# Given a random GW backup how can you tell what version is was from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Created:** [March 30, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063 "2021-03-30T16:38:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/1 "2021-03-30T16:38:28Z")
In my on going saga with looking at this client’s backup that I restored to my 8.1.3 system I was hit (but didn’t realize for a couple of hours) with [java.sql.SQLException after migration 7.9 to 8.1 and with SQL Server 2005 Database Connection](http://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/java-sql-sqlexception-after-migration-7-9-to-8-1-and-with-sql-server-2005-database-connection/41526) I didn’t know that this was a thing as I was restoring onto a system with MS SQL 2019. It would have saved me a large amount of frustration and stress if I knew what version of Ignition the backup was made from. So given a random GW backup, how do I know what version of Ignition it was made from, so that I can restore it to a matching system? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/2 "2021-03-30T16:39:31Z")
Someone beat you to asking by 2 hours 🙂 > [@Find out what version of ignition from gateway backup](http://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/find-out-what-version-of-ignition-from-gateway-backup/45054/2): > > Gateway backups are ZIP files. At the root level, they contain a backupinfo.xml file with the information you desire. ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/3 "2021-03-30T16:40:34Z")
That’s because I spent the last 2 $&%^$^ hours trying to understand why I couldn’t get my DB connection to work 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/4 "2021-03-30T16:47:36Z")
I just looked at the backup I have, and it’s 8.1.2. Now I’m confused as to how an upgrade from 8.1.2 to 8.1.3 could have triggered that issue 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/5 "2021-03-30T16:48:15Z")
If the source of the backup never fixed their install after upgrade… ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/6 "2021-03-30T16:50:40Z")
But it’s a working system. 🤔 Although their DB connector has name of the form “Host-SQL2K8”, which is kind of worrying to me if they are still using 2K8. ---
**Author:** ![Kevin.Herron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/kevin.herron/32/7259_2.png) [@Kevin.Herron](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Kevin.Herron)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/7 "2021-03-30T17:00:28Z")
JDBC drivers aren’t part of a backup, I would guess that they have a different/older JDBC driver installed than you do. ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/8 "2021-03-30T17:06:14Z")
That’s what puzzles me. If I have a fresh 8.1.3 install and restore a project, because the drivers aren’t included, I would have expected the restored project to use the drivers in the new system and not cause an issue. But instead a had a crash and burn situation and only recovered by manually constructing the DB connector in the new system and then extracting the project from the backup and only importing that. ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 6:32pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/9 "2021-03-30T18:32:50Z")
JDBC drivers _are_ part of a backup, deliberately - under the assumption that it’s better to maintain old drivers forever (and only update when manually applied) than to ‘suddenly’ break on an Ignition update. ---
**Author:** ![Kevin.Herron](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/kevin.herron/32/7259_2.png) [@Kevin.Herron](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Kevin.Herron)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/10 "2021-03-30T18:33:56Z")
Whoops! Well then maybe that’s why it exploded? Old JDBC driver + new SQL Server on the machine he restored to? ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/278dde/32.png) [@peter](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/11 "2021-03-30T19:35:11Z")
So it becomes a trade off between which system you want to break. I would guess that for a typical site would change DBs less often than you change Ignition installations, so that it would make sense not to break the DB connection on an upgrade. But from the point of view of someone who looks at a variety of systems from different clients, it makes the DB version a hidden dependency that I need to know about. Which then raises the question - From a random GW backup, how do I identify these hidden dependencies? ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/given-a-random-gw-backup-how-can-you-tell-what-version-is-was-from/45063/12 "2021-03-31T00:53:41Z")
Same way you find the version–unzip the backup and look.