elasticsearch/docs/reference/upgrade/upgrade-node.asciidoc

To upgrade using a <<deb,Debian>> or <<rpm,RPM>> package:

*   Use `rpm` or `dpkg` to install the new package.  All files are
    installed in the appropriate location for the operating system
    and Elasticsearch config files are not overwritten.

To upgrade using a zip or compressed tarball:

.. Extract the zip or tarball to a _new_ directory. This is critical if you
   are not using external `config` and `data` directories.

.. Set the `ES_PATH_CONF` environment variable to specify the location of
   your external `config` directory and `jvm.options` file. If you are not
   using an external `config` directory, copy your old configuration
   over to the new installation.

.. Set `path.data` in `config/elasticsearch.yml` to point to your external
   data directory. If you are not using an external `data` directory, copy
   your old data directory over to the new installation.

.. Set `path.logs` in `config/elasticsearch.yml` to point to the location
   where you want to store your logs. If you do not specify this setting,
   logs are stored in the directory you extracted the archive to.