Switching databases

JIRA's data can be migrated from one database to:

1. A different database on the same database server,
2. The same database type on a different server (e.g. from one PostgreSQL server to another PostgreSQL server) or
3. A different type of database server (e.g. from a MySQL server to a PostgreSQL server).

 For migrating JIRA to another server, please refer to the Migrating JIRA to another server document instead.

To do this, follow the appropriate procedure:

• Migrating JIRA's data to the same type of database (covers scenarios 1 and 2 above)
• Migrating JIRA's data to a different type of database server (covers scenario 3 above)

Migrating JIRA's data to the same type of database

Use this procedure to migrate JIRA's data to:

• • A different database on the same database server, or
  • The same database type on a different database server (e.g. from one PostgreSQL server to another PostgreSQL server).

1. Use your database server's native tools to either:
   • Copy your JIRA database to a new database on the same database server installation, or
   • Copy/migrate your JIRA database to a new database of the same type on a different database server installation.
     Please Note:
     • If you are unable to do either of these tasks, use the Migrating JIRA's database to a different type of database server procedure (below) instead.
     • You could use this procedure to migrate JIRA's data to a different type of database server (e.g. MySQL to PostgreSQL). However, you would need to find tools that support these processes. Furthermore, Atlassian does not provide support for this strategy.
2. Once your new database has been populated with JIRA's data, shut down your JIRA server.
3. Make a backup of your JIRA home directory and JIRA installation directory.
4. Reconfigure your JIRA server's connection to your database:
   • If you installed a 'Recommended' distribution of JIRA, you can use the JIRA configuration tool (by running bin/config.sh (for Linux/Solaris) or bin\config.bat (for Windows) in your JIRA installation directory), which provides a convenient GUI that allows you to reconfigure JIRA's database connection settings.
   • If any of the following points applies to your situation, you need to manually configure the dbconfig.xml file in your JIRA home directory. Refer to the appropriate database configuration guide in the Connecting JIRA to a database  section for the manual configuration instructions.
     • You have a console-only connection to your JIRA server
     • You would prefer to configure your database connection manually (for custom configuration purposes).

Migrating JIRA's data to a different type of database server

Use this procedure to migrate JIRA's data to a different type of database server (e.g. from a MySQL server to a PostgreSQL server).

You can also use this procedure if your JIRA installation is currently using the internal H2 database (which is only supported for evaluating JIRA) and you need to switch your JIRA installation across to using a supported database (which are supported for JIRA installations used in a production environment).

1. Create an export of your data as an XML backup. See Backing up data for details.
2. Create a new database on your new database server to house JIRA's data. See the appropriate database configuration guide in the Connecting JIRA to a database section for the database creation instructions.
3. Shut down your JIRA server.
4. Make a backup of your JIRA home directory and JIRA installation directory.
5. Delete the dbconfig.xml file in your JIRA home directory.
6. Restart JIRA and you should see the first step of the JIRA setup wizard for configuring your database connection.
7. Configure JIRA's connection to your new database (created in step 2 above) and click the 'Next' button.
8. On the 'Application Properties' setup page, click the 'import your existing data' link and restore your data from the XML backup created in step 1 above.

Known issues

• Database migration to SQL Server fails because of duplicate entries