Downgrade to a Previous Version

Why downgrade an Nx Witness system?

Although it is never recommended downgrading an Nx Witness System there are certain cases where a user may need to downgrade their Nx Witness System after an upgrade to the latest release. This article outlines how to accomplish a downgrade.

Well, there's good news, folks! Prior to every upgrade Nx Witness automatically creates a backup of the previous version database - so to downgrade an Nx Witness System you will need to create a copy of this database, completely remove Nx Witness from your computer, install the target version, and then restore the newly installed System form the backed up database.

Downgrading an Nx Witness System

Step 1: Make a copy of the System database

1. Stop the Nx Server service.
2. Locate the Network Optix Media Server database folder and move the ecs.sqlite database file to a safe location:
   
   • In Windows
     

     C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\Network Optix\Network Optix Media Server

   • In Linux
     

     /opt/networkoptix/mediaserver/var

     NOTE: This step must be repeated for every server in a multi-server system.
3. Open the backup folder and copy the last backup file to a safe location:
   - Version 4.1: Depending on whether the last backup was automatic or manually triggered, it will be named in one the following formats: ecs_<buildnumber>_<timestamp>_timer.db or ecs_<buildnumber>_<timestamp>_manual.db
   For example: ecs_31768_1600913446096_timer
   - Versions 3.0-4.0: ecs.sqlite.<version number>.<build number>
   For example: ecs.sqlite.3.0.0.15297
   - Versions 2.6 and earlier: ecs_0.backup

Step 2: Uninstall Nx Witness

Step 3: Install the desired past version of Nx Witness

1. Install and set up the desired Nx Witness version (must match the copied database version!) on each affected Server in the System. Feel free to use the same System Name, or another one, it doesn't really matter as this will be restored by your ecs.backup file.

Step 4: Stop Servers, Restore Database, Restart Servers

1. After installation is complete stop all Servers in the System.
2. Navigate back to the Network Optix Media Server folder (referenced in Step 1)
3. Delete the ecs.sqlite database currently in the folder
4. Find the backup file you would like to restore from.
   • The file you're looking for will have the same date as the date you upgraded to the version you are downgrading from. (example: If you upgraded your system to 3.1 on November 28th, 2017 your backup file will have been created on the same date.
     • In version 2.6 and before the files were called ecs_x.backup
     • In version 3.0 and forward the files will have a version (e.g. ecs.sqlite.3.0.0.15297) and are easier to identify.
5. Rename the database backup file to ecs.sqlite
6. Repeat for all Servers in the System
7. Restart all Servers

Step 5: Log in to your restored, downgraded System.

1. Open Nx Witness and log in using the owner password (or Nx Cloud account)
2. After restoring the database make sure all cameras/etc are accurate. Note: Any changes made to the System since the backup file was created will not be persistent. 

Questions

If you have any questions related to this topic or you want to share your experience with other community members or our team, please visit and engage in our support community or reach out to your local reseller.