Upgrade the CommServe - Clustered Environment

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The procedure in this page describes the steps involved in upgrading the CommServe in the virtual servers (active and passive nodes) in a clustered environment. This procedure provides steps for upgrading the CommServe only.

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.

Verify and ensure that you have permanent license before upgrading the CommServe. You may encounter irrecoverable failure, if you upgrade using an evaluation license.

If you are upgrading the software from 7.0.0 to 8.0.0

  • The upgrade can be initiated from any one of the physical nodes. When a physical node is upgraded, all the virtual installations associated with that instance are automatically upgraded. (Virtual nodes need not be upgraded separately.)

    When the software is upgraded on a physical node, the upgrade program facilitates the upgrade of the remaining physical nodes in the cluster by displaying a list of all the available physical nodes. You can select the appropriate nodes in which the software must be upgraded.

If you are upgrading the software from 6.1.0 to 8.0.0

  • Upgrade the physical nodes prior to upgrading the virtual server. Similarly upgrade the active node first before upgrading the passive nodes.
  • The upgrade must be initiated on the active node. It is recommended that both the active and passive nodes are available during the upgrade process. The program provides the option to automatically upgrade the passive nodes.  If necessary, you can also manually upgrade the passive nodes if they are not available. (See Manually Upgrading the Software on a Passive Node for step-by-step instructions.)
  • Agent upgrades must be performed in the following order:
    • Windows File System iDataAgent must be first upgraded on all the physical nodes in the cluster prior to attempting any virtual server upgrades.
    • Other Agents can then be upgraded on the virtual server.

Supported Upgrade Paths

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.

Installed Version

Upgrade to Version 8.0.0

Information
     
6.1.0 Supported Perform a direct upgrade to Version 8.0.0.
     
7.0.0 Supported Perform a direct upgrade to Version 8.0.0.

Upgrade Requirements

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

  • In a clustered CommServe, the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 database instance must be upgraded as explained in step 14. Do not upgrade the Microsoft SQL Server before the 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.

Before You Begin
  • Ensure that you are logged on as the Domain User with administrative privileges to all nodes in the cluster.

Upgrade Procedure
1. In this screen, you choose the language you want to use during installation. Click the down arrow, select the desired language from the pull-down list, and click Next to continue.  
2. Select the option to install software.

NOTES

  
3. Select the option to install software on this computer.

NOTES

  • The options that appear on this screen depend on the computer in which the software is being installed.
  
4. Read the Welcome screen.

Click Next to continue, if no other applications are running.
5. Read the virus scanning software warning.

Click OK to continue, if virus scanning software is disabled.
6. Read the license agreement, then select I accept the terms in the license agreement.

Click Next to continue.

7. Select Configure a Virtual Server.

Click Next to continue.
8. Select the disk group in which the virtual server resides.

Click Next to continue.

9. Click Next to continue with the upgrade.

NOTES

  • New components from this version can only be installed after upgrading the existing components.
  • The older version number depends on the version in the computer and may look different from the example shown.
10. Click Yes to continue. This will not save any files (such as command line scripts) or folders from the <software installation path> folder.

NOTES

  • The upgrade process deletes and replaces this folder with newer files.

    To preserve files or folders within the <software installation path> folder, move them to another location before clicking Yes.

  • Clicking No will exit the upgrade program.
11. Click OK to continue with the uninstall of the CommCell Console.

NOTES

If installed, the CommCell Console is automatically uninstalled as part of the CommServe upgrade in a Clustered environment.
12. Click Yes to backup the CommServe database.

NOTES

  • Clicking No will abort the upgrade.
  • The size of the CommServe Disaster Recovery depends on the size of the CommServe Database Engine in your environment and may may look different from the example shown.
13. Click OK to continue.
14. Click OK to exit the upgrade process to upgrade the CommServe Database Engine to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (Enterprise Edition) with the appropriate service pack. See System Requirements - CommServe for more information.

NOTES

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 can be upgraded from the following location in the Software Installation Discs:

    \INTEL32\SQL2005\SQL_Enterprise_Edition\Servers\setup.exe

    \AMD64\SQL2005\SQL_Enterprise_Edition\Servers\setup.exe

    Refer to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 documentation for information on how to upgrade the SQL Server.

  • Before upgrading the SQL Server, install the .NET Framework package from the Software Installation Discs. The package is available in the appropriate folder for each platform as follows:

    32-bit:  INTEL32\Bin\DotNetFramework\2.0\dotnetfx.exe

    X64:     AMD64\Bin\DotNetFramework\2.0\NetFx64.exe

  • Once you upgrade the Microsoft SQL Server you can resume the upgrade from this point.
15. Click Yes to resume the upgrade.

NOTES

  • This screen will be displayed when you resume the upgrade.
  • Clicking No will start the upgrade from the beginning. (Not recommended)
16. Specify the SQL Server System Administrator password.

NOTES

  • This is the password for the administrator's account created by SQL during the installation.

Click Next to continue.
17. Click Yes to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or click No if you would like to use the JRE Version already available in your computer.

NOTES

  • This prompt will be displayed only if the computer is running a JRE version prior to the one supplied in this installation program or no JRE version is available at all. See System Requirements - CommServe for more information on JRE versions.
18. Specify the location from which the database upgrade scripts should be copied for use during the upgrade process or use the default location.

Click Next to continue.

NOTES

  • The upgrade program copies the necessary database scripts to the install location before running them.
  • In most cases you can use the default location. If you have been provided with custom scripts from Customer Support, click the Browse button to choose the appropriate location in which the custom scripts are available.
19. Select Download Pack(s) and Install to download and install the latest service packs and post packs from the software provider.

NOTES

  • Internet connectivity is required to download updates.
  • This step is applicable when installing on the first instance.
  • Updates are downloaded to the following directory: 
    <software installation>/Base/Temp/DownloadedPacks    .
    They are launched silently and installed automatically for the first instance.

Click Next to continue.
20. Verify the summary and Click Next to continue.

NOTES

  • The Summary on your screen will reflect the components installed on the computer, and may look different from the example shown.

The upgrade program now starts the upgrade process. This step may take several minutes to complete.
21. Click Yes to stop the World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC).

NOTES

  • Clicking No will abort the upgrade.
22. Click Yes to start the World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC).

NOTES

  • You can continue without starting the service.
23. To install/upgrade the software on the remaining nodes of the cluster, click Yes.

To complete the install for this node only, click No.
24. Select cluster nodes from the Preferred Nodes list and click the arrow button to move them to the Selected Nodes list.

NOTES

  • The list of Preferred Nodes displays all the nodes found in the cluster; from this list you should only select cluster nodes configured to host this virtual server.
  • Do not select nodes that already have multiple instances installed. For more information, see Multi Instancing.

When you have completed your selections, click Next to continue.
25. Type the User Name and Password for the Domain Administrator account, so that the installer can perform the remote install/upgrade of the cluster nodes you selected in the previous step.

Click Next to continue.
26. The progress of the remote upgrade for the cluster nodes is displayed; the upgrade can be interrupted if necessary.

Click Stop to prevent upgrade to any nodes after the current ones complete.

Click Advanced Settings to specify any of the following:

  • Maximum number of nodes on which Setup can run simultaneously.
  • Time allocated for Setup to begin executing on each node, after which the upgrade attempt will fail.
  • Time allocated for Setup to complete on each node, after which the upgrade attempt will fail.

NOTES

  • If, during the remote upgrade of a cluster node, setup fails to complete or is interrupted, you must perform a local upgrade on that node. When you do, the upgrade begins from where it left off, or from the beginning if necessary. For procedures, see Manually Upgrading the Software on a Passive Node.
27. Read the result for the passive node upgrade to verify whether the passive node upgrade was successful.

NOTES

  • If the passive node upgrade fails, you must manually upgrade the passive node once the active node upgrade is complete. (See Manually Upgrading the Software on a Passive Node for step-by-step instructions.)
  • The Result message displayed on your screen will reflect the status of the passive node upgrade, and may look different from the example.

Click Next to continue.
28. Click Finish to complete the upgrade.

NOTES

  • The Completion Report will reflect the components upgraded on the computer, and may look different from the example shown.

The upgrade is now complete.

Post-Upgrade Considerations

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.

Cluster/Firewall

  • If the CommServe is configured to communicate across a firewall, the following firewall related files must be manually copied from the active node to all the passive nodes:
    • <software installation path>/<software installation folder>/Base/FwHosts.txt
    • <software installation path>/<software installation folder>/Base/FwPeers.txt
    • <software installation path>/<software installation folder>/Base/FwPorts.txt

    If for some reason the passive node is currently active, make sure to stop and restart Services after copying the files.

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.

  • If the CommCell Console was uninstalled in Step 11, you can now re-install the CommCell Console if necessary. See Deployment - CommCell Console for links to step-by-step install procedures.

  • 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.