Upgrading from Seq 5.1

Seq 2020.1 is an in-place update, highly compatible with previous Seq versions.

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No client application changes are required in order to start using Seq 2020.1.

To upgrade from:

• Seq 5.1 - use the instructions on this page and upgrade directly
• Seq 5.0 - use the instructions on this page to upgrade directly; review the Upgrading from Seq 5.0 guide for some additional change notes
• Seq 3.0-4.2 - upgrade to Seq 5.1 first, and run the server for 24 hours, before returning to these instructions to complete the upgrade to Seq 2020.1
• Seq 1.0-2.4 - upgrade to Seq 3.3 first, then 5.1, and finally to 2020.1 using the instructions on this page

Browser and platform prerequisites

Seq 2020.1 targets the same browser and platform targets as Seq 5.1. See System Requirements for more information.

Before upgrading...

It's best to check that you have access to a recent Seq backup filefrom before the upgrade. These are created nightly and saved to Backups/ under the Seq storage path, and can be downloaded from Settings > Backup in the Seq web interface. You'll need a copy of the Seq master encryption key if you want to restore from backup, so if you don't have it saved securely, run seq show-key from the server command-line to retrieve it.

Compatibility with existing Seq App plug-ins

Before upgrading, we recommend updating any installed Seq apps to their latest versions. This can be done from the Settings > Apps screen, by selecting Manage next to each app name, then Update.

Server upgrade process

Existing Seq (Windows) servers can be upgraded in-place by running the latest Seq 2020.1 MSI package. The server will be restarted during the upgrade process.

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Storage migration

Seq 2020.1 uses a new storage layout; when the server first starts up, data will be moved on disk into the new layout. This happens automatically, and for Seq 5.x upgrades, will not cause any significant delay.

For upgrades from Seq 4.2 and earlier, start-up may take a few minutes while recent data is migrated to the new format, and a further service restart may be requested once background migration completes.

Storage format

Applications that depend on the presence or contents of the Extents/ folder under the Seq storage root will need to be updated. Seq now stores event data in a new folder, also under the storage root, named Stream/.

Breaking changes in the Seq 2020.1 HTTP API and client

Applications that programmatically manipulate Seq using its HTTP API should be upgraded to version 2020.1 of the Seq.Api client library to ensure compatibility with Seq 2020.1.

• Signal TaggedProperties renamed to Columns
• App instance InputSignalExpression renamed to StreamedSignalExpression
• App instance Metrics has been split into ProcessMetrics, InputMetrics, DiagnosticInputMetrics and OutputMetrics
• Running tasks are now exposed at api/runningtasks instead of api/diagnostics/runningtasks
• API key InputFilter, MinimumLevel, UseServerTimestamps and AppliedProperties moved under the API key InputSettings property

The Seq HTTP API and versioned media types

Enhanced backwards-compatibility is provided for clients that specify an earlier Seq API media type in the Accept header of requests. This applies automatically to clients using the Seq.Api package.

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If you encounter any problems...

Upgrades to 2020.1 are expected to be smooth and seamless. If you do encounter any problems during or after the upgrade, avoid a downgrade to 5.1 if possible. Contact the Seq Support Team and let us know what's gone wrong, and we'll have you back up and running in a flash.

While downgrades (accompanied with the restoring of a 5.1 backup) are non-destructive, event data migrated into the 2020.1 format during the initial upgrade won't be visible in 5.1 after a downgrade, and therefore won't be cleaned up by retention policies. This creates a risk of disk exhaustion, if there's insufficient free space, and, merging the migrated 2020.1 data with any new data ingested by 5.1 after-the-fact is a manual process.