WARNING: Version 5.5 of Beats has passed its EOL date.
This documentation is no longer being maintained and may be removed. If you are running this version, we strongly advise you to upgrade. For the latest information, see the current release documentation.
Upgrading Between Minor Versionsedit
As a general rule, upgrading between minor versions (e.g. 5.x to 5.y, where x < y) can be done by simply installing the new release and restarting the Beat process, because the Beats keep backwards compatibility when it comes to configuration and exported fields. Please review the release notes for potential exceptions.
While we keep the backwards compatibility when it comes to the exported fields, a new minor version can add new fields (e.g. a new Metricbeat module is added). This can be problematic if the Elasticsearch mapping settings are not updated as well.
Please see the Upgrading the Elasticsearch Mapping Template section for possible strategies in upgrading the Elasticsearch mapping templates.