diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 3ae5a654d..59d6ab84f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -2,64 +2,13 @@ name: build
 
 on: push
 jobs:
-  build-windows-latest:
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        compiler: ["Visual Studio 17 2022"]
-      fail-fast: false
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Build Reindexer
-        run: |
-          mkdir build && cd build
-          cmake -G "${{matrix.compiler}}" .. -Ax64
-          cmake --build . --config Release
-          cmake --build . --config Release --target face
-          cmake --build . --config Release --target swagger
-          cpack
-      - name: Upload Artifacts
-        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: windows-latest
-          path: build/*.exe
-          if-no-files-found: error
-
-  build-windows-2019:
-    runs-on: windows-2019
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        compiler: ["Visual Studio 16 2019", "MinGW Makefiles"]
-      fail-fast: false
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout repository
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      - name: Build Reindexer
-        run: |
-          mkdir build && cd build
-          cmake -G "${{matrix.compiler}}" ..
-          cmake --build . --config Release
-          cmake --build . --config Release --target face
-          cmake --build . --config Release --target swagger
-          cpack
-
   build:
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-22.04, macos-13]
+        os: [ubuntu-22.04]
         include:
-          - os: ubuntu-24.04
-            cc: gcc-12
-            cxx: g++-12
           - os: ubuntu-latest
             sanitizer: ASAN
-            cc: gcc-10
-            cxx: g++-10
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            sanitizer: TSAN
-            cc: gcc-12
-            cxx: g++-12
       fail-fast: false
     runs-on: ${{matrix.os}}
     env:
@@ -114,25 +63,12 @@ jobs:
   test:
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-24.04, macos-13]
-        test: ['C++', 'GO']
+        os: [ubuntu-22.04]
+        test: ['C++']
         include:
           - os: ubuntu-latest
             sanitizer: ASAN
-            cc: gcc-10
-            cxx: g++-10
             test: 'C++'
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            sanitizer: ASAN
-            test: 'GO'
-#         - os: ubuntu-latest
-#           sanitizer: TSAN
-#           cc: gcc-12
-#           cxx: g++-12
-#           test: 'C++'
-          - os: ubuntu-latest
-            sanitizer: TSAN
-            test: 'GO'
       fail-fast: false
     runs-on: ${{matrix.os}}
     needs: build
@@ -192,61 +128,4 @@ jobs:
             ctest --verbose
           fi
 
-  test-pyreindexer:
-    strategy:
-      matrix:
-        os: [ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-24.04]
-      fail-fast: false
-    runs-on: ${{matrix.os}}
-    needs: build
-    if: always()
-    env:
-      OS: ${{matrix.os}}
-    steps:
-      - name: Download ${{matrix.os}} Artifacts
-        uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
-        with:
-          name: ${{matrix.os}}
-      - name: 'Untar Artifacts'
-        run: tar -xvf artifacts.tar
-      - name: Prepare Environment
-        run: |
-          if [[ $OS == ubuntu* ]]; then
-            sudo ./dependencies.sh
-            python3 -m pip install setuptools build
-          else
-            ./dependencies.sh
-          fi
-      - name: Install Reindexer
-        run: |
-          cd build
-          if [[ $OS == ubuntu* ]]; then
-            sudo dpkg -i reindexer-4-dev*.deb
-            sudo apt-get install -f
-            sudo dpkg -i reindexer-4-server*.deb
-            sudo apt-get install -f
-          else
-            for f in reindexer-*.tar.gz; do tar -xvzf "$f"; done
-            cp -R ./usr/local/include/reindexer /usr/local/include/reindexer
-            cp -R ./usr/local/lib/reindexer /usr/local/lib/reindexer
-            cp ./usr/local/lib/libreindexer.a /usr/local/lib/libreindexer.a
-            cp ./usr/local/lib/libreindexer_server_library.a /usr/local/lib/libreindexer_server_library.a
-            cp ./usr/local/lib/libreindexer_server_resources.a /usr/local/lib/libreindexer_server_resources.a
-            cp ./usr/local/lib/pkgconfig/libreindexer.pc /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig/libreindexer.pc
-            cp ./usr/local/lib/pkgconfig/libreindexer_server.pc /usr/local/lib/pkgconfig/libreindexer_server.pc
-            cp ./usr/local/bin/reindexer_server /usr/local/bin/reindexer_server
-            cp ./usr/local/etc/reindexer.conf.pkg /usr/local/etc/reindexer.conf.pkg
-          fi
-      - name: Clone PyReindexer
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
-        with:
-          repository: restream/reindexer-py
-      - name: Install PyReindexer
-        run: |
-          python -m build
-          python -m pip install .
-      - name: Test PyReindexer
-        run: |
-          cd pyreindexer
-          ../.github/workflows/test.sh
 
diff --git a/changelog.md b/changelog.md
index 973647fc9..98384e062 100644
--- a/changelog.md
+++ b/changelog.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # Version 4.19.0 (17.12.2024)
 
 ## Core
-- [fea] Added automatic masking for reindexer user's credentials in log files and cluster/sharding JSON's (except for `async_replication` configs in `#config`-namespace)
+- [fea] Added automatic masking for reindexer user's credentials in log files and cluster/sharding JSON's (except for `async_replication`-config in `#config`-namespace)
 - [fix] Fixed assertion on attempt to use 'null'-values with `=`, `IN()`, `<`, `>`, `<=`, `>=` and `RANGE()` operators
 
 ## Replication
diff --git a/cpp_src/cmd/reindexer_server/test/test_storage_compatibility.sh b/cpp_src/cmd/reindexer_server/test/test_storage_compatibility.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..873181e20
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp_src/cmd/reindexer_server/test/test_storage_compatibility.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,197 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Task: https://github.com/restream/reindexer/-/issues/1188
+set -e
+
+function KillAndRemoveServer {
+	local pid=$1
+	kill $pid
+	wait $pid
+	yum remove -y 'reindexer*' > /dev/null
+}
+
+function WaitForDB {
+	# wait until DB is loaded
+	set +e # disable "exit on error" so the script won't stop when DB's not loaded yet
+	is_connected=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS --command '\databases list');
+	while [[ $is_connected != "test" ]]
+		do
+			sleep 2
+			is_connected=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS --command '\databases list');
+		done
+	set -e
+}
+
+function CompareNamespacesLists {
+	local ns_list_actual=$1
+	local ns_list_expected=$2
+	local pid=$3
+
+	diff=$(echo ${ns_list_actual[@]} ${ns_list_expected[@]} | tr ' ' '\n' | sort | uniq -u) # compare in any order
+	if [ "$diff" == "" ]; then
+	    echo "## PASS: namespaces list not changed"
+	else
+	    echo "##### FAIL: namespaces list was changed"
+	    echo "expected: $ns_list_expected"
+	    echo "actual: $ns_list_actual"
+		KillAndRemoveServer $pid;
+	    exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+function CompareMemstats {
+	local actual=$1
+	local expected=$2
+	local pid=$3
+	diff=$(echo ${actual[@]} ${expected[@]} | tr ' ' '\n' | sed 's/\(.*\),$/\1/' | sort | uniq -u) # compare in any order
+	if [ "$diff" == "" ]; then
+	    echo "## PASS: memstats not changed"
+	else
+	    echo "##### FAIL: memstats was changed"
+	    echo "expected: $expected"
+	    echo "actual: $actual"
+		KillAndRemoveServer $pid;
+	    exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+
+RX_SERVER_CURRENT_VERSION_RPM="$(basename build/reindexer-*server*.rpm)"
+VERSION_FROM_RPM=$(echo "$RX_SERVER_CURRENT_VERSION_RPM" | grep -o '.*server-..')
+VERSION=$(echo ${VERSION_FROM_RPM: -2:1})   # one-digit version
+
+echo "## choose latest release rpm file"
+if [ $VERSION == 3 ]; then
+  LATEST_RELEASE=$(python3 cpp_src/cmd/reindexer_server/test/get_last_rx_version.py -v 3)
+  namespaces_list_expected=$'purchase_options_ext_dict\nchild_account_recommendations\n#config\n#activitystats\nradio_channels\ncollections\n#namespaces\nwp_imports_tasks\nepg_genres\nrecom_media_items_personal\nrecom_epg_archive_default\n#perfstats\nrecom_epg_live_default\nmedia_view_templates\nasset_video_servers\nwp_tasks_schedule\nadmin_roles\n#clientsstats\nrecom_epg_archive_personal\nrecom_media_items_similars\nmenu_items\naccount_recommendations\nkaraoke_items\nmedia_items\nbanners\n#queriesperfstats\nrecom_media_items_default\nrecom_epg_live_personal\nservices\n#memstats\nchannels\nmedia_item_recommendations\nwp_tasks_tasks\nepg'
+elif [ $VERSION == 4 ]; then
+  LATEST_RELEASE=$(python3 cpp_src/cmd/reindexer_server/test/get_last_rx_version.py -v 4)
+  # replicationstats ns added for v4
+  namespaces_list_expected=$'purchase_options_ext_dict\nchild_account_recommendations\n#config\n#activitystats\n#replicationstats\nradio_channels\ncollections\n#namespaces\nwp_imports_tasks\nepg_genres\nrecom_media_items_personal\nrecom_epg_archive_default\n#perfstats\nrecom_epg_live_default\nmedia_view_templates\nasset_video_servers\nwp_tasks_schedule\nadmin_roles\n#clientsstats\nrecom_epg_archive_personal\nrecom_media_items_similars\nmenu_items\naccount_recommendations\nkaraoke_items\nmedia_items\nbanners\n#queriesperfstats\nrecom_media_items_default\nrecom_epg_live_personal\nservices\n#memstats\nchannels\nmedia_item_recommendations\nwp_tasks_tasks\nepg'
+else
+  echo "Unknown version"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "## downloading latest release rpm file: $LATEST_RELEASE"
+curl "http://repo.itv.restr.im/itv-api-ng/7/x86_64/$LATEST_RELEASE" --output $LATEST_RELEASE;
+echo "## downloading example DB"
+curl "https://github.com/restream/reindexer_testdata/-/raw/main/dump_demo.zip" --output dump_demo.zip;
+unzip -o dump_demo.zip # unzips into demo_test.rxdump;
+
+ADDRESS="cproto://127.0.0.1:6534/"
+DB_NAME="test"
+
+memstats_expected=$'[
+{"name":"account_recommendations","replication":{"data_hash":6833710705,"data_count":1}},
+{"name":"admin_roles","replication":{"data_hash":1896088071,"data_count":2}},
+{"name":"asset_video_servers","replication":{"data_hash":7404222244,"data_count":97}},
+{"name":"banners","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"channels","replication":{"data_hash":457292509431319,"data_count":3941}},
+{"name":"child_account_recommendations","replication":{"data_hash":6252344969,"data_count":1}},
+{"name":"collections","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"epg","replication":{"data_hash":-7049751653258,"data_count":1623116}},
+{"name":"epg_genres","replication":{"data_hash":8373644068,"data_count":1315}},
+{"name":"karaoke_items","replication":{"data_hash":5858155773472,"data_count":4500}},
+{"name":"media_item_recommendations","replication":{"data_hash":-6520334670,"data_count":35886}},
+{"name":"media_items","replication":{"data_hash":-1824301168479972392,"data_count":65448}},
+{"name":"media_view_templates","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"menu_items","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"purchase_options_ext_dict","replication":{"data_hash":24651210926,"data_count":3}},
+{"name":"radio_channels","replication":{"data_hash":37734732881,"data_count":28}},
+{"name":"recom_epg_archive_default","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"recom_epg_archive_personal","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"recom_epg_live_default","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"recom_epg_live_personal","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"recom_media_items_default","replication":{"data_hash":8288213744,"data_count":3}},
+{"name":"recom_media_items_personal","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"recom_media_items_similars","replication":{"data_hash":-672103903,"data_count":33538}},
+{"name":"services","replication":{"data_hash":0,"data_count":0}},
+{"name":"wp_imports_tasks","replication":{"data_hash":777859741066,"data_count":1145}},
+{"name":"wp_tasks_schedule","replication":{"data_hash":12595790956,"data_count":4}},
+{"name":"wp_tasks_tasks","replication":{"data_hash":28692716680,"data_count":281}}
+]
+Returned 27 rows'
+
+echo "##### Forward compatibility test #####"
+
+DB_PATH=$(pwd)"/rx_db"
+
+echo "Database: "$DB_PATH
+
+echo "## installing latest release: $LATEST_RELEASE"
+yum install -y $LATEST_RELEASE > /dev/null;
+# run RX server with disabled logging
+reindexer_server -l warning --httplog=none --rpclog=none --db $DB_PATH &
+server_pid=$!
+sleep 2;
+
+reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME -f demo_test.rxdump --createdb;
+sleep 1;
+
+namespaces_1=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command '\namespaces list');
+echo $namespaces_1;
+CompareNamespacesLists "${namespaces_1[@]}" "${namespaces_list_expected[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+memstats_1=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command 'select name, replication.data_hash, replication.data_count from #memstats order by name');
+CompareMemstats "${memstats_1[@]}" "${memstats_expected[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+KillAndRemoveServer $server_pid;
+
+echo "## installing current version: $RX_SERVER_CURRENT_VERSION_RPM"
+yum install -y build/*.rpm > /dev/null;
+reindexer_server -l0  --corelog=none --httplog=none --rpclog=none --db $DB_PATH &
+server_pid=$!
+sleep 2;
+
+WaitForDB
+
+namespaces_2=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command '\namespaces list');
+echo $namespaces_2;
+CompareNamespacesLists "${namespaces_2[@]}" "${namespaces_1[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+
+memstats_2=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command 'select name, replication.data_hash, replication.data_count from #memstats order by name');
+CompareMemstats "${memstats_2[@]}" "${memstats_1[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+KillAndRemoveServer $server_pid;
+rm -rf $DB_PATH;
+sleep 1;
+
+echo "##### Backward compatibility test #####"
+
+echo "## installing current version: $RX_SERVER_CURRENT_VERSION_RPM"
+yum install -y build/*.rpm > /dev/null;
+reindexer_server -l warning --httplog=none --rpclog=none --db $DB_PATH &
+server_pid=$!
+sleep 2;
+
+reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME -f demo_test.rxdump --createdb;
+sleep 1;
+
+namespaces_3=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command '\namespaces list');
+echo $namespaces_3;
+CompareNamespacesLists "${namespaces_3[@]}" "${namespaces_list_expected[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+
+memstats_3=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command 'select name, replication.data_hash, replication.data_count from #memstats order by name');
+CompareMemstats "${memstats_3[@]}" "${memstats_expected[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+KillAndRemoveServer $server_pid;
+
+echo "## installing latest release: $LATEST_RELEASE"
+yum install -y $LATEST_RELEASE > /dev/null;
+reindexer_server -l warning --httplog=none --rpclog=none --db $DB_PATH &
+server_pid=$!
+sleep 2;
+
+WaitForDB
+
+namespaces_4=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command '\namespaces list');
+echo $namespaces_4;
+CompareNamespacesLists "${namespaces_4[@]}" "${namespaces_3[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+memstats_4=$(reindexer_tool --dsn $ADDRESS$DB_NAME --command 'select name, replication.data_hash, replication.data_count from #memstats order by name');
+CompareMemstats "${memstats_4[@]}" "${memstats_3[@]}" $server_pid;
+
+KillAndRemoveServer $server_pid;
+rm -rf $DB_PATH;