After the Atlassian announcement about discontinuing support of Jira Server in the future, we received multiple questions on transferring Exalate to Jira Cloud or Jira Data Center. In this article, we describe the possibility of transferring your Exalate to other Jira solutions.
Levels of Complexity
Exalate is highly flexible and can be configured in multiple ways. You need to consider how complex your configuration is before deciding where to migrate: to Jira Data Center or to Jira Cloud.
Let's break down the complexity of integrations into three levels:
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Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
There are almost no customizations, except for small adaptations:
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A more advanced configuration that is customized to your specific business logic. |
Exalate syncs specific fields and is integrated with various add-ons that require access to the services from the add-ons. Examples of such add-ons:
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Where should I transfer?
Jira Data Center
Exalate API is similar both in Jira Server and Jira Data Center because their codebase is also similar.
In general, migrating from Jira Server to Jira Data Center is straightforward, especially for Level 1 and Level 2 configurations. API of external add-ons could be slightly different, which could impact Level 3 configurations.
Jira Cloud
Jira Cloud has a different codebase from Jira Server, which also affects the integration:
- Exalate API is different in various areas (such as NodeHelper).
- Exalate interacts with Jira Cloud through a REST API. This limits the capability to retrieve and set information. For example, it is required that all fields are available on the Create and Edit forms.
So, transferring from Jira Server to Jira Cloud requires a thorough review of your Exalate integration. Based on the complexity levels:
- Level 1 integrations should need a slight adaptation.
- Level 2 integrations would need detailed testing of all use cases.
- Level 3 integrations could be impossible, because some add-ons might not be available, or not have an API to integrate with.
Also, Exalate for Jira Cloud is an Atlassian Connect application that runs on its own environment in Exalate Cloud. This means that there could be differences in information security between Exalate for Jira Server and for Jira Cloud.
Migration of Existing Connections
Next to the transfer of the configuration, rebuilding the existing twins is required.
The Bulk Connect feature can be used in this case.
So assume a Jira Server to Zendesk connection, and the Jira Server is migrated to Jira Cloud.
One of the steps in the migration of the Jira Server data is to create a CSV file that lists for each twin, the Zendesk ticket id and the Jira cloud issue key.
Using the bulk connect facility, the relation between the Zendesk ticket and the Jira cloud-based issue can be recorded,
Professional Services
We also have partners with experience in such projects. This can help you make a decision about where to transfer. Please read the full list of partners here: