Rolling out a phased M-Files Desktop Client upgrade to 24.8 when using a shared cache

I have an upgrade to complete to M-Files Client Desktop 24.8 which is packaged up and tested and ready to be deployed, however with shared cache being enabled because users log into different workstations I need to establish the best method to roll this out in a phased approach, ideally we would like to avoid pushing an upgrade out in a big bang to all machines.  Does anyone have a confirmed method of rolling out in a phased approach with shared cache which doesn't risk data loss for users?

  • As an update to this, I believe that I've established a method of accomplishing this, although it requires quite a lot of manual steps so wouldn't be ideal for large scale roll outs but works for rolling out to some test users onto workstations where a shared cache is still used.  Depending on the setup in your environment this might need to be tweaked to fit.

    1. Identify the M-Files User ID of the users you are updating (for example ID 30 corresponds with Joe Bloggs)
    2. Note the version of the client on the workstations going to be updated (for example 23.11.13168.7)
    3. Update the workstations of these users identified in 1.
    4. Create a new folder subtree for the new version of M-Files client within the cache share <M-Files version > Client > Data > {Vault GUID}
    5. Move the folder with the ID number of the user (30 in this example) from the Cache folder 23.11.13168.7 > Client > Data > {Vault GUID} into the same location under the new subtree.
    6. Allow the user to sign in and test M-Files.

    The shared cache is a rather weak spot of M-Files Client, I'd like to think that the developers look into how this might be improved to allow easier administration for updates.