Phase II: Testing and making the switch to the new Kayako

Before finalizing your upgrade, you'll have the chance to see your data in a test instance, where you can take the new Kayako for a spin. When your sandbox is ready to go, we'll email you with your login credentials. You'll have 15 days to explore the new platform, before making the upgrade official. 

From there, the process for going live with the new platform varies a bit, depending on whether you're moving from Kayako OnDemand or Kayako Download.

In this article, we'll lay out the process in detail, no matter which version you're upgrading from.

Kicking the tires in your sandbox instance

We've made it easy to preview what the upgrade will look like prior to making any commitments. If you've registered your interest on my.kayako.com, you'll already be in the queue for migration. We'll reach out via email and let you know what to expect. Once you've finished preparing your data and shared your migration worksheet with us, we'll do all the heavy lifting.

When your migration is complete, we’ll send you an email with instructions for how to log into your sandbox. You’ll have the chance to test everything out, and see how your data will look in its new home. We’ll turn off the emails, so you’ll be able to play around without fear of accidentally emailing customers.

We encourage you to try out as many of platform’s new features as possible. Keep in mind that the changes you make in the test instance won't be preserved when move up to a live account. The only exception is if you're on Kayako Download, and you don't have an active Kayako Classic instance during your trial period.

If you run into any questions while testing the new platform, check out our user guide or hit up our support team at support.kayako.com!

Going live with the new platform

Once you're ready to finalize the upgrade, you'll choose a subscription plan, and then we can start the process of getting your data up in a live instance. The steps in that process vary significantly, depending on where you're coming from.

Below, you'll find details instructions for how to go live, whether you're an OnDemand customer, a Download customer with no active K4 instance, or a Download customer who's actively using their K4 instance.

OnDemand customers

If you're an OnDemand customer and you're ready to upgrade, all you need to do is email support@kayako.com and let us know what plan and how many seats. We'll get you all set up. 

A couple of important things to remember:

• You will not be able to convert back to Kayako 4. This is a one-way upgrade.
• There will be downtime. When your migration begins your support site will be put into scheduled maintenance mode until it's completed.
• Changes made on your sandbox account will not be applied to your upgraded production instance. 

Once we've disabled your Kayako Classic account, we'll migrate a fresh copy of your data into a new live instance. As soon as your new Kayako instance is ready to go, we'll send you an email, and you'll be ready to move on to rebuilding your business rules.

Download customers without an active K4 instance

If you don't have an active Kayako Classic instance running while your testing out your sandbox, you can simply purchase the upgrade and we can take your test instance live.

To purchase the upgrade and go live with your test instance:

1. Go to the admin area of your sandbox instance.
2. Click Plans on the sidebar.
3. From this screen, select the subscription you want and enter the number of agents.
4. Fill in your billing details.
5. Click the Sign up button.

Once you’ve completed your purchase, your emails will be turned on, and your new Kayako instance will be live! You'll be all set to move on to rebuilding your business rules.

Download customers with active K4 instances

Let’s say you’re upgrading from Download, and you've been keeping your Kayako Classic instance running through the trial period. Before upgrading, it’s important to disable your Kayako Classic instance so nothing falls through the cracks. Plus, we'll want to start with a fresh copy of your data, so you can start off on the new platform with your most current info.

The steps for going from trial to upgrade are:

• Email us at support@kayako.com and let us know you're done with the sandbox and are ready to upgrade.
• Disable your email queues.
• Add a placeholder page to intercept visitors to your support site.
• Run a fresh backup of your database and files.
• Share the new backup with us via a secure link.
• Purchase your upgrade to activate your production instance.
• Set up your email forwarders.

Below, we'll take you through each step of the process.

Disabling your email queues

You'll need to disable your email queues, so you don't miss any incoming requests while you're upgrading.

To disable your email queues:

1. Log into the Kayako administrative control panel.
2. On the menu sidebar, click Email Parser followed by Email Queues.
3. For queues using POP3 or IMAP:
   1. Click the email address in the list. 
   2. Under 'Email Queue Settings', next to Email Queue is Enabled select 'No'. 
   3. Click the Update button.
      NOTE: Any emails sent to these email addresses will now simply accumulate in the email inboxes while Kayako is offline.
4. For email queues using the 'Pipe' method:
   1. You'll need to log into the mail server for the address you're using to forward emails and disable mail forwarding while you upgrade.
   2. You can then follow the instructions above to disable the queue within Kayako.

Adding a placeholder page

We recommend putting up a temporary splash page to intercept visitors to your support site, letting them know your support site will be back soon.

To set up your placeholder page:

1. Create a simple .html page with a message explaining that your support site is temporarily unavailable.
2. Name the file ‘index.html’ and save it to your [companyname]_DataMigration folder.
3. Log onto your server and navigate to your support site's root directory.
4. Upload your ‘index.html’ file.
5. In the same folder, find the ‘index.php’ file, which is your current support site homepage.
6. Rename ‘index.php’ to ‘index_down.php’. This will ensure that no one can stumble upon your support site while you’re migrating.
7. Open up a browser window and navigate to your support site. You should see the new index.html page.

Running a final backup and handing it off

To create your new backup, follow the same instructions you used to create the backup for your trial instance. When you're done, send us a link to your fresh backup and we'll get started on your production instance.

Purchasing the upgrade and going live

When your new instance is ready:

1. Sign in and go to the admin area.
2. Click Plans on the sidebar.
3. From this screen, select the subscription you want and enter the number of agents.
4. Fill in your billing details.
5. Click the Sign up button.

Once you’ve completed your purchase, your emails will be turned on, and your new Kayako instance will be live!

Setting up your email forwarders

Your last step is to reenable your email addresses. For every email addresses you use with Kayako, you'll need to log in and forward them to the default support email address for your new Kayako instance, 'support@[yourcompany].kayako.com'. For help setting up your email accounts, refer to our user guide article on the subject.

Once you've completed all these steps, you'll be all set to move on to rebuilding your business rules.