Thanks.  I hate to be a stickler but is it safe to say that by changing web.config and setting autoupgrade="false" I make the need for an app_offline.htm file redundant?  That is, I simply need to choose one option OR the other to avoid users interfering with the upgrade?

Thanks again,

Jose

Thanks again.  Is the URL http://mydomain.com/Install/Install.aspx?mode=Upgrade case sensitive by any chance?  I have had mixed results with getting the "site under construction" html page and the upgrade progress report when sending in my request via http.  Should it be "http://mydomain.com/Install/Install.aspx?mode=upgrade"?

Thanks in advance,

jberganz

I use an alternative to apps_offline that seems to work very well, and I think very safe (and more customer friendly).   You need access to IIS in order to do this, but I am wondering if anyone sees issues with this approach.    

I create a separate website in IIS for upgrades, with a specific domain address used for upgrading only, with the portal alias already added on the sites with this address.   When ready to upgrade, I change the path of the production website in IIS, to point to a different temporary folder, where there is a page with information about the maintenance, along with an estimate of time for returning (the customer friendly part).   To the user, the site if offline.

I can then load the upgrade files, make any necessary adjustments, and access the site to perform the upgrade using the upgrade domain address.   Once I am sure all is working properly, I then change the directory on the production website back to the production folder, and then stop the upgrade website in IIS.    I can control what users see, provide information updates if need, and bring back the production site only when all is working properly.