Upgrade the CommServe

If multiple components are installed on a computer, then ensure that all applicable components are selected for upgrade. In such a situation, the upgrade sequence may vary. Refer to the appropriate procedures for upgrade requirements and steps specific to the component.

Verify that the computer in which you wish to upgrade the software satisfies the minimum requirements specified in System Requirements - CommServe.

The following table provides a list of supported upgrade paths for the current software version. If the version currently installed on your computer is not listed here, contact your software provider for more information.

Review the following before upgrading the software:

General

• Review the Upgrade Strategy before upgrading the software.
• Verify that no jobs are in progress or scheduled to occur while the software is being upgraded. If jobs are in progress or other tasks (such as reports or updates) are scheduled, either perform the upgrade at another time or disable all activity or disable all scheduled tasks from the Activity Control tab of the CommCell Properties dialog box in the CommCell Console.
• Verify that there are no VaultTracker pending actions. If there are any, manually Abort these actions from the CommCell Console.
• Verify that the necessary CommServe services are running on the CommServe computer.
• Verify that the SQL Server instance is running on the CommServe computer.
• Verify that all applications such as CommCell Console and Service Control Manager are closed.
• Close all applications and disable any programs that run automatically, including antivirus, screen savers and system utilities. Some programs, including antivirus software, may be running as a service. Stop and disable all non-essential services before you begin. You can re-enable them after the upgrade.
• The files and folders on the computer being upgraded should not be opened by other applications, (e.g., Windows Explorer, FTP, etc.) on this computer or from other computers, during the upgrade.
• The CommServe database should not be opened from the SQL Enterprise Manager, SQL Query Analyzer, or from any other application, on this computer or from other computers during the upgrade.
• You have the software installation disc that is appropriate to the destination computer’s operating system.

  Make sure that you have the latest software installation disc before you start to upgrade the software. If you are not sure, contact your software provider.

• The CommServe upgrade must be physically performed on the CommServe computer and cannot be upgraded from a remote computer.

• Ensure that all the clients in the CommCell are at software version 6.1.0 or above. See Client Version for more information.

CommServe Specific

If you are upgrading the software from 6.1.0 to 8.0.0

• The CommServe Database Engine will be upgraded to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database instance with the appropriate service pack during the CommServe software upgrade.

  Verify and ensure that SQL Server 2005 components are not already installed on the CommServe computer. For example, Microsoft SQL Server Native Client, Microsoft SQL Server VSS Writer, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Backward Compatibility, etc.

  If these components are installed, the CommServe upgrade will fail; uninstall these components before upgrading the CommServe software.

• Verify the following setting by viewing the CommServe database properties using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager.

	In the Data Files and Transaction Log tabs, the Maximum file size should be preferably set to Unrestricted file growth. If, however, you wish to establish a value for Restrict the file growth option, make sure that the value is more than the size of the CommServe Disaster Recovery Backup dump file (<cs_sitename>_FULL.dmp) located in the CommServe DR folder.
	The location of the CommServe folder can be viewed from the CommCell Console Control Panel, DR Backup dialog box.

NOTES

• If CommCell Explorer is installed on the CommServe computer, whether in a non-clustered or clustered environment, it will be automatically upgraded during the CommServe upgrade. See CommCell Explorer for more information.

• If a CommNet Agent was installed on a CommServe that was registered with a CommNet Server, the CommNet Agent is automatically upgraded to current version during the CommServe upgrade.

• It is strongly recommended that you perform a Disaster Recovery Backup from the CommCell Console before upgrading the CommServe.

• If the CommServe upgrade fails during the following upgrade process, use the DBUpgrade utility from the Resource Pack to perform the upgrade. See Upgrade the CommServe Using the DBUpgrade Utility for more information.

• If the QSM software is installed on the CommServe computer, use the QSM Service Control Manager to manually stop the QSM Services before upgrading the CommServe software.

• Ensure that you are logged on to the computer as a local Administrator or as a member of the local Administrators group on that computer.

General

• Install post-release updates or Service Packs that may have been released after the release of the software. If you are installing a Service Pack, verify and ensure that it is the same version as the one installed in the CommServe Server. Alternatively, you can enable Automatic Updates for quick and easy installation of updates in the CommCell component.
• If Activity Control was disabled on the client prior to the upgrade, enable it after the upgrade using the Activity Control tab from the Client Computer Properties dialog box in the CommCell Console.

• Some existing features may not function as expected when the CommServe is upgraded and the Clients/MediaAgents remain in a older version of the software. See Backwards Compatibility Issues for more information on such features.

Registry Keys

• Information from user created registry keys is stored in the operating systems temp directory during the upgrade. The name of the file is GalaxyReg_OLD_But_Not_New.txt. Re-create these registry keys, if necessary.
• The values in all the system created registry keys are set to default after the upgrade. If any of these values were modified prior to the upgrade, the modified values are stored in the operating systems temp directory within GalaxyReg_MIX_OLD_New_Diff.txt.

• Following an upgrade of the CommServe to the current release, manually add the OracleDeleteAgedBackupPiece registry key on the CommServe. Even if this registry key was previously added as a matter of course and was on the CommServe, it must be added again following an upgrade of the specified CommServe.

CommServe Specific

• If the CommServe Cache for the Automatic Update feature is located within the CommServe install folder, the cache will be lost after the upgrade. Make sure to repopulate the CommServe Cache after the upgrade.
• If the bCHECK_AUTOUPDATES registry key was defined in the previous release, its settings (enabled or disabled) will carry over to the current release. If enabled, the CommServe CVD will contact the configured Automatic Updates FTP site at six-hour intervals (360 minutes) to check if the CommServe Update Cache is up-to-date. If there are missing updates, they will be downloaded as per the Automatic Update Configuration.

• Upon upgrade, if you had configured a UNIX share for the CommServe Update Cache in the previous release, the software will automatically point all clients associated with the configured share to the CommServe Update Cache as the source for updates.  A UNIX share can no longer be configured for the CommServe Update Cache. Instead, UNIX Clients can be designated as update caches as part of Automatic Updates Multicache Configuration. Once designated as an update cache, a UNIX client can be configured to push out the latest update packages it receives from the CommServe Update Cache to the clients within the CommCell that are selected to receive their updates from this UNIX update cache. For more information, see Configure an Update Cache.
• Upon upgrade, if you had enabled the Get Updates From Share option in the previous release, the software will automatically point all clients associated with the configured share to the CommServe Update Cache as the source for updates.

• Verify the following settings by viewing the Server Properties using the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio:

  In the Memory page, the dynamically configured Maximum memory should be 50% of the physical memory available in the CommServe computer.

• The user defined senders email address is not retained after the upgrade. From the Control Panel, open the E-Mail and IIS Configuration dialog box and specify the e-mail address in the Senders Address box on the E-Mail Server tab.

If you are upgrading the software from 6.1.0 to 8.0.0

• After the upgrade, the storage policy copies with the options Copy most recent full backups when Auxiliary Copy starts and Manually select Full Backups will be converted to the option Do not Automatically select jobs. Any previous auxiliary copy schedules related to the copies with the option Copy most recent full backups when Auxiliary Copy starts should be deleted, and re-created with the option Select most Recent Full backup when Auxiliary Copy starts.

• Find and Retrieve operation schedules created in the previous release will carry over to this release. However, since this type of content indexing is now considered a legacy feature, new data will not be indexed once the CommServe has been upgraded. Therefore, when these scheduled jobs run, no new data will be found. It is recommended that you delete those schedules and create new Search and Retrieve schedules in the current release. For more information, see Schedule a Search and Restore Operation. 

• After upgrading the CommServe, note that the Time delay in minutes before starting the VaultTracker policy option, which was located in the Media Management Configuration (Service Configuration) dialog box, is now available as Start exporting media x minute(s) from the execution time of policy option in the Tracking Policy Details dialog box for each VaultTracker policy. Also, note that this option will be enabled by default for each VaultTracker policy. If you do not wish to use this option, you will have to manually disable it for the specific VaultTracker policy.

• The following registry keys are now available in the Media Management Configuration (Service Configuration) dialog box. (See Change Media Management Service Configurations for step-by-step instructions on how to access this dialog box.)

  • archiverRestoreHistoryLifeSpan is now the Days to keep the archiver restore job histories option.
  • jobHistoryLifeSpan is now the Days to keep the backup job histories option.