2.4. About Migrations and Upgrades

A major upgrade or migration is required when an application is moved from one major release to another, for example, from JBoss EAP 5 to JBoss EAP 6. This is the type of migration addressed in this guide. If an application follows the Java EE specifications, does not access deprecated APIs, and does not contain proprietary code, it may be possible to run the application in JBoss EAP 6 without any changes. Otherwise, it could require application code changes. Server configuration has changed in JBoss EAP 6 and any server configuration settings require migration.

JBoss EAP periodically provides point releases, which are minor updates that include bug fixes, security fixes, and new features. If you plan to migrate from one JBoss EAP point release to another, for example, from JBoss EAP 6.3 to JBoss EAP 6.4, see the chapter entitled Patching JBoss EAP 6 in the Installation Guide for JBoss EAP 6 located on the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_jboss_enterprise_application_platform/?version=6.4 for instructions and potential issues.

JBoss EAP also periodically provides cumulative patches that contain bug and security fixes. Cumulative patches increment the release by the last digit, for example from 6.4.1 to 6.4.2. Patch installation is covered in detail in the chapter entitled Patching JBoss EAP 6 in the Installation Guide for JBoss EAP 6 located on the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_jboss_enterprise_application_platform/?version=6.4.