Networker

Re: [Networker] Advice on upgrading from 7.2.2?

2008-07-08 09:23:18
Subject: Re: [Networker] Advice on upgrading from 7.2.2?
From: Conrad Macina <conrad.macina AT PFIZER DOT COM>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 09:18:46 -0400
Disclaimer: I myself have only limited knowledge of this, but I have been
reading the list and I've formed opinions based on impressions. I welcome
anyone to amend or correct what I say.

>1. Can someone recommend which is the most recent stable NW release to
>upgrade to?

Consensus of the List appears to be that 7.4 SP2 is the most stable release
in a while.

>We rely on cloning a lot. I remember hearing some mischief a while ago
>about bugs with all that stuff in later releases and wanted to avoid any
>such nightmares, hence one of the reasons for postponing, but that was
>probably fixed a long time ago, though.

I can't comment on cloning; I have to ask you to search the archives.

> Also, I've heard nwadmin is
>gone, but doesn't take too long to get up and running with the new
>interface (much better capabilities), whatever that is?

True. The old "Green GUI" ain't what it used to be. The new GUI is NetWorker
Management Console, and it does a pretty good job of getting done what needs
to get done. I suggest you install NMC from the software distribution and
get used to it before you upgrade. The package name on Solaris is LGTOnmc,
and it can be installed without the other server components.

>2. Will it be necessary to upgrade to 7.3.x first and then to 7.4.x?

Not strictly necessary IIRC, but there may be reasons (comfort, mainly) you
might want to do that.

>3. Will we need to upgrade our clients immediately, say, before
>upgrading the server? Would be kind of a pain to have to do that the
>same day as the server upgrade.

No. 7.4 will work with older client versions, but of course you won't get
the new functionality, such as the ability to "push" software out to the
clients.

>4. Will we need to upgrade our snode OS, too, or just the NW version on
>there?

Here I have to refer you to the compatibility chart. If v7.4 is compatible
with the OS on your storage nodes there's no need to upgrade.

>5. Any particular gotchas on the upgrade? We have about 15 GB of free
>space, and our largest index is about 2 GB, media database is about 257
>MB with about 12 GB of total index usage.

As I said I have no experience. I have to leave this to others to answer.

>6. Guess we'll need a new enabler code?

Yes, but that should be readily available. Your maintenance *is* paid up,
isn't it? :^)

Good luck, and please let the list know how you fare.

Conrad Macina
Pfizer, Inc.

On Mon, 7 Jul 2008 18:34:01 -0400, George Sinclair
<George.Sinclair AT NOAA DOT GOV> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Sorry to beat on a topic that has probably been hammered many times
>over, but I've been out of the loop for quite some time now, and need a
>boost to get caught up.
>
>We need to upgrade our 7.2.2 release (please, no laughs - ah, yeah),
>running on Solaris 9. We use two snode servers (each runs RH Linux ES 3
>with NW 7.2.2).
>
>1. Can someone recommend which is the most recent stable NW release to
>upgrade to?
>
>We rely on cloning a lot. I remember hearing some mischief a while ago
>about bugs with all that stuff in later releases and wanted to avoid any
>such nightmares, hence one of the reasons for postponing, but that was
>probably fixed a long time ago, though. Also, I've heard nwadmin is
>gone, but doesn't take too long to get up and running with the new
>interface (much better capabilities), whatever that is?
>
>2. Will it be necessary to upgrade to 7.3.x first and then to 7.4.x?
>3. Will we need to upgrade our clients immediately, say, before
>upgrading the server? Would be kind of a pain to have to do that the
>same day as the server upgrade.
>4. Will we need to upgrade our snode OS, too, or just the NW version on
>there?
>5. Any particular gotchas on the upgrade? We have about 15 GB of free
>space, and our largest index is about 2 GB, media database is about 257
>MB with about 12 GB of total index usage.
>
>6. Guess we'll need a new enabler code?
>
>Last time we went from 6.x to 7.x we had some weirdness with one enabler
>code that kept disabling itself. That was finally resolved with a no
>expiration date code, and then we had another problem that was caused by
>the old serial number (a legacy from the original release way back) not
>matching the new SN format that was adopted in later releases. That was
>finally fixed. Sheesh! Hope that frustration doesn't happen again this
>go around.
>
>Thanks.
>
>George
>
>
>--
>George Sinclair
>NOAA/NESDIS/National Oceanographic Data Center
>SSMC3 E/OC3 Room 4145         | Voice: (301) 713-3284 x210
>1315 East West Highway        | Fax:   (301) 713-3301
>Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282  | Web Site:  http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/
>- Any opinions expressed in this message are NOT those of the US Govt. -
>
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