How to upgrade a single post office from GroupWise 8 to GroupWise 2012

How to update a single post office from GroupWise 8 to GroupWise 2012
Need to upgrade a single PO for testing purposes in a GroupWise system
Maintain the GroupWise 8 environment for the GroupWise system

Updating the GroupWise Agent software on a server updates all the agents on that server. You can pick which agents to update by isolating the agents to their own server and then updating. In order to update a single PO from 8 to 2012, the primary domain, owning domain, and PO need to be upgraded to 2012.
Note: WebAccess is now a tomcat webapp and no longer an GroupWise agent in 2012.

Consider the following example for implications:
If the Primary Domain server hosts other GroupWise agents, such as GWIA or WebAccess, then GWIA/WebAccess will need to be re-located. If  GWIA and WebAccess are hosted on the same server as the secondary domain you plan to update, then they will be updated to 2012, and thus will need to be relocated. The same is true if they are hosted on the same server as the PO intended to be updated. This is because a GroupWise 8 POA will not be able to communicate with a 2012 GWIA. Alternatively, a new secondary domain could be created and then prompted to primary. The key here is that all agents on the server are updated by the installer and that isolation is the only way to "pick" what is updated.

Below are the steps to upgrade a single PO from GroupWise 8 to GroupWise 2012:

1. From the server(s) that are used to administrate the GroupWise system, update the ConsoleOne snappins:
• Close any ConsoleOne instances on the server or workstation.
  
• From the GroupWise Installer, select Install Products | GroupWise Administration | Install Administration
  
2. Upgrade the primary domain (this is fine since gw8 POAs work with gw2012 MTAs)
   
   • From the GroupWise Installer on the Primary Domain's server, select Create or Update a GroupWise System.
     Select ALL for the Software Distribution Directory for eventual update in the future.
     Note: This creates a 2012 Software Distribution Directory (SDD), updates the Console-One snappins, and updates the agents on this server. Any GroupWise agents are updated on the server.
     
   • Restart the Primary Domain's MTA, then verify it is indeed 2012.
     The agent's HTTP WebConsole | Environment tab displays the Agent's version, while ConsoleOne shows the domain's database version | Properties of the domain object | GroupWise tab | Identification | Database version.
     Note: The Primary Domain's home directory should now contain the important .dc files needed for proper replication (wpdom.dc and gwpo.dc). Each updated domain, upon the agent's restart, should contain these .dc files. Any upgraded POs after the POA has been restarted to request the gwpo.dc should have just the gwpo.dc file.
     
3. Upgrade the owning domain of the PO (it's fine that this domain owns other gw8 POs)
   
   • Run the GroupWise Installer | Install Products | GroupWise Agents | Install Agents
     Note: All GroupWise agents on the server are updated.
     
   • Restart this domain's MTA and verify it is now 2012.
     
4. Upgrade the desired PO(s) - Please verify any owning domain(s) are updated.
   
   • Run the GroupWise Installer | Install Products | GroupWise Agents | Install Agents.
     
   • Restart this PO's POA and verify it is now 2012. The agent's HTTP WebConsole | Environment tab displays the Agent's version, while ConsoleOne shows the Post Office's database version | Properties of the post office object | GroupWise tab | Identification | Database version.

If there are problems updating anything, it may be related to the dc files that are supposed to be requested and delivered by the domains. Domains home directories have these updated files for this reason: wpdom.dc and gwpo.dc