Microsoft Patching/Server Maintenance - Venio Environments – Venio Systems

This article covers two kinds of maintenance on VenioOne on-premises environments:

Venio cumulative patches — versioned hotfix packages from Venio (for example Patch_11.8.0.0_051426) that update application binaries and may require database scripts. Use Part A when Venio support sends you a patch package with a Readme.txt.
Microsoft / Windows server patching — monthly Windows Update or WSUS cumulative updates on servers that host SQL, Console, Web, and Distributed Services. Use Part B for OS-level maintenance.

Best practices for pausing services, backups, and health checks are also in the Console Administrator Guide (V11.8.0.0, pages 180–190, Distributed Service Management and Backup and Restore). Always test in a staging environment first.

Part A — Applying a Venio cumulative patch

A Venio patch is a cumulative package: it contains all fixes released for your version line to date. Each package ships with a Readme.txt that lists the version, tickets fixed, which Venio components changed, and the exact copy steps. Follow the Readme for your specific package — not every patch touches every component.

Before you start

Confirm the package — use the exact build Venio support specified (folder name and version in Readme.txt). Do not substitute a newer drop from a file share unless support directs you to.
Schedule a maintenance window and notify users 48 hours ahead.
Back up databases — full backup of VenioPCD and all project databases (SSMS → right-click database → Tasks → Back Up). Confirm recent FULL, DIFF, and LOG backups exist.
Back up files — snapshot VMs or copy the Venio install folders you will overwrite. At minimum, back up DLLs and config files called out in the Readme.
Verify health — Administration → Distributed Service Management → Health Check All (all green).
Pause jobs — Administration → Distributed Service Management → Pause All Services (lets running jobs finish; stops new work from queuing).

General patch rules (every Venio patch)

Back up the DLLs and folders you are about to replace.
Unblock files after extracting or copying from the patch package. Windows marks downloaded files as blocked and Venio services may fail to load them. In an elevated PowerShell session, run against the patch folder before copying into place:
Get-ChildItem -Path <patch-folder> -Recurse | Unblock-File
Apply only the component sections listed in your Readme.txt. Skip components not mentioned.
Run database scripts when the Readme instructs you to (see below).

Quiesce Venio services (do this before copying files)

Stop services in an order that prevents auto-restart from locking files:

Venio Service Monitor — Stop and set Startup type to Disabled first (it can restart other Venio services and IIS if left running).
Venio Web Export Service (and other Venio Windows services on that server) — Stop and Disable.
IIS — On web servers, stop IIS from IIS Manager (select the server node → Actions → Stop) or stop the W3SVC service.
VenioFPR — Close all running VenioFPR.exe instances on Console workstations.
Distributed Services — Administration → Distributed Service Management → Stop All on each processing host, then stop the Venio Distributed Service locally on each host.

Apply the patch by component

Default install locations are shown below. Your environment may differ — confirm paths before copying.

VenioFPR (Desktop Console)

Apply when Readme lists changes under Changes Dlls VenioFPR or Venio FPR.exe.

Close all VenioFPR.exe instances.
Copy files from the patch \VenioFPR folder to the Venio install location (default: C:\Program Files\Venio).

Venio Distributed Services

Apply when Readme lists changes under Changes Dlls Venio Distributed Services.

Stop Distributed Services (Console + each host).
Copy files from the patch \console\DS folder to the Venio install location (default: C:\Program Files\Venio).
Start Distributed Services.

VenioOnDemandAPI (Web API)

Apply when Readme lists changes under Changes Dlls VenioOndemandAPI.

Stop IIS.
Copy all files/folders from the patch \VenioOnDemandAPI folder to the IIS site (default: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\VenioOnDemandAPI).
Start IIS.

VenioWeb (OnDemand web shell)

Apply when Readme lists changes under Changes Dlls VenioWeb (for example Ondemand\venio-next and Ondemand\Appplus).

Stop IIS.
Back up app-settings.json from C:\inetpub\wwwroot\VenioWeb\OnDemand\venio-next\assets\app-settings.json — the patch bundle may ship defaults that point at localhost and break the PDF viewer if deployed as-is.
Rename the live venio-next folder to venio-next_old (rollback copy).
Copy the new venio-next folder from the patch to C:\inetpub\wwwroot\VenioWeb\OnDemand\.
Restore your live app-settings.json (and any custom branding under assets\) from the backup.
Delete the live Appplus folder and copy the patch Appplus folder into C:\inetpub\wwwroot\VenioWeb\OnDemand\.
Start IIS.
After deploy, clear the browser service worker cache (F12 → Application → Clear site data) and hard-refresh (Ctrl+F5).

Custom branding: If your site uses custom logos, themes, or Web.config branding keys, back up those files and SQL control-setting values before the patch and restore them afterward if logos revert. Contact support if you need a branding backup checklist.

Database scripts (when Readme requires them)

Many cumulative patches require two SQL scripts after binaries are in place. Run these on the Venio SQL Server as directed in your Readme.txt:

SP_CREATE_PROJECT_DATABASE — updates stored procedures and schema objects in project databases.
Upgrade project patch script — upgrades project database metadata for the patch version (script name varies by release; it ships in the patch package or is named in the Readme).

Run against VenioPCD and each project database as instructed. Do not skip database scripts when the Readme calls for them — the application may fail in subtle ways if schema and binaries are mismatched.

Restart services (reverse order)

Start IIS (web servers).
Start Venio Web Export Service and set Startup type back to its original value (usually Automatic).
Start Venio Service Monitor last.
Administration → Distributed Service Management → Start All.

Post-patch verification (Venio patch)

Administration → Distributed Service Management → Health Check All (green within 5–10 minutes).
Log in to Console and VenioOne OnDemand; run a small search.
Submit a test ingestion and export; check Administration → Logs for errors.
On Distributed Services hosts, submit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files for tiffing/OCR and confirm success.
If logos or theme colors reverted, restore branding files from backup and recycle the VenioWeb app pool.

Rollback (Venio patch)

Stop services and IIS as above.
Restore backed-up DLLs/folders (for example rename venio-next_old back to venio-next).
Restore database backups only if database scripts were run and caused issues.
Restart services and contact support@veniosystems.com with Event Viewer and Venio logs.

Part B — Microsoft Windows server patching

Use this section for operating-system updates (Windows Update or WSUS) on servers hosting Venio components. This is separate from Venio cumulative patches in Part A.

Best practices overview

Goal: Apply Windows updates with minimal downtime (~30–60 minutes per server) and no impact to active jobs.
Key principle: Pause Venio services, patch the OS, reboot where required, then resume.
Prerequisites: Off-hours window, SQL backups verified, health check all green, VM/drive snapshots for rollback.

Step-by-step Windows maintenance

1. Preparation (1–2 hours before):

Pause new jobs: Administration → Distributed Service Management → Pause All Services.
Note any running jobs (for example Ingestion ID from the Jobs tab).
Run full DB backup; snapshot file shares if applicable.
Notify users of the maintenance window.

2. Apply Windows updates (per server, 15–30 min each):

SQL Server:

Stop SQL Server (VenioPCD) and SQL Server Agent in Services.msc.
Install Windows cumulative updates.
Restart SQL services; verify in SSMS (no errors).

Console / Web servers:

Stop and Disable: Venio Service Monitor, Venio Distributed Service, Venio Web Export Service, Venio Search Service.
Close all VenioFPR.exe instances.
Install Windows updates.
Enable and Start services; test Console and VOD login.

Distributed Services hosts (critical):

Restarting Venio services alone is not sufficient. Microsoft Office (used for tiffing/OCR/native rendering) can leak file handles and leave background WINWORD/EXCEL processes running, causing slowdowns and tiffing failures over time.
Always perform a full server reboot after patching Distributed Services nodes — mandatory after any Windows or Office update; schedule at least weekly on processing tiers.
After Office 365 license changes, updates, or prolonged uptime with tiffing issues: log in interactively as the Distributed Service account (for example svc_veniods) → Settings → Apps → Microsoft 365 → Modify → Online Repair → reboot immediately.
Stop All on each host from Console; stop Venio services locally; install Windows updates; reboot; start services; run Health Check All.

3. Post-maintenance verification (30 min):

Start All services; run Health Check All.
Small ingestion/export test; check Administration → Logs.
Submit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files for tiffing/OCR on Distributed Services.
Confirm VOD/Console logins and searches work.

4. If issues arise:

Rollback from DB backups or VM/cloud snapshots.
SQL connectivity issues after patching → reboot the server.
Tiffing/OCR failures after Office updates → Online Repair + reboot (above).
Escalate to support@veniosystems.com with Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application.

Always pause jobs before any maintenance to avoid job corruption. For version-specific upgrade packages (full installer upgrades, not cumulative hotfix patches), contact Venio support for the upgrade guide that matches your target version.