Networker

Re: [Networker] Finishing a hardware upgrade: which Legato version to install actully?

2009-10-09 12:39:11
Subject: Re: [Networker] Finishing a hardware upgrade: which Legato version to install actully?
From: Tim Mooney <Tim.Mooney AT NDSU DOT EDU>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 2009 11:24:28 -0500
In regard to: [Networker] Finishing a hardware upgrade: which Legato...:

Hello,

I'm finishing a hardware upgrade of our Backup server.

As we've changed from SDLT320 to LTO-4 we will maintain (powered off) our old server: Windows Server 2003 with Legato 7.4.4 and the indexes, media, etc. until the last data in the tapes will expire one year from now.

That's a good way of doing it.

So, the new server is installed with Windows Server 2008 and the new changer (a Scalar i500 with LTO-4 drives) but I would like to know which Networker version is better to install at this moment: 7.4.4 or 7.5.x?

The depends.  If 7.4.4 was working well for you in your environment on
your previous server, then I recommend you start with 7.4.4 again on your
new server.  When you're changing a lot of things (server hardware, server
OS, jukebox) already, you'll make it easier on yourself by not also
changing NetWorker versions.  Too many changes at once can make it much
harder to track down what might be causing any new problems you're seeing.

Once you've been through anywhere from two weeks to a full backup cycle
with your new environment and you haven't detected any new problems, then
you can start thinking about whether 7.5.1 would be a good upgrade for
you.

And, I would like to know how to export client and group information (well, all the config data except indexes and media) from the old Legato and import to the new server. Any easy manner? (not manually ;-)

The recommended way you do this is by going through the disaster recovery
(DR) procedure.  You start with the tape that contained the last bootstrap
backup on your old server and you use mmrecov to load your configuration
from the bootstrap tape.  It's all documented in the disaster recovery
documentation.

Since you're also switching tape formats, you have a potential roadblock
there, in that your new server doesn't have easy access to your old tapes.
You may have to temporarily connect 1 tape drive from your old jukebox
up to your new server.  You don't have to make the entire jukebox
available, just one tape drive, and then manually load the tape in the
drive.

If you do the DR, it's even more strongly recommended that you start with
a version of NetWorker that's at least in the same series (e.g. 7.4.x) as
the one you were running on your old system.

You might be able to completely bypass the DR procedure and just copy your
nsr directory from you old server to your new server, *then* install the
NetWorker server software, then relicense NetWorker, but I've never tried
that on a Windows-based NW server.

Good luck!

Tim
--
Tim Mooney                                             Tim.Mooney AT ndsu DOT 
edu
Enterprise Computing & Infrastructure                  701-231-1076 (Voice)
Room 242-J6, IACC Building                             701-231-8541 (Fax)
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5164

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