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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS
Complexity: High
Last Edit: January 21, 2022
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While it is never recommended to downgrade the software version of a DW Spectrum® System, there may be certain instances where Administrators may need to downgrade their DW Spectrum® System after an upgrade to the latest release.
To downgrade the Administrator will need to:
This article will outline how to perform the above steps to successfully downgrade a DW Spectrum® System to a previous version. Please be sure to read all notes in their entirety to avoid encountering issues during this process.
**NOTE: If there are multiple Servers merged within the System, all Servers must be downgraded as well to maintain a uniform and functioning System.
**NOTE: It is highly recommended to copy/extract the recording licenses of your DW Spectrum® System prior to beginning this process in the even that they need to be manually re-added to your downgraded System.
**NOTE: Any changes that were made to the System between upgrades may need to be performed again as you will be restoring the System to an older copy of its database.
**DISCLAIMER: DW Spectrum® IPVMS does not have a dedicated software rollback function. Please be aware that you will be performing this process at your own risk.
Whenever the DW Spectrum® IPVMS Server software is updated, a backup of the previous version’s database will be automatically created prior to the upgrade. The Administrator will need to copy this previous database backup to a safe location (USB drive, desktop, etc.) in order to restore the System to a previous version. This is a different process from simply creating a database backup through the DW Spectrum® IPVMS Client.
To make a copy of the System database file:
Right-click on the mediaserver icon in the Service Tray, then select Stop Server.
Open the Command Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and use the following commands:
Log in as the root Administrator:
sudo su
Then enter the root admin password (will not display):
Dw5pectrum
Then stop the mediaserver with:
service digitalwatchdog-mediaserver stop
C:\Windows\System32\Config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Digital Watchdog\Digital Watchdog Media Server
/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/var
ecs_<buildnumber>_<timestamp>_timer.db
or
ecs_<buildnumber>_<timestamp>_manual.db
For example: ecs_31768_1600913446096_timer
For example: ecs.sqlite.3.0.0.15297
After copying the files outlined in Part 1 (above) to a safe location, the Administrator will then have to completely uninstall all DW Spectrum® data from the Server.
To completely uninstall DW Spectrum® on a Windows OS:
Select DW Spectrum Server, then select Uninstall.
**NOTE: Retaining DW Spectrum Client will not be an issue for Windows OS. If the computer has the Full Software Bundle of DW Spectrum® installed, uninstall DW Spectrum Bundle.
To completely uninstall DW Spectrum on an Ubuntu/Linux OS:
sudo su
Then enter the root admin password (will not display):
Dw5pectrum
**NOTE: For older DW Blackjack units purchased prior to June 18, 2021, the previously utilized
apt-get remove --purge digitalwatchdog-mediaserver
When asked “Do you want to continue [Y/N]”, use:
Y
apt-get remove --purge digitalwatchdog-client
When asked “Do you want to continue [Y/N]”, use:
Y
echo PURGE | sudo debconf-communicate digitalwatchdog-mediaserver
To complete the removal of DW Spectrum Client, use the command:
echo PURGE | sudo debconf-communicate digitalwatchdog-mediaserver
After completely removing the DW Spectrum® data from the Server, the Administrator can clean reinstall the desired target version of DW Spectrum® IPVMS. After installation has completed, create a new system. Feel free to use a new System Name or the same System Name as before; this will not matter as the system will be restored from the database backup file.
If you do not yet have the installation file(s) for the target version, it can be obtained from the DW Spectrum Product Page under the Software tab.
For instructions on clean installing DW Spectrum, you may use the following articles:
After installation has been completed and a new system has been created, the Administrator can apply the database backup file.
To apply the database backup file:
Right-click on the mediaserver icon in the Service Tray, then select Stop Server.
Open the Command Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and use the following commands:
Log in as the root Administrator:
sudo su
Then enter the root admin password (will not display):
Dw5pectrum
Then stop the mediaserver with:
service digitalwatchdog-mediaserver stop
C:\Windows\System32\Config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Digital Watchdog\Digital Watchdog Media Server
/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/var
C:\Windows\System32\Config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Digital Watchdog\Digital Watchdog Media Server
/opt/digitalwatchdog/mediaserver/var
Right-click on the mediaserver icon in the Service Tray, then select Start Server.
Open the Command Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and use the following commands:
Log in as the root Administrator:
sudo su
Then enter the root admin password (will not display):
Dw5pectrum
After logging in as the root administrator, start the mediaserver with:
service digitalwatchdog-mediaserver start
After completing the downgrade process and database restoration process listed above:
This concludes how to downgrade a DW Spectrum® System. If you are using a DW Spectrum® System that consists of multiple Servers merged into a single DW Spectrum® System, this entire process must be performed on all of the merged Servers for the merged System to work.
**NOTE: If your recording licenses must be reactivated for the downgraded System, you can use the article Activating License Keys for instructions.