Automate Migration from Firebird 3.0 to Firebird 5.0

[zedalaye]

Hello,

I remember we already talked about this some time ago.

For now, I deploy Firebird 3.0 with my application. I want to upgrade to Firebird 5.0 and provide my users with a simple more or less automatic upgrade path.

I made sure my database is compatible with Firebird 5.0

My ideal plan would be:

• Package a Firebird 5.0 instance with Engine12.dll and according firebird.conf
• Provide a tool that run the backup/restore cycle (this tool is already bundled with the application to create nightly backups)

But this supposes that Firebird 5.0 (using Services Manager ?) can backup a Firebird 3.0 database using Engine12.dll and as far as I remember, this will not work unless something changed in recent Firebird 5.0.

The other, heavier plan, is:

• During app new installations : deploy Firebird 5.0
• During app updates, detect which version of Firebird is currently in use and update accordingly. If Firebird 3.0 is installed, deploy Firebird 5.0 but don't install the service.
• Provide a tool to run the migration : backup using Firebird 3.0, unregister/uninstall Firebird 3.0, register/install Firebird 5.0 and restore the databases using Firebird 5.0

What do you think about this plan, seems usable ? Have you already found a way to ease upgrade from Firebird < 5.0 to Firebird 5.0 ?

Thank you,

--
Pierre Y.

[zedalaye]

The previous discussion was here : https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/firebird-support/c/7Z2GkfoJ0Hc/m/CzA1Pv5FBwAJ

[NorpaNet]

Hi Pierre, 1) Close all instances of Firebird 2) run gbak version 3 in embedded mode for the backup 3) run gbak version 5 in embedded mode for restoration Norbert De : Pierre Yager ***@***.***> Envoyé : jeudi 19 juin 2025 18:40 À : FirebirdSQL/firebird ***@***.***> Cc : Subscribed ***@***.***> Objet : [FirebirdSQL/firebird] Automate Migration from Firebird 3.0 to Firebird 5.0 (Discussion #8617) Hello, I remember we already talked about this some time ago. For now, I deploy Firebird 3.0 with my application. I want to upgrade to Firebird 5.0 and provide my users with a simple more or less automatic upgrade path. I made sure my database is compatible with Firebird 5.0 My ideal plan would be: * Package a Firebird 5.0 instance with Engine12.dll and according firebird.conf * Provide a tool that run the backup/restore cycle (this tool is already bundled with the application to create nightly backups) But this supposes that Firebird 5.0 (using Services Manager ?) can backup a Firebird 3.0 database using Engine12.dll and as far as I remember, this will not work unless something changed in recent Firebird 5.0. The other, heavier plan, is: * During app new installations : deploy Firebird 5.0 * During app updates, detect which version of Firebird is currently in use and update accordingly. If Firebird 3.0 is installed, deploy Firebird 5.0 but don't install the service. * Provide a tool to run the migration : backup using Firebird 3.0, unregister/uninstall Firebird 3.0, register/install Firebird 5.0 and restore the databases using Firebird 5.0 What do you think about this plan, seems usable ? Have you already found a way to ease upgrade from Firebird < 5.0 to Firebird 5.0 ? Thank you,

…

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[mrotteveel]

1. Close all instances of Firebird

You don't need to close all instances of Firebird, you just need to close all connections to the database you want to backup.