Upgrading Subversion server from 1.5.5 to 1.6.5 - dump/upgrade/reload, exact steps?

Question

I\'m about to upgrade a SVN server from version 1.5.5 to 1.6.5 - all is fine with the actual upgrade, but I\'m a little confused about upgrading the actual repositories.

Answer 1

If you're going to do it that way then you probably want to dump, upgrade, delete and recreate the repo then load it back in again.

I can't say I've ever had any issues just using upgrade though, although you may end up with a less optimal repo structure.

Answer 2

there is a quick step-by-step in the Subversion FAQ:

1. Shut down svnserve, Apache, and anything else that might be accessing the repository.
2. svnadmin dump /path/to/repository > dumpfile.txt , using version X of svnadmin.
3. mv /path/to/repository /path/to/saved-old-repository
4. Now upgrade to Subversion Y (i.e., build and install Y, replacing X).
5. svnadmin create /path/to/repository, using version Y of svnadmin.
6. svnadmin load /path/to/repository < dumpfile.txt , again using version Y of svnadmin.
7. Copy over hook scripts, etc, from the old repository to the new one.
8. Restart svnserve, Apache, etc.

more details on dumping and loading in the Subversion book. i assume you studied the subversion 1.6 release notes.

Answer 3

No, you do not need to dump/load to upgrade, 1.6 was specifically designed to be an easy upgrade using just svnadmin upgrade. I've done it, it worked, I am happy.

The release notes explicitly say there is no need to dump/load the repo.

I would make a backup anyway (just in case), and then do the recommended upgrade. I'd then pack the repo files (svadmin pack) to make future backups quicker and SVN perform faster.