Upgrade Serv-U to the latest version

How to upgrade Serv-U MFT to the latest version for Windows installs.
For Linux deployments, please refer to this article.
For Serv-U Gateway upgrade guide, refer to this article.
Please see the supported operating systems in this Serv-U System Requirements  article.
You may upgrade from 14.x to the latest version directly but make sure that System requirements is met. 

Download the installer from your Customer Portal: https://customerportal.solarwinds.com:

1. Open a browser and go to https://customerportal.solarwinds.com.
2. Log in using your Solarwinds Customer Account UserID and Password.
3. Navigate to Licenses > Manage Licenses.
4. Scroll down and look for your Solarwinds Product License entry and click on "Choose Download" button right beside it.
5. Under Product Downloads > Server Downloads > select the appropriate version of Product you want to download.
6. Click on the "Download" button.

• Serv-U 2026.3 release notes
• Serv-U 2026.3 system requirements

Preparations for upgrade:

1. Do a server Snapshot of your current Serv-U Server if applicable.
2. If your Serv-U has Database Users, make a backup of the database first.
3. Log in to your Serv-U Server using a Local Administrator account if possible. Not a Domain admin with admin privileges on the server.
4. Temporarily disable Anti-Virus, UAC, and Firewall in your Serv-U Server.
5. For Windows deployments, make sure to take note of the service account used by the Serv-U File Server service through services.msc. After the upgrade, make sure to check the service account if it changes and correct it as necessary.

6. IMPORTANT: The Legacy Web Client has been removed since version 15.5.2. If you are using the legacy Web Client and File Share, it is recommended to switch to the New Web Client and/or the New File Share as a default web client.

   a. Go to Domain > Limits and Settings > Settings.
   b. Under Connection Settings, choose the Default Web Client as “New Web Client” and click Save.
   c. Proceed with the upgrade.

7. IMPORTANT: If you are upgrading from legacy version of Serv-U to the latest, 15.5.3.106, make sure you have the latest license key from the Customer Portal.
   • Phone (Americas): +1-866-530-8040, option 1 or +1-512-682-9300
   • Phone (EMEA): +353 21 5002900
   • Phone (DACH): +49 30 390 634 50
   • Phone (APAC): +61 2 8412 4900

Subscription License:

Perpetual License  

Please note that the Subscription License key will only work with the latest version 15.5.3.106.

Backup the Serv-U database and configuration

Reference this article.
In accordance with the new requirements of Windows 7, 8, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, 2016, and 2019, Serv-U now stores critical settings files in the "ProgramData" folder. This means Serv-U settings may be in one of two different locations depending on the version of Windows you have installed. The files that must be backed up are the following:

• Serv-U.Archive file
• Users folder
• Serv-UID.txt file
• Export the Server Identity (15.3.2 and up)
• Backup the Serv-U folder from C:\ProgramData\RhinoSoft (Folder is hidden in Windows by default)

These files are either stored in:

• Windows Vista/7/8, Server 2008/2012/2016/2019 - C:\ProgramData\RhinoSoft\Serv-U (Folder is Hidden in Windows by default)
• Also, backup the entire installation folder for safekeeping (C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U)
• Windows 2000/XP, Server 2000/2003 - C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U
• Linux - /usr/local/Serv-U

If you are using FTPS or SFTP and do not want to change the default RSA Host Key, you will need to back up additional key and cert files along with the above basic configuration files:

• Any file ending with .crt 
• Any file ending with .pem
• Any file ending with .key

Example: Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.crt
                 Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.key

The Serv-UID.txt file contains your license key information. This file is created at the time when you enter your license ID in the Serv-U Management Console, and it will be stored in your installation directory, but the other files may be located elsewhere on your system. The best way to verify whether you are using these files is to check the Domain Limits & Settings | Encryption (for each domain) and Server Limits & Settings | Encryption tab to see where those files are stored. (It's a best practice to store these all either in one directory for the server, or one directory per domain so they are easy to back up.)

If upgrading to Serv-U, kindly ensure a backup of these folders (VERY IMPORTANT)

• C:\ProgramData\RhinoSoft\Serv-U (Folder is Hidden in Windows by default)
• C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U
• Linux - /usr/local/Serv-U
• Server Identity (for 15.3.2 and up)
• MFAAccounts folder or MFAAccounts.LDAPUsers (Users folder) file in C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U folder

Running the Serv-U MFT installer to upgrade

1. Access the downloaded zip file for the installer and make sure to extract the contents.
2. Right-click the Serv-U MFT 2026.3 installer and select Properties.
3. Click "Unblock" if available.
4. Right-click the Serv-U MFT 2026.3 installer again, and then run the installer as an administrator.
5. Complete the installation wizard.

If you are upgrading to the latest version from 15.3.1 or older:  the Management Console will now display a new banner message about creating a Server Identity.

 

This is a mandatory setting that needs to be enabled for this version. If not configured, the Serv-U Administrator can no longer manage the Management Console and will be getting the error messages below:



Proceed with the creation of the Server Identity. It is also very important to Export a copy of the Server Identity after the upgrade.
Take note that setting up the Server Identity for a single instance deployment is different than multi-instance deployments
 

License-related issues during or after the upgrade:

If there is a message about an Invalid Registration ID while running the Serv-U 15.2.5 installer, click NEXT and proceed with completing the upgrade.



If you are upgrading from version 15.2.2 or older, after the upgrade is complete, the Serv-U Management Console will show a "Your trial has expired" banner. This is expected as version 15.2.3 and newer requires the new license key.



Proceed with manually entering the license key from the Customer Portal page, into the Serv-U Management Console by following the steps below.

1. Open the Serv-U Management Console.
2. Go to Server Details > View information about and configure the current license.
3. Click Enter License ID...
4. Paste your alphanumeric Registration ID string in the Registration ID field. 

   

5. Click Save.

Upgrade Tips:

1. While running the installer file, if there is a window that says your registration ID is invalid, please disregard it and just continue with the prompts.
2. If after the upgrade process and Serv-U shows you have an expired license, just reapply your MFT license. 
   • Copy your Serv-U MFT license from the Customer Portal page.
   • Back in Serv-U, go to Management Console > Global > Server Details > License Information tab > scroll to the bottom left part of the page and click Enter License ID, and paste your MFT license there
3. If you are not able to connect to Serv-U after the upgrade, bounce the listeners (disable/enable) 
   • Go to Domains > Domain Details > Listeners tab
   • Disable one of the listeners, SAVE, then re-enable the listener.
4. If there is an error saying the Serv-U.dll cannot be renamed or overwritten, cancel the upgrade. Make sure that the Serv-U service is stopped. Also, check the Task Manager for any Serv-U-related processes that might still be running and stop them (except for the Serv-U Setup process). If no Serv-U-related processes are running, reboot the server and start the installation or upgrade again. If the issue persists, rename the file by opening File Explorer and follow the file path. Then try the upgrade again. 
5. There is no specific order on which to upgrade first (MFT or the Gateway) but it is highly suggested to upgrade the Gateway application first.
6. For deployments with SFTP connections enabled. If the default self-signed SSH private keys are used, make sure to backup the 'Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.crt' and 'Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.key' files found in the installation folder (C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U by default). Installing Serv-U version 15.2.0 and above will have a new set of self-signed SSL certificates and SSH keys that will overwrite the old files that came from Serv-U version 15.1.7.162 and lower. After the upgrade procedure, the old 'Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.crt' and 'Serv-U-DefaultCertificate.key' files should be copied back to the installation folder (C:\Program Files\RhinoSoft\Serv-U) so the same SSH key will still be used, and clients who connect through SFTP will not have to accept or trust the new SSH key that comes with version 15.2.0 or higher.
7. If the Serv-U configuration is lost after upgrading to the latest version or after applying the hotfix for 15.2.2, please read this article Serv-U configuration lost after upgrading to 15.2.2
8. If an Expired or Trial Maintenance banner shows after upgrading to Serv-U version to the latest version, manually apply the license key.  
   • Stop the Serv-U service
   • Make a backup of the Serv-UID.txt file located in C:\ProgramData\RhinoSoft\Serv-U (Folder is Hidden in Windows by default). If Serv-U is installed on another drive or folder, the Serv-UID.txt file will be located in the installation folder.
   • Edit the Serv-UID.txt file and clear out the old license key, then copy/paste the new license key from the Customer Portal. Save the changes.
   • Start the Serv-U service.
   • After starting the service, make sure that the Domain Listeners are working and ready to accept connections.
     • Go to Domains > Domain Details > Listeners tab
     • Disable one of the listeners, SAVE, then re-enable the listener.
9. If there are issues encountered with opening the Serv-U Management console after upgrading to the latest version, follow the instructions from this article: Serv-U Management Console will not open after upgrading to version 15.3
10. BEFORE changing the new default service account (NETWORK SERVICE), kindly review this article - Running Serv-U under NETWORK SERVICE

Related articles:

• How to verify if the SSH or SFTP protocol is enabled in Serv-U
• Serv-U SSH host key changes after upgrading to version 15.2.0 and above
• Serv-U File Server 15.2.1 Release Notes  Discusses the password encryption change
• Serv-U Management Console will not open after upgrading to version 15.3
• Creating, exporting, and importing the Server Identity - Serv-U version 15.3.2
• Running Serv-U under NETWORK SERVICE - Serv-U version 15.3.2