Anyone on Ektron 8.0?

[Davina Gould]

We've had so many problems using Ektron 7.6.5 that we're considering upgrading to 8.0. However, we're concerned that while doing this might solve the 7.6.5 bugs, going through the upgrade might generate new issues. We work primarily on Mac/Firefox. Has anyone else upgraded to Ektron 8.0, and if so, what are your thoughts?

[Lisa Segura]

Hi Davina,
I just installed it on our dev server.

I've upgraded the version of Ektron on our production site three times in the last year. I have a checklist that I go through when doing the upgrade because I know certain modules will lose their formatting e.g. we created custom buttons for the login area. The larger the site, the longer the upgrade will take as it moves through all the uploaded assets. I make backup copies of everything and test thoroughly on our development server/site.

We are redesigning our site using v.8 but we're just at the beginning stages so I don't have many comments to make about this version yet. I am growing to like the new workarea although I wish they had done more modifications such as making it easier to upload images and multmedia.

We test on all OS' and most browsers. There seems to be greater support for Safari with v.8.

Lisa

[Karen McHugh]

I am curious as well to see how upgrades have been to 8.0. We are currently in the planning stages for a potential upgrade from 753 to 8. We plan on implementing ESync and Social Networking - has anyone used these in other versions that may give us a precursor for what to expect?
-Karen

[Lisa Segura]

I've implemented eSync. Both your dev and production systems have to be on the same Ektron CMS version before you enable eSync. I did have problems with the configuration but luckily the problems happened a few months ago when a special Ektron support group was tasked to expedite all eSync issues so they were able to fix the configuration problems pretty quickly.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the version 8 workarea interface. There is a slight learning curve in using it as some links have moved so I recommend that you read the manual before and after installation.

[Karen McHugh]

Thanks for that info Lisa,

We have done a fresh install just to check out the new interface and I agree with your thoughts on it. Have you tried an upgrade for 8 or did you do a fresh install? We are seeing one our challenges in updating our templates to utilize page builder as well as to update a customization we have where we use a helper control to pull in all the metadata for each site. Would be interested in hearing your experience.