Migrating instances

When you are installing snapshots on a process server, consider how to handle any running business process definition instances.

When you install on a connected process server and the installation process discovers running instances, you are prompted for how you want to handle them. When you install on an offline server, you must make the necessary provisions in the installation package. Use the following table to understand the options.

Online migration option	Offline migration option	Description
Leave running instances on current version of the snapshot	Leave	The instances currently running continue to completion using the previously installed version of the snapshot.
Migrate running instances to new version of the snapshot	Migrate	Currently running instances are migrated to the new snapshot you are installing. Wherever the running instances are in the flow of the process, the new version is implemented for the next item or step.
Delete running instances of current version of the snapshot	Delete	The instances currently running are immediately stopped and do not continue to completion. All records of the running instances are removed from the process server. Note: This option is not available for process servers in production environments.

Note: If you migrate currently running instances to a new version of the snapshot, problems can occur if the new version removes steps or other components from the business process definition. When running instances have tokens on business process definition or service-level components that have been removed in the new snapshot, migration can fail. Tokens indicate where a run-time instance is currently executing and can be present on an activity, a conditional sequence line, a coach, a service call, and numerous other components.

To learn more about migrating instances, see Data migration rules.