# Opinion on when to update

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Tags:** ignition81, vision, perspective\
**Created:** [December 1, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580 "2023-12-01T12:47:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![eddie\_johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/57b2e6/32.png) [@eddie\_johnson](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/eddie_johnson)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580/1 "2023-12-01T12:47:40Z")

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My current system is version 8.1.29 using Perspective, not Vision. How do you decide if it's worth upgrading to 8.1.34?

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**Author:** ![michael.flagler](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/michael.flagler/32/26272_2.png) [@michael.flagler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/michael.flagler)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580/2 "2023-12-01T12:56:08Z")

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Test it out on a system and make sure there are no regressions for your particular use-case, then upgrade. I especially recommend it to our clients whenever there are security vulnerabilities fixed like there are in 8.1.34 or when there are new features that are useful like the tag reference tracker.

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**Author:** ![eddie\_johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/57b2e6/32.png) [@eddie\_johnson](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/eddie_johnson)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580/3 "2023-12-01T12:59:36Z")

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I wasn't sure the tag reference tracker would apply with Perspective. That makes it worth the effort.

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![michael.flagler](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/michael.flagler/32/26272_2.png) [@michael.flagler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/michael.flagler)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 1:00pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580/4 "2023-12-01T13:00:59Z")

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From what I understand, the tag reference tracker works better for Perspective than it does for Vision. Vision it can only tell you a tag was referenced from a client, but in Perspective, it can give more granular details on what component, etc accessed a tag.

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**Author:** ![cmallonee](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/cmallonee/32/6416_2.png) [@cmallonee](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/cmallonee)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:18pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/opinion-on-when-to-update/82580/6 "2023-12-01T16:18:32Z")

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As has already been called out, Security updates are a very good indication you should consider taking a version. Beyond that, you should consider what new features have been added, and if any of those new features (or bug fixes) would make your existing projects better.

For many, the potential of behavioral regressions or bugs are the biggest concern because you never want something in your project to stop working after an upgrade. The potential for such behavioral regressions can be identified by testing your projects on an isolated testing instance. I am (surprise, surprise) a huge advocate for automated testing of projects for precisely this sort of process. Identification of your most important user stories, along with automated execution of those stories against a potential upgrade candidate can help you quickly identify whether a release version would impact your existing projects.