What is changing?
The 4.23.5.0 release, coming in August, contains changes that prepare Penelope’s databases to upgrade to PostgreSQL 13 because our current version, 9.6 will reach end of life before the end of 2021. One of the notable changes with this upgrade is that the unknown data type has been deprecated.
This data type was identified in several database views, used in custom reporting, including view_activity. This view is being removed with the 4.23.5.0 release along with its dependencies. If your custom reporting relies on this view or uses the unknown data type, and you would like to work with Bonterra to update your custom reports, please submit a ticket via the support community.
All Penelope custom report work will require a statement of work that outlines scope, costs and timeline.
Why is this change being made?
To ensure that we are maintaining and enhancing our solutions with the latest technologies, Bonterra is always evaluating ways that we can optimize and improve our products.
What do I need to do?
If the view_activity view is used in an active custom report, or you have any custom views that have the unknown data type in custom reports, and you would like to work with Penelope to update your custom reports, please submit a ticket via the support community.
All Penelope custom report work will require a statement of work that outlines scope, costs and timeline.
If you have an ODBC account, we suggest that you make sure your ODBC driver is up to date and that you have the appropriate test environment ready to verify that your custom reports will work with the migration environment. Once you get access to your migration environment, run all custom reports connected to Penelope data in your preferred format - whether that is via Excel or an ODBC connection.
Don’t forget about any reports that run automatically for you and are setup to run at a set date and time, such as quarterly financial reports or statistical reports.
Here are some resources to help with your ODBC setup:
What is happening with the view_activity view?
With the 4.23.5.0 release we are deprecating the view_activity view and its dependencies. If you have any active custom reports that are using this view and you would like to work with Penelope to update your custom reports, please submit a ticket via the support community.
All Penelope custom report work will require a statement of work that outlines scope, costs and timeline. A copy of the dependency definitions will be stored for 30 days while you work through a project plan to address this issue.
Where to go for additional help?
Please contact your account manager or submit a Support ticket
Which version of PostgreSQL will be used for the database server upgrade?
The Postgres upgrade will upgrade your database to use PostgreSQL 13. Here is the database documentation for reference: PostgreSQL 13.3 Documentation
Add this to the end: Additional documentation on upgrading to PostgreSQL 13 from 9.6 can be found here: Upgrading the PostgreSQL DB engine for Amazon RDS - Amazon Relational Database Service
What is the PostgreSQL migration site?
A migration site allows customers with an ODBC account to verify their custom reporting processes ahead of the Postgres upgrade. To help guide this testing effort here is a checklist:
Setup a sandbox environment that can be used to validate custom reporting with the migration database
Ensure that you can connect to the migration database using ODBC - if not, follow the instructions here
Run all custom reports on the migration database in your preferred method, for example via Excel or direct ODBC connection
Run any internal, automated reports that make use of Penelope data
If you need a migration site to verify custom reporting, please contact our Support team.