Moving Call Manager --> New Servers 1

[snootalope]

Hey guys!

I got a migration comming up here shortly that involves returing our currently leased servers for new ones. So, I'm looking into how I can move my current publisher and subscriber, BOTH, no new machines and still retain all my user /environment information.

I'm almost certain it's just a matter of copying the db's over, but i can't find anything on Cisco's web site about migrating. Does any know where I can find a white sheet on this, or if you've done this before, how'd ya pull it!??

Also, I have a Unity server that also needs to be moved to a new machine. Thanks for any help guys!!!

FYI: don't know if this is a huge deal, but when we move our stuff over, our new server will be CCM 4.0 instead of our current 3.3(3) --- thanks again!

 

[AdmanOK]

Check out the Cisco document called "Upgrading Cisco CallManager Release 4.0(1) - Replacing Servers During the Upgrade"... It should cover exactly what you are wanting to do.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/customer...stallation_guide_chapter09186a00801ed10a.html

 

[jerake75]

I got burned badly by Cisco TAC on our upgrade from 3.3.4 to 4.1.2; two pieces of incorrect information from TAC and six hours of my life that I'll never get back. We wiped out our existing servers and installed a fresh copy of 4.1.2, but we wanted to restore our data via BARS. TAC said to follow the procedures listed in the "Replacing Servers During the Upgrade" section, which was basically what we wanted to do, without replacing any servers. There's one thing they neglect to mention: you cannot restore a 3.3 backup to a server running 4.1 (you may want to check on that for 4.0, but I'm pretty sure it's the same).

If you want to restore all your data via BARS, instead of doing a fresh re-import via BAT, then you must upgrade your publisher CCM from 3.3(3) to 4.0, run a BARS backup, do a fresh install on your new servers, and then restore your data. That method worked perfectly for us (after two failed TAC-approved attempts). I eventually found the method I used listed in the 4.1.2 Troubleshooting Guide.

What happened to us may not be the case going from 3.3 to 4.0, but it's something to keep in mind.

TMH

 

[snootalope]

Figures!! I learned a long time ago not to trust every word TAC said.... here's a response i got from one of their techs:

"In order to be able to restore to CCM 4.x, you must back up your 3.3.3 installation using the BARS utility and not the legacy STI Backup utility. BARS backs up the DC Directory, where your user information is stored, so it really takes care of migrating all of your settings including your users."

He's telling me to do exactly what you've proven doesn't work!! What to do?!?! Should I seriously look into upgrading our current 3.3.3's into 4.0 or what??

thanks a million man..

 

[jerake75]

Can I ask why you're not considering 4.1.2? I am very impressed with it...very high memory usage on the publisher CCM, but apparently that's expected, and it doesn't affect server operations at all. Overall, very very stable. We skipped 4.0 entirely due to all the bugginess I read about on the Cisco forums and all the bugs I ran into on my test servers (4.0 has actual memory problems, also).

In any event, the golden rule is: you can never restore an older version of a backup to a newer version of the CCM software (believe me, I have tried - it doesn't work, BARS will tell you it's the wrong database version).

Here's the method I used (and this was on our production boxes, which are running great). Substitute 4.0 where it says 4.1.2:

PUBLISHER CCM:

1a. Pull a drive out (we have 3 MCS-7835-1000's)
1. Upgrade Publisher CCM to 4.1.2, a straight upgrade from the 4.1.2 CD's.
2. Disable/Uninstall CSA (we uninstalled it to be safe)
3. Disable AntiVirus
4. Run/Install BARS 4.0.5 (or latest)
5. Perform a backup using BARS 4.0.5 to a network drive
6. Insert the 2000.2.4 OS CD (NOTE: our server models do not have a DVD drive, which OS 2000.2.6 comes on, and 4.1.2 requires 2000.2.6. So, you install 2000.2.4, then upgrade to 2000.2.6; Cisco lists this in the 4.1.2 Installation Guide). This will wipe out your servers and install a clean OS image.
7. Upgrade to 2000.2.6 using the web *.exe download file (do not install the Service Release for 2000.2.6)
8. Install CCM 4.1.2 from CD's
9. Install BARS 4.0.5
10. Using BARS, run a restore (this will work, because you backed up your database while the publisher was running CCM 4.1.2...)

SUBSCRIBER CCM'S:

11. Pull a drive.
12. Repeat steps 6 through 8 (OS and CCM installation)
13. Make sure your subscribers get a copy of the database.
14. Install OS Service Release for 2000.2.6 on all three servers, CSA, Antivirus, etc.

__

Pulling a drive (our servers have two HDD's, mirrored) before the publisher upgrade literally saved my skin with the first installation attempt didn't work. I was back up and running 3.3.4 on the publisher in 20 minutes.

TMH

 

[snootalope]

Good stuff..

So, my main goal here is to get my CCM's on new/faster servers.

So, I should do this:

1. Upgrade my existing 3.3 Publisher to 4.1.2 IN PLACE
2. CSA??? I'm not sure what this is so i'll have to research it still..
3. Installs BARS/do a complete backup.

--

4. on the new server with a 4.1.2 installation --> install 2000.2.6
5. Install BARS again, run the restore.

--

6-who knows. proceed to do the same with the publisher than as well..

does that sound right then?

 

[jerake75]

You'll have to go from 3.3(3) to 3.3(4) first; upgrades to 4.1.2 from 3.3(3) aren't supported according to their compatibility matrix.

So, if you want to go to 4.1.2, the upgrade path would be 3.3(3) to 3.3(4) to 4.1.2.

1. With either 4.0 or 4.1.2, yes you'd have to upgrade your publisher in place, then wipe it out with a fresh OS install.
2. CSA = Cisco Security Agent; it's a standalone agent that provides intrustion detection. Runs very nice on the CCM's (Unity, however, is a different story).
3. Yep, install BARS and do a complete backup. When I went from the STI software to BARS, I uninstalled, at TAC's direction, the STI software, rebooted, and the STI icon in the task tray came up upon reboot...that's okay - installing BARS will remove it, it tries to find the STI software on a new install.
4. On the new server, yes, do a straight install of 2000.2.6. On the older ones, upgrade from 2000.2.4 to 2000.2.6.
5. Yes, run the restore, and it will work.

We are also getting new, faster servers, actually in a few months; I plan on using the step-by-step instructions I used on our old servers on our new servers - a clean install on all three servers, and a restore of our database (phones, users, etc.) from backup.

I know, this can get confusing real fast, but this is my fifth upgrade, second reinstallation...Cisco's documentation on 3.3.X to 4.X upgrade procedures really stink.

 

[jerake75]

I should also add that I have had weird LDAP/DCDirectory issues since the restore, but nothing that is affecting user functionality such as Extension Mobility, Softphone, or CCMUser access. It's just driving me slowly insane, no big deal as far as Cisco is concerned, apparently.

After the install/restore, I went to update a device association on a user account...well, it returned an LDAP error -32. When I went back to the user details page, all assocations - EM, Softphone, devices, all checkboxes - were gone. The user still existed, I had to reassociate everything back to it. This gets extremely annoying after, oh, the 20th user out of 600+. Tried to run BAT and update a group of users, but it did the same thing - error-ed out, and I had to manually reassociate all devices.

I recreated my installation on my test lab, and the same thing happened. TAC mentioned something about a malformed OU in the LDAP directory on a 4.1.2 install, but I never could get a straight answer out of them.

If anyone else runs into this, I would love to hear from you, if nothing else but to confirm that I am not alone on this issue...

TMH

 

[snootalope]

Well, getting my hands on 3.3(4) could be the biggest problem..

In you post before last you say:
"yes you'd have to upgrade your publisher in place, then wipe it out with a fresh OS install."

I'm moving this to a new server, so why is it that I have to wipe out that server BEFORE I do a backup? I'm kind of confused.. If it's sitting as 4.x after the upgrade, isn't that good enough for a back up?

thanks man

 

[jerake75]

Sorry, I keep forgetting you're moving to a new server. No, you don't have to wipe it out; all you have to do is upgrade the publisher all the way to 4.1.2, then do a backup. Then, do a clean install on your new server that will act as the publisher, and then restore the backup to your new server running 4.1.2.

If you have a CCO login, you should be able to just download the web upgrade file for 3.3.4...

TMH

 

[snootalope]

sweet.. I do have a CCO and i've been browing the CCM downloads..

I'm seeing Upgrade Assistant Utilities, Maintanence Upgrades, and multi-fix pathches.. which do I grab? all of them?

So I want to go from 3.3.3 to 3.3.4 right? This can't be to difficult and riskfull is it? I've never done upgrades on CCM's before, so sorry if i sound stupid, but does this require rebooting, backing up, restoring, etc?

 

[snootalope]

Forgot to ask this as well: Where do I download the OS upgrades from? Is that Cisco deal or from Microsoft? Can I see what version I have right now?? cause, i have no clue.. sad huh

 

[BuckWeet]

Anyone know where to get the 4.1 upgrade or 4.1 install CD??

I have the 4.0.1 and am waiting on the 4.1 to be released..


BuckWeet

 

[jerake75]

Maintenance Upgrades are things like the CCM software upgrades and their related service releases.

So, for 3.3.4, you'd need to download the 3.3.4 full service release *.exe, and the maintenance upgrade or Service Release (SR); the latest one for 3.3.4 would be sr4, I think. It's important to put on the SR for 3.3.4 before you go to 4.1.2.

The Upgrade Assistant is a requirement, I believe, in the upgrade procedures. You download and install the Upgrade Assistant on each of your servers, and it tells you of any problems you may have and that you must fix before the upgrade. That's all listed in the upgrade procedures for 3.3.4, which can be found at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/prod_installation_guide09186a0080204011.html

Also, the guide for using the Upgrade Assistant can be found at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/prod_installation_guide09186a00801ff0e0.html

The OS images and their associated Service Releases are provided by Cisco; you must use these, or the CCM installation will fail. If you browse to the CallManager software download page, there will be a link someone at the top of the page that says something like, "Download Operating System, BIOS Updates and CallManager Cryptographic Software;" the OS files and their SR's will be in there. You may have to fill out a short form to gain access to the crypto page, no big deal.

Going from 3.3.3 (a version I really, really liked) to 3.3.4 was no big deal. I don't know what OS version you're currently running, but if I were you, I'd upgrade the OS to 2000.2.6 plus the latest SR, and then upgrade to 3.3.4; this is a good thing to do now, because the 4.1.2 upgrade you'll eventually have to perform requires OS 2000.2.6. The upgrade procedure itself is not difficult; the executables are almost fully automated and you just provide some basic info to get them started. So, to go to 3.3.4, your basic guidelines would be:

1. Upgrade to OS version 2000.2.6 (if you're not there already)
2. Install the latest OS service release
3. Upgrade CCM to 3.3.4

The upgrade instructions found at the link provided above go through all of this in more detail.

No worries about sounding stupid - you should have seen me the first time I planned a CCM upgrade, I felt like such an idiot. And, of course, TAC was little or no help at all. When starting any OS upgrade, always upgrade the OS first, then upgrade the CCM software; always make sure you have a good backup using BARS before you start; if you have mirrored hard drives in your servers, always always always pull a drive before you start your publisher upgrade, it will save you tons of work in the end. That spare hard drive is a good saftey net to have.

TMH

 

[jerake75]

BuckWeet:

The 4.1.2 CD's are orderable through the Cisco Product Upgrade Tool(did my production install off the CD's). When I ordered them, they were still on new product hold; don't know if they have taken them off that yet. They officially started shipping the 4.1.2 CD's in October 2004.

TMH

 

[jerake75]

Oh, and to answer your question about which OS version you have: I believe, in 3.3.3, if you click on the Start menu, at the top of the menu it should have a link that says Cisco OS Version. If it's there, it will tell you your OS version, SR version, everything. I can't remember if that was put in on 3.3.3 or not, I think it was...

TMH

 

[snootalope]

ok, one more question and I'll leave you alone...

If i'm reading the information documentation correctly, it says to start the upgrade process with the publisher. Right?

Regardless, when you upgrade, do you disconnect the publisher/subscriber from the network? Any other physical tasks (got the HDD pull for sure) I should look into before doing this??

 

[jerake75]

Yep, you always start any CCM upgrade with the publisher (that's a hard and fast rule, so it can get the updated database version first, then as you do the subscribers, they pull a fresh copy of the updated database).

We have never disconnected any of our CCM's from the network; it's better, actually, if they stay connected. Once the publisher is upgraded, you'll have two different versions of CCM on the network, and they will not talk to one another. You'll probably see random errors in the subscribers about not being able to pull a copy of the database, but that's okay, the subscribers will run off their own local copy until they are upgraded.

Also, while you are upgrading, failover for phones will occur, limiting call processing interruptions, so if you need to have phone service during the upgrade, leave the subcribers connected to the network. All phones will still do call processing functions through their subscriber CCM. For example, after you upgrade the publisher and move on to the first subscriber, while that subscriber is being upgraded, the phones will fail over to their secondary CCM (I don't know how you have your failover set up, though - that's how we work it, it works out pretty well).

No other hardware stuff that I can think of...oh, make sure you perform the upgrade with two hard drives in the server; you used to be able to do an upgrade with just one hard drive, but Cisco now requires two HDD's in the server during an upgrade. I have one spare drive per CCM server, so I pull a drive, replace it, and let it rebuild before I start the upgrade.

And ask all the questions you want - this is all stuff that I pretty much had to figure out on my own. If you follow the instructions in the Cisco installation manual (at least for 3.3.4), you'll be fine. The 4.1.2 install is a bit tricker when going from 3.3 to 4.1.2.

TMH

 

[snootalope]

Gotcha..

Just found that running the ?:\Utils\MCSver.exe will bring up your currunt OS ver and SQL ver.. we're running 2000.2.4

So, I get to install the upgrade to 2000.2.6 first, then the 2000.2.6 sr7, then the 3.3.3->3.3.4, then the 3.3.4->4.1.2, then restore everything which probably won't work right and take me another day to figure it out, and finally quit my job cause I'm probably going to have a nervous breakdown by then!!!

 

[jerake75]

I thought you might be running 2000.2.4; 3.3.3 requires that OS. The software upgrade path you listed is correct.

I'm right there with you on the nervous breakdown; it took us a day and a half to get the 4.1.2 install completely done due to the six-hour delay, and I have more grey hairs now than I did before the install...

TMH