Upgrades of TDL hosted repositories to DSpace 6.3

Created by Kristi Park
Last updated: Jan 08, 2019
2 min read

Texas Digital Library is preparing for upgrades of all of its hosted repositories to DSpace version 6. TDL will upgrade repositories to version 6.3 starting in mid-August 2018.

New features in DSpace 6.3

You will not notice big changes in the user interface between versions 5 and 6. Most of the changes of significance are “under the hood” and won’t be visible to repository managers. Those changes include:

  • a major API refactor

  • an enhanced configuration scheme

  • new file storage methods (TDL DSpace repositories will use the Amazon S3 file storage option.) After experiencing issues with the Amazon S3 file storage system, TDL rolled back its hosted DSpace 6 repositories to using a local assetstore.

You will see some new functionality, however, including:

Full release notes for DSpace 6 can be found here, but note that not all features are available, or enabled by default in a TDL-hosted repository. If you have questions about any new features, contact the TDL Helpdesk at support@tdl.org.  

FAQ

Will I know when my institution’s DSpace repository will be upgraded?

Yes. We will post a schedule and notify repository managers in advance of the week their repository is scheduled to undergo the upgrade.

When the upgrade begins, repository managers will receive email via the TDL Helpdesk ticketing system that will allow them to stay in communication with TDL staff until the upgrade is completed.

Can I explore a DSpace 6 repository ahead of time?

Yes. After we have upgraded the TDL Training DSpace at https://training-ir.tdl.org/, you will be invited to register an account and explore the new version there.

The TDL Training DSpace runs during business hours, M-F 7:30am-5:30pm (Central).

Will all my repository’s configurations and theming still be present after the upgrade?

Yes. If you have customized submission workflows or other configurations, they will still be there after the upgrade.

What downtime should repository managers expect?

We expect there to be no downtime for your repository during this process. HOWEVER, see below.

Will there be a period of time when we’re asked to not make changes in the repository?   

YES. The day prior to your scheduled upgrade at around 5:30pm, TDL will restrict authentication to the site to anyone other than Site Administrators. This will prevent accidental submissions or changes to the repository during the period of time in which we create your new repository and migrate the data into it. If you were to make changes during that period, those changes or additions would get lost in the process.