24x7 Upgrade and Console Migration Process ?

Hi,

I've currently got 24x7 version 3.4.16 running on around 20 NT4 Servers including the 24x7 Console Server.

I'm now looking to migrate some of these NT4 Servers to Windows 2003 and at the same time migrate the 24x7 Console onto a Windows 2003 Server.

I will be unable to migrate all the NT4 servers to Windows 2003 for several months so I need tobe able to interoperate with NT4 and Windows 2003.

What's the best process to follow ?

Will version 3.4.16 happily coexist with vesrion 3.4.27 ?

When migrating the existing NT4 Console (v3.4.16) to Windows 2003 can I simply migrate the console (how?) and then upgrade it to V3.4.27 ? or should I upgrade the NT4 Console to V3.4.27 first and then migrate it (how?) to Windows 2003 ?

I would obviously like to minimise disruption to service as much as possible.

Also are there any "gotchas" when upgrading existing NT4 clients at V3.4.16 to V3.4.27 ?

Thanks for the assistance.

Jim

To the best of my knowledge, you can run 24x7 on WinNT4 and Win2003 at the same time. This is not an issue. The internal communication protocols used between 3.4.16 and 3.4.27 should be also compatible so you can run 3.4.16 as independent systems parallel to 3.4.27 or as agents for 3.4.27.

I am not so sure about using the 24x7 Remote Control. I don't have anything that described specifically use of it with older versions. I suggest trying installing 3.4.16 on a test system and checking if it can be successfully updated using remote control from 3.4.27. This should be fairly easy. If you don't get any errors during job updates and job properties look good after update, you can use it. Otherwise, you should avoid using cross-version. In the latest case you would need to have both versions installed on the same computer in different folders and use them to manage same versions of schedulers.

For the "gotchas" I would like to mention 3 things.

1. Win2003 virtualizes certain parts of the registry. If different people start 24x7 on the same computer or use terminal services they can potentially make Win2003 swap 24x7 settings in the registry depending on the user login. So if you setup it using SysOp account but then start 24x7 as a service using some other account, that other account may get from the registry not what SysOp has entered in 24x7 settings.

2. Win2003 has tighter security controls and greater use of Active Directory. If you run 24x7 using admin or domain user accounts you may need to enable certain permissions than what is enabled for these accounts by default. (the actual permissions depend on jobs need requirements)

3. Since you are planning to do such a massive update, consider going to 24x7 Multi-platform version 4.1. This is a more robust version with more features and a greater scalability, not to mention that doesn't use Windows registry or certain other Windows version specific things and it can run on many different systems including, Linux, Unix, MacOS, mainframe. The Multi-platform version can use 24x7 v3.4 as its agents, so you can upgrade in several phases. The 24x7 Remote Control option is gone in that release, but on the other hand there is more robust version of the 24x7 Web-based console and also command line console. The only missing feature at the moment is support for JAL scripts but you can always run your old JAL jobs using 24x7.exe /JOB [job id] command and use the scripting engine from the old version to edit and run JAL scripts. Native support for JAL scripts will be added in coming releases so that future transition should be more or less transparent.

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt response - much appreciated :)

I think that I understand the majority of your response - but I will digest it for a litlle longer and come back with forther questions if necessary.

One point you don't seem to have covered is the actual process of migrating an existing 24x7 installation from one PC to another - such as I wish to do in this case from the NT4 Pc to a Windows 2000 PC - how do I transfer the current settings/jobs etc. from the NT PC to the W2003 PC ?

And regarding upgrading existing clients from 3.4.16 to 3.4.27 I presume that it's simply a matter of running the setup for the newer version and it will retain the existing configuration etc. ?

Thanks,

Jim

Hi,

I assume you know which files are referenced in scheduled jobs and know where to find them and how to transfer them. I mean batch files, data files, whatever else is called from your jobs.

These files should be copied to same folders on the new system in order not to change anything in the job settings. Files should also retain the same permissions.

To transfer 24x7 stuff, I recommend the following method
1. Install the software on the new system, but don't start it yet
2. Use regedit utility to export "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SoftTree Technologies, Inc.\24x7 Scheduler\3.0" registry key to a text file with .REG extension. On the new computer double click on that file and confirm that you want to load it into the registry. This will copy all global settings from the old system
3. Copy the job database file to the new system, same folder.

That’s it. Stop 24x7 on the old system and start 24x7 on the new one.

Hi again - and thanks for the reply.

Is the database file the 24x7.dbs file stored under my "24x7 Automation 3" directory ?

Also does the registry key remain the same under W2003 ?

Thanks,

Jim

Job database file has .DAT extension by default. Yet, file names can be changed by users and there could be several files created with .DAT extension in the same folder. You need the file whose name is displayed in 24x7 Scheduler title bar and which is also referenced in the mentioned registry settings.

The part of the registry that you are going to copy is the same across all systems.

Many thanks - I'll check that out now.

Jim