Professional Services · Version Upgrades
Do not stay on a version that has lost support
Citrix LTSR, VMware vSphere, Exchange, Windows Server and SQL Server version upgrades: compatibility check, rehearsal in a test environment, cutover in a planned window.
Scope
Citrix · VMware · Microsoft
Method
Rehearsal in a test environment
Rollback
Snapshot and backup
The longer an upgrade is postponed, the more a small task becomes a big project
Versions that have reached end of support receive no security patches and fall outside vendor support. Sentinel upgrade projects start with a compatibility matrix; dependent components are sequenced, a rehearsal is done in a test environment and production moves in a planned window.
Correct order
Upgrade sequence by version compatibility of dependent components (e.g. NetScaler, StoreFront, VDA).
Rehearsal
Upgrade and critical application tests in a test environment; production sees no surprises.
Rollback
Snapshot, backup and rollback steps in the runbook; duration in the contract.
Upgrade areas
Version upgrades we do frequently
Citrix LTSR
CVAD, VDA, StoreFront, NetScaler firmware
VMware vSphere
vCenter, ESXi, vSAN version transitions
Windows Server
From 2012/2016 to 2022/2025, AD functional level
Exchange Server
Version upgrade or move to M365
SQL Server
Version and compatibility level upgrades
Fortinet
FortiOS firmware, sequential in HA pairs
Veeam
Backup & Replication version transition
Hyper-V and Nutanix
Cluster version upgrades
Process
From compatibility check to production
Upgrade flow
Compatibility matrix
Components and applications
Order
Dependencies
Rehearsal in test
Upgrade and application testing
Approval
Test report
Production cutover
Planned window, rollback
In clustered systems nodes are upgraded one by one; no user downtime.
Citrix · VMware · Microsoft · Fortinet · Veeam
Packages
By upgrade scope
Single product
Standard
Single component upgrade
Fixed price
Project based
- Compatibility check
- Snapshot and backup
- Cutover in a planned window
- 2 weeks of support afterwards
- Most popular
Multiple components
Platform
Upgrading dependent components together (e.g. a Citrix farm)
By scope
Project based
- Dependency order and plan
- Rehearsal in a test environment
- Production cutover in waves
- 30 days of hypercare
Ongoing
Lifecycle
Annual version calendar and planned upgrades
Annual
12-month commitment
- End-of-support calendar tracking
- 2 planned upgrade windows a year
- Test environment maintenance
- Integrated with managed services
Frequently asked questions
The most common questions about version upgrades
If the version gap is large and the existing installation is non-standard, a clean install and migration is safer; the decision is made in the compatibility check and the rationale is written down.
A temporary test environment is set up on Sentinel Cloud; the rehearsal is done with a copy of production and removed at the end of the project.
With active maintenance/subscription most products do not need it; if expired, renewal or an alternative license model is recommended.
LTSR gets long-term support and changes less often; recommended for enterprise environments. CR delivers new features early but needs frequent updates.
Near zero in clustered systems; as long as the upgrade itself on single-server systems, in a planned window. The duration is written per system in the project plan.
Related services
Together with upgrades
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