Migrating from Jira Server/Data Center to Cloud

Jira Server/Data Center applications are built on a different framework than Cloud applications.

What this means for R4J Cloud:

There is a gap in application maturity because Cloud development is young and still ongoing. Features in R4J Server/Data Center version may or may not be implemented in the Cloud version depending on customer feedback. We'll try our best to rollout the most important features you need first.
There are differences in data structure, infrastructure, and interface design. In R4J Cloud, we are given a clean slate to make different decisions to help with stability and usability which will improve you user experience in the long run.

Migration Path

There are three ways to migrate an R4J Tree from Server or Data Center to the Cloud:

Self-service using REQIF files: In this method, you need to manually export the desired projects to intermediary Requirements Interchange Format Specification (REQIF) files and then import them into the Cloud.
- In your Server/Datacenter instance, update R4J to version 4.10 or above. Export project trees via ReqIF Operations. The ReqIF files generated here will be used to import the structure to R4J Cloud.
- In your Cloud instance, perform ReqIF import. Refer to ReqIF Migration Import.
Self-service using Python scripts and the REST APIs: This method is suitable for advanced users with programming knowledge. We provide an open-source Python script that exemplifies the use of the APIs to migrate an R4J Tree. You can find it here: https://github.com/easesolutions/r4j-cloud-api-samples. All the needed information to run the script and perform the migration is available in the readme file. Please note that when opting for this method, we won't provide you any support or warranties.
Professional Services: If you want to minimize your internal efforts and outsource the risks, you can hire us to perform the R4J trees migration. Please enter in contact with us for more information.

What R4J data can be migrated?

Feature

Migration support

Notes

Tree Structure

The following data can be migrated:

Activated projects
Folders (including folder name, description, and attachments)
Issues in tree

Pages in tree cannot be migrated.

Other features not listed

Coverage, traceability, and administration configurations cannot be migrated but can be transferred manually.

Baselines cannot be migrated.

Are the features different between R4J Server, Datacenter, and Cloud?

R4J Server and Datacenter share exactly the same features. However, the design or behavior of a feature in R4J Cloud may be different compared to the same feature in R4J Server.

Differences between Server/DC and Cloud version of R4J

Administration
Feature	Server/DC	Cloud	Differences
Permissions			Global and project permissions are not yet implemented in Cloud.
Configuration	(as of v4.6)		Though configuration is supported for both, the options are different.
Activate Projects			R4J Cloud can activate multiple selected projects at once and does not have the activate-by-project-category feature as R4J Server/DC does.
API Tokens			Required for REST API authentication.
Components
Feature	Server/DC	Cloud	Differences
Navigating to the R4J project			R4J Server/DC: Requirements Menu > Select a project R4J Cloud: Projects Menu > Select a project > Requirements Management for Jira Apps Menu > Requirements Management for Jira
Tree View			In R4J Datacenter, folders are internal entities while in R4J Cloud, folders are now Jira issues. Advanced features like reuse, auto-import, export, settings are not yet implemented in R4J Cloud.
Detail View			Issue comparison are not yet implemented in R4J Cloud.
Reading View			Display fields are not yet implemented in R4J Cloud.
Coverage View			Saved coverage views in R4J Cloud are displayed in a tree structure and can be organized better. However, Display Fields and Export are not yet supported.
Other features not listed			Cloud development is still ongoing.