Abstract: A method of upgrading a wireless communication network node comprises transferring new software modules to the node as needed, saving existing configuration information for the old version of software, and configuring the node for operation with the new version of software using the saved configuration information where appropriate. The upgrade method saves a listing of data instances used by the old software, and saves the actual configuration values for those data instances. Then, the upgrade method configures the node for operation with the software by determining which data instances used in the new version of software had corresponding data instances in the old software, and using the saved configuration information for those data instances. For data instances where reuse of prior configuration data is not possible, or is not desired, the method uses default configuration data, which may be supplied in the form of an upgrade configuration file.