In regard to: [Networker] NW 7.2->7.4 upgrade - clients..., Valdis...:

So I inherited a fairly large (300 clients backing up to an SL8500) 7.2
server, and we have some LTO-4 tape drives on order, which apparently
need 7.3.3 or later to support, so I may as well upgrade to "latest and
greatest".  I've got the media, the documentation, the licenses, and all
that.

You would be able to use your LTO-4 drives even with 7.2, you would just
have to tell NetWorker that they're LTO 3 drives.  In most cases that only
influences what NetWorker uses for expected tape capacity, in some cases
it does influence what NetWorker uses for block size when writing to the
device.  In the specific case of LTO-4, I don't know if NetWorker's
"support" lets you use any of LTO-4's advanced features (e.g. encryption).

In any case, 7.2 is going to end-of-support soon, so upgrading is a good
idea.  Going to 7.4.2 + security patch is probably a good idea.

What I *can't* find is any clear statement about client versus server
release levels - in particular:

1) If the server is at 7.2, will a 7.4 client work if they upgrade first?

It's not recommended, but in general, it works just fine.  If you upgrade
the clients first, start small -- do just one or two clients of each
flavor that you have to back up, and test both backups AND restores.

Lots of sites use newer clients than the server, and it's very rare that
it causes a problem, but it still pays to be cautious.

2) Once the client goes to 7.4, what's the oldest client that will still
be supported? I think I've got a few 7.1 clients still out there...

I'm assuming you mean "Once the SERVER goes to 7.4...".  Anything in the
7.x series should be fine for clients, though the recommendation would
be 7.3.x or higher.

Tim
--
Tim Mooney                                        Tim.Mooney AT ndsu DOT edu
Information Technology Services                   (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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