CommCell Migration - How To

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Edit the Answer File Before Merging Data in the Destination CommCell

Move a MediaAgent

Move the install folder on a Client or MediaAgent computer

Obtain the List of Media and/or Mount Paths Associated with the Migrated Clients

Migrate Clients to a CommCell in a Different Version

Edit the Answer File Before Merging Data in the Destination CommCell

Before You Begin

Once the data is captured, the answer file must be edited to indicate the libraries, MediaAgents and drive pools that must be mapped to the new storage policy copies. (This step is mandatory before merging the data in the new CommCell.)

If necessary, you can also change the name of the Client  and provide a new name for the Client in the destination CommCell using the answer file.

To edit the Answer File before merging data in the Destination CommCell:

  1. Open the answer file (*.xml) from its saved location.

    Use Internet Explorer (IE) to edit the XML file.

    Ensure that the option Allow active content to run in files on My Computer is enabled in IE from the Tools | Internet Options | Advanced tab.

  2. For tape/optical libraries, in the DataPath Information section, for each Storage_Policy Name and Copy Name combination, enter the Library Alias Name and MediaAgent Name in the new CommCell.

    For magnetic libraries, in the Mount Path Information section, enter the Destination Mount Path and the magnetic Library Alias Name in the new CommCell.

    Note that the above step is mandatory before merging the data in the new CommCell.

  3. If necessary, enter the New Client Name and the New Client Net Host Name in the appropriate boxes.
  4. Click Save.

    The information is saved.

NOTES

If you wish to copy the answer file to a new location before editing it, make sure that you copy the following files:

Make sure to use the edited file as the input to the merge operation in the destination CommCell.

Move a MediaAgent

In the Source CommCell:

  1. Disable the devices and MediaAgent in the source CommCell.

    See Enable (or Disable) the Library and Enable (or Disable) a MediaAgent for step-by-step instructions.

  2. Make sure that the CommServe is inaccessible. You can do this using one of the following methods:

  3. Uninstall the MediaAgent software. (See Uninstalling Components for information on uninstalling components.)

In the Destination CommCell

  1. Install the MediaAgent software in the new computer. See MediaAgent Deployment for more information.
  2. Detect and Configure the devices.

    See Configure Devices for step-by-step instructions.

  3. If necessary run a quick backup to verify that the devices are functioning correctly.
  4. Uninstall the MediaAgent software from the original computer. See Uninstalling Components for more information.
    Do not uninstall the old MediaAgent until the devices start functioning in the new MediaAgent.

Moving the software installation folders

Moving the install folder on a CommServe

  1. Perform a Disaster Recovery Backup on the CommServe and make sure that the associated disaster recovery folder (SET_XXX folder) is saved and available in a safe location. (See Starting a Disaster Recovery Backup for step-by-step instructions.)
  2. Rebuild the CommServe. See Rebuild the CommServe for step-by-step instructions.

Moving the install folder on a Client or MediaAgent computer

  1. Make sure that the CommServe is inaccessible. You can do this using one of the following methods:

  2. Save the Job Results Folder and/or the Index Cache folder to another location.
  3. Uninstall the software. (See Uninstalling Components for information on uninstalling components.)
  4. Make the CommServe accessible again by reversing the action taken in Step 1.
  5. Copy the Job Results Folder and/or the Index Cache folder from the saved location.
  6. Re-install the necessary software.

    During MediaAgent installation make sure to specify the index cache to the location in which it was copied in step 1. If you are unable to do so, perform the steps described in Manually Relocate the Index Cache.

Obtain the List of Media and/or Mount Paths Associated with the Migrated Clients

To obtain a list of media and/or mount paths associated with clients that are permanently migrated:

Use the following procedure to identify the list of media and/or mount paths associated with Clients that are permanently migrated.

  1. Navigate to the folder containing the capture information. (This is the destination folder specified during the capture operation.)
  2. Open the following file, using a text editor:

    CCM_MediaInfo_<numbers>.txt

  3. For a list of media, navigate to the <barcodes> section.

    The barcodes associated with the storage policies and storage policy copies containing the Client data is listed in this section.

  4. For a list of mount path, navigate to the <mount paths> section.

    All the magnetic libraries and their corresponding mount paths containing the Client data is listed in this section.

Migrate Clients to a CommCell in a Different Version

Before You Begin

To perform a crossover migration:

  1. Review Pre-Capture Considerations.
  2. From the destination CommCell copy the commserve_capture.dmp from the <software_installation>\base folder, and save the file in source CommCell. This file will serve as a template to capture the CommCell data in the required format.
  3. From the command line, capture the metadata records from the source CommCell using the CommCellMigration capture command. The client (or list of clients) to be captured must be provided as input in a text file.

    This command captures information from a single client or multiple clients and stores the information in the form of a database on the CommServe. The capture process also creates an answer file which can be edited during the merge operation. This answer file can be created either on the CommServe or on the local client machine. If the database file path is an UNC path, then the command line operation will prompt the user for impersonation details.

    On successful completion, CommCellMigration capture displays the message Capture Successful in the console. In case of an error an error code and the error description will be displayed in the format - capture: Error errorcode: errordescription.

    Usage:

    CommCellMigration capture -crossversion -client clientListFile -dfn dumpfile [-dbn databasename] [-afn answerfile] -sVersion sourceCommCellVersion -dVersion destinationCommCellVersion -dDBTemplate templatefile[-st starttime] [-et endtime] [-u username] [-p password] [-rp dbRestorePath] [-h help]

    Options:

    -crossversion Option to indicate that the migration is a crossover migration.
    -client The text file containing the list of clients to be captured.
    -dfn The full path and name of the dump file stored on the CommServe computer.
    -dbn The name of the database from which you wish to capture data.
    (This is useful when you want to capture data from a database
    other than the current CommServe.)
    -afn The full path and the answer file name on the local Client.
    -st The start date and time from which data will be captured.The Start date and time must be in Unix time format.
    -et The end date and time until which data must be captured.The end date and time must be in Unix time format.
    -u User name, if database location is an UNC path
    -p Password, if database location is an UNC path
    -rp The alternative database restore path.

    This option is useful when migrating clients in the clustered environment. In a cluster, the CommServe binaries are installed on the physical server and the database is located on the shared disk resource. As the capture and merge operations are executed on the physical server that hosts the binaries, the -rp option provides a way to specify the path to the shared disk resource in which the database resides. (if this option is not specified, the command will by default look for the database in the same drive in which the binaries reside and the operation will fail.)
    -sVersion The software version of the source CommCell.
    -dVersion The software version of the destination CommCell.
    -dDBTemplate The template in which the dump file must be captured.
    -h Displays help

    Diagnostics:

    Possible exit status values are:

    0 - Successful completion.
    1 - usage failures, due to the use of an unsupported option or missing argument.
    2 - Any other failure.

    Example:

    E:\commandline>commcellmigration capture  -crossversion -client client.txt -dfn c:\crossoverdb -afn c:\answer1.xml -sVersion 8.0 -dVersion 7.0 -dDBTemplate "c:\commserv_capture.dmp"

    The above command will capture a client information from the text file client.txt, store the information in the dump file crossoverdb.dmp at c:\ on the CommServe computer, and save the answer file at C:\afile on the local client.

  4. Review the Post Capture Considerations and perform the steps as applicable.
  5. Review the Pre-Merge Considerations.
  6. Merge the metadata records from the source CommCell from the command line using the qoperation merge command, as described below:

    Usage:

    qoperation merge -dfn dumpfile [-afn answerfile] [-u username] [-p password] [-cl y|n] [-rt y|n] [-rp alternate database path] [-af argsfile] [-h]

    Description:

    This command merges a given captured database into a target CommCell. The database should reside on the CommServe and the user should supply the database name and the location.

    This command also supports an option to read the answer file for the merge configuration. If the database file path is an UNC path, then the command line prompts the user to enter the impersonation details. You can specify whether or not to consume a license during this merge.

    Upon successful completion, qoperation merge displays the message "Merge Successful" in the console.

    In case of an error, an error code and the error description are displayed in the following format: "merge: Error errorcode: errordescription"

    Options:

    Command Line

    -dfn Path and Dump file name on the CommServe
    -afn Answer file name (with the path) on the client that was generated during capture
    -u User name, if database location is an UNC path
    -p Password, if database location is an UNC path
    -cl y or n - This option determines whether a licenses is consumed or not for the merged client.
    -rt y or n - This option determines whether or not to mark the media as reusable in the new CommCell.
    • If the answer is set to 'Y', the media will be reused even if the library option to use media from a different CommCell is disabled.
    • If the answer is set to 'N', you can later select the media for reuse at the destination CommCell using the Mark Migrated Media Reusable option.
    -rp Alternative database restore path.

    This option is useful when migrating clients in the clustered environment. In a cluster, the CommServe binaries are installed on the physical server and the database is located on the shared disk resource. As the capture and merge operations are executed on the physical server that hosts the binaries, the -rp option provides a way to specify the path to the shared disk resource in which the database resides. (if this option is not specified, the command will by default look for the database in the same drive in which the binaries reside and the operation will fail.)
    -af Reads arguments from a file
    -h Displays help

    Argument File

    dumpfilename [string] Path and Dump file name on the CommServe
    answerfile [string] Answer file name (with the path) on the client that was generated during capture
    consumelicense [y|n] This option determines whether a licenses is consumed or not for the merged client.
    reusetapes [y|n] This option determines whether or not to mark the media as reusable in the new CommCell.
    • If the answer is set to 'Y', the media will be reused even if the library option to use media from a different CommCell is disabled.
    • If the answer is set to 'N', you can later select the media for reuse at the destination CommCell using the Mark Migrated Media Reusable option.
    user [string] User name
    password [string] Password

    Diagnostics:

    Possible exit status values are:

    0 - Successful completion.
    1 - CLI usage failures, due to the use of an unsupported option or missing argument.
    2 - Any other failure.

    Example:

    Merge using dump file c:\capturedump.dmp on the CommServe, and read the answer file at C:\test.xml on the local client.
    E:\commandline>qoperation merge -dfn c:\capturedump.dmp -afn c:\test.xml

  7. Review the Post Merge Considerations and perform the steps as applicable.