for an individual record.

    Customer customized

    Lists all artifact records that were customized at some point by users that also ran during the last transaction. This listing is not strictly related to the actual activities performed during the last upgrade session. The listing does include the records that appear under Skipped During Last Upgrade. However, not all records that appear in the Customer Customized list are included in Skipped During Last Upgrade.

    Note:
    Customizations that you designate for replacement during upgrades, by setting the Replace on Upgrade field in the customization record to true, do not appear on the Customer Customized section list.

    While this listing is not directly related to the activities performed during the last upgrade, it may be worthwhile to look at individual customization records listed on it. Some of the listed customization records may be referencing other records changed or skipped during upgrade. The activities performed during the last upgrade may have an impact on, or affect these relationships.

    ServiceNow modified during last upgrade

    Lists all standard (non-customized) artifact records modified by ServiceNow during the last upgrade that also ran during the last transaction.