Upgrade Gitlab from 11.11.8 to latest

what to consider when replacing gitlab version 11.11.8 to a newer version

I want to replace my gitlab version 11.11.8 to a newer version. When replacing i mean to delete the gitlab version 11.11.8 and to install the newer version .
i need to consider what data will be lost by doing replacing , e.g. all merge-requests comments

Overall i mainly use the gitlab as a repository. i dont use container-registry , monitoring, issues.

CI/CD has 6 runners and a single .yaml file.

the Gitlab is omibus instalation, and version is GitLab Community Edition 11.11.8

Please advise for any other data lost i should consider. some other features that i’m missing that i’ll lost the data on them once i delete the gitlab ?

Thanks,

The quick and easy way to migrate from GitLab 11.11.8 to GitLab 17.7+ would probably be to:

  • set up a GitLab 17.7+ instance with the same users (same usernames/emails as the 11.11.8 instance)
  • use Import project from repository by URL to move the repositories over to the new server
  • register new runners on the 17.7 server
  • deprecate the old runners and 11.11.8 server after confirming all GitLab projects were successfully migrated and GitLab 17.7 instance is working as expected

To migrate private projects, you’ll need to use a username and password (or PAT) for authentication in order to transfer the repository.

This only copies over the repository itself, so while git history and commits will be the same, certain GitLab data types will be lost (merge requests, issues, container registry, CI job logs, etc.) Since you’re not using issues, container registry, monitoring, etc. it seems like the main loss would be merge requests and CI job history/logs.

If you want or need to retain all GitLab data, you can upgrade an 11.11.8 instance to the latest version, but doing so will require a lot of upgrade steps and careful attention. Upgrade Path
If you go the “upgrade GitLab from 11.11.8 to latest” option, here are some helpful resources:

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