Upgrading from a previous version
Upgrading. If you have an older version of Bitvise SSH Server (WinSSHD) and wish to upgrade to the latest one, download the new installer from our website and execute it on the machine where your previous SSH server version is installed. The installer will detect an existing installation and will automatically remove it before installing the new one. During this process, your server keypair and settings will be preserved.
In case you must downgrade. During a downgrade, your SSH server settings will be reset. However, recent Bitvise SSH Server versions automatically create backups of your settings when they are modified, and you can revert to one of these backups if you decide to downgrade. The backups are located in the Config subdirectory of your SSH server installation directory.
Older WinSSHD versions (e.g. 4.xx) do not maintain backups. Before upgrading from such a version, you should use the WinSSHD Control Panel to export your settings to a file, in case you later decide to downgrade.
Activation. Any existing activation code you have will work for the new version only if the new version was released prior to the 'upgrade expiry' date embedded in the activation code. If your existing activation code is not valid for the upgraded-to version, the new version will install without a hitch, but will drop into time-limited evaluation. If your upgrade access has expired, log into your License Overview to purchase an upgrade extension, and acquire a new activation code.
If the purchasing process in your organization is slow, we do recommend that you initiate the upgrade extension process well before you plan to upgrade to a version not covered by your current upgrade access.
Unattended upgrade
It is possible to upgrade Bitvise SSH Server in unattended mode, without having to explicitly remove the previous version. This can be done by executing the Bitvise SSH Server installer with command line parameters:
BvSshServer-Inst.exe -installDir="C:\Program Files\Bitvise SSH Server"
Alternately:
BvSshServer-Inst.exe -site="Bitvise SSH Server"
You will also need to supply the -acceptEula parameter to indicate acceptance of the Bitvise SSH Server End User License Agreement.
It is possible to use the installer for unattended installation to a named site. In this case, use the '-site' parameter (instead of '-installDir') and specify the name of the site desired.
In the latest Bitvise SSH Server versions, the installer will automatically stop the SSH service and Control Panel if they were running prior to the upgrade. In older WinSSHD versions, it may be necessary to execute a "net stop WinSSHD" command before the installer (and close the WinSSHD Control Panel, if open).
After a successful upgrade, the command "net start BvSshServer" can be executed to start the SSH server.
Upgrading Bitvise SSH Server when it provides exclusive access
Sometimes, Bitvise SSH Server is installed on machines where it provides exclusive access to those machines, and no other ports are open. In such situations, bringing the SSH server down for maintenance or an upgrade can render the machine inaccessible if something goes wrong.
In such situations, we recommend installing an additional SSH server installation as a named site. The additional SSH server installation should accept connections on a different port than the primary installation. This port should be accessible through any routers and firewalls. When maintenance or upgrade is needed on the primary installation, access the server through the alternate installation, and vice versa.
Note that multiple Bitvise SSH Server installations running directly on the same OS installation do not constitute an additional machine, and are covered by the same license. Therefore, no additional purchase is necessary for the maintenance installation.