R11.3 migration Tips and Tricks

[Anon Anon]

Hi,

We're in the early fase of a migration from 4.5.1 to R11.3. Now I've read a lot of documentation from CA itself, but the thing I really miss is a Tips and Tricks document. There have been many of you who have done this migration already. What are your findings?
Is there a document available that describes Tips ands Tricks of a 4.5.1 to R11.3 migration?

It doesn't matter if this is a CA document or not.

Looking forward to some answers.

Cheers,

Danny

[RAMON FERRERIS]

Hi:

I am almost done with the 4.5.1 to R11.3 migration.

I will put it this way:

1) Get all the software you will need. I mean if is for unix, everything for unix and include the patches, sp's and hotfixes, there are already a handful of them..
2) Plain it on paer first. (What server, server names, ports and wcc port (8080 vs. 80) eem plan the policies ahead of time.
3) set up a small test server or if you are like me . Climb into the edge of the sword. and do it on the final setup.
4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain.
5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers.
6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time.
7) Move 1 or 2 groups at a time, but schedule it so you have people available to work with you in case issues happen.
8) I will add more as I find it.

[Anon Anon]

Ramon,

Much appreciated.

Couple of questions regarding your post:

1.
"4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain."

How did you migrate the Jobs? Just an autorep (export) in the 4.5.1. envoirement and a jill command (import) in the R11.3 envoirement?

2.
"5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers."

What do you mean by this? I can only deploy the agent servers if the appliction server and DB are running. Please enlighten me...

3.
"6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time."

Any more tips about the EEM? I bet this will give me some problems in the beginning (security software always give problems).

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Danny

[RAMON FERRERIS]

In re:

1.
"4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I
have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it
was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain."

How did you migrate the Job? Just an autorep (export) in the 4.5.1.
environment and a jill command (import) in the R11.3 environment?


The issue I had was that I have around 400 servers and the day I started
to use datamover a percentage of the servers did not have the agent
loaded.. So after loading the data via Datamover jobs started to run,
So I had to stop everything and decided to dump all the data at that
point.

The next approach was to go back and create jils based on Groups and
machines for each group. This proved to be better and somewhat faster
for us since it allowed us to spend time with each application and group
fixing the new issues encountered with the jobs. I DO believe that the
4.5x agent was more lenient in regards the bad programming used in many
applications. Programmers fault. And Yes I was a programmer and I
committed the same sins in the beginning. So I can work with the
programmers cleaning up the problems ( I have done programming --
mainframe to PC'S)

Back to this, well moving a group allow us to also use the time to train
in the use of the new WCC.

DM also moves the users in the autosys_secure with the old server name, so
you need to go back and change that.



2.
"5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers."

What do you mean by this? I can only deploy the agent servers if the
application server and DB are running. Please enlighten me...


I worked with the Unix and windows group so they could send the agent
software to the current servers, this way I saved time since we are
leaving the old 4.5 and get the r11 in place and later as we move the
servers(agents) to the new r11, I removed the software and Oracle
information, thus disabling the old 4.5 and during the change we can test
the job in one or the other side.


3.
"6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and
DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the
EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time."

Any more tips about the EEM? I bet this will give me some problems in the
beginning (security software always give problems).


Some people are loading eem and wcc on redhats, If it works for you fine,
in my case I was having all kind of funny issues, like while using Active
Directory, the Active directory just plain dropped from the picture, thus
not allowing me to access anything via the WCC or the command line.

Keeping the 2 redhats in sync (although using multiwrite) was the most
ok, something's took over 5 minutes to update each other.

Also, now with the split of functions under EEM, like the autosys -
WorkloadControl and WCC003 you have to be sure about how you do the
policies to lock down the user access.

Some times a policy in WCC might work, but if you are not careful with the
workload portion it becomes disable.

In all I think I will give EEM an improvement grade. Just be sure that
if you use Active Directory you can access it 99 percent of the time
otherwise you can not edit, but it will allow running job to continue
running even if the job can not create data.

ex: I run an autorep -m --- every time the AD dropped, I used to get the
report, with no data. It was annoying at best.











Thanks
Ramon
Desk: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]





From: "CA Workload Automation (Distributed) Global User Community"
<[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]"
<[e-mail]>,
Date: 08/17/2012 03:57 AM
Subject: [CA AutoSys Workload Automation General Discussion] RE:
R11.3 migration Tips and Tricks



Ramon,

Much appreciated.

Couple of questions regarding your post:

1.
"4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I
have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it
was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain."

How did you migrate the Job? Just an autorep (export) in the 4.5.1.
envoirement and a jill command (import) in the R11.3 envoirement?

2.
"5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers."

What do you mean by this? I can only deploy the agent servers if the
appliction server and DB are running. Please enlighten me...

3.
"6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and
DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the
EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time."

Any more tips about the EEM? I bet this will give me some problems in the
beginning (security software always give problems).

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Danny
Posted by:Hilgie
--
CA Communities Message Boards
98835718

[e-mail]
https://communities.ca.com


*************************** IMPORTANT
NOTE*****************************-- The opinions expressed in this
message and/or any attachments are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., its
subsidiaries and affiliates ("BBH"). There is no guarantee that
this message is either private or confidential, and it may have
been altered by unauthorized sources without your or our knowledge.
Nothing in the message is capable or intended to create any legally
binding obligations on either party and it is not intended to
provide legal advice. BBH accepts no responsibility for loss or
damage from its use, including damage from virus.
*******************************************************************************

[Anon Anon]

Ramon,

Thanks again for your information. I've not started with the migration. I'm currently starting with some test servers. Just to 'play' arround with for some time and figure things out. We're moving away from the Unix servers (for the application) and go to an 'all windows envoirement' (company's choice).

I'll bet I've got more questions when I'm in this process. For now, your info is much appreciated.

Regards,

Danny

[RAMON FERRERIS]

Personally, I think I will push to keep the Scheduler/App server under
Solaries as first choice, second will be Windows 2008, then the RedHat.

I have been running the eventors 3.4 to now under Solaries and they have
been extremely reliable.

But if you are planning to use ALL windows, then go ahead and use the
Active Directory.



Thanks
Ramon
Desk: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]





From: "CA Workload Automation (Distributed) Global User Community"
<[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]"
<[e-mail]>,
Date: 08/20/2012 05:25 AM
Subject: RE: Re: [CA AutoSys Workload Automation General
Discussion] RE: R11.3 migra



Ramon,

Thanks again for your information. I've not started with the migration.
I'm currently starting with some test servers. Just to 'play' arround with
for some time and figure things out. We're moving away from the Unix
servers (for the application) and go to an 'all windows envoirement'
(company's choice).

I'll bet I've got more questions when I'm in this process. For now, your
info is much appreciated.

Regards,

Danny
Posted by:Hilgie
--
CA Communities Message Boards
98854706

[e-mail]
https://communities.ca.com


*************************** IMPORTANT
NOTE*****************************-- The opinions expressed in this
message and/or any attachments are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., its
subsidiaries and affiliates ("BBH"). There is no guarantee that
this message is either private or confidential, and it may have
been altered by unauthorized sources without your or our knowledge.
Nothing in the message is capable or intended to create any legally
binding obligations on either party and it is not intended to
provide legal advice. BBH accepts no responsibility for loss or
damage from its use, including damage from virus.
*******************************************************************************

[Anon Anon]

Hi,

Just to comment on what Ramon said about datamover....we've had a number of customers, including very large customers, who have successfully taken the "big bang" approach to migration, and that includes the use of datamover. I know there were some issues with it earlier, but the recent versions of it are pretty good. As always, your approach to doing a migration totally depends on your specific situation so I wouldn't try to discourage either way.

Thanks,
Peter

[Anon Anon]

ramon.ferreris wrote:

Hi:

I am almost done with the 4.5.1 to R11.3 migration.

I will put it this way:

1) Get all the software you will need. I mean if is for unix, everything for unix and include the patches, sp's and hotfixes, there are already a handful of them..
2) Plain it on paer first. (What server, server names, ports and wcc port (8080 vs. 80) eem plan the policies ahead of time.
3) set up a small test server or if you are like me . Climb into the edge of the sword. and do it on the final setup.
4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain.
5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers.
6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time.
7) Move 1 or 2 groups at a time, but schedule it so you have people available to work with you in case issues happen.
8) I will add more as I find it.

Ramon,

Did you enconter problems with EMM/WCC? The install of AE (server/Db/client/agents) was quite easy. But the WCC and EMM is giving me a headache!! Any tips for me? It's still not running smotthly. All is up, but when I log into WCC I don't see anything at all. No servers, nop jobs, nothing.

Cheers,

Danny

[RAMON FERRERIS]

Hi:
Only while installing it under RedHat. (Maybe it was related to issues
with security here). Iam planning to try at a later time.

Once I changed to Windows 2008 I was working in a couple of hours.


Like make sure you have the proper id's defined. (Forget about commander
id's, are you using AD or local security) Each behaves differently )
Define the machines under autosys_secure
Windows 2008 - remember to register them properly following the readme
file in the wcc dvd or install location.
Do the configuration if you have more than one wcc one machine at a time.
(You have to add all the machines to the autosys_secure - eem part)
Do the EEM - Workload part first to define the machine instance - you can
add it or replace the " * " for the "instance name.*"



Thanks
Ramon
Desk: [phone]
Mobile: [phone]
Borrowed this:
The First Law of Autosys:
A Job will remain at rest until acted up by an event, at which time all
other conditions are evaluated to determine if it should run.




From: "CA Workload Automation (Distributed) Global User Community"
<[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]"
<[e-mail]>,
Date: 10/11/2012 07:06 AM
Subject: [CA AutoSys Workload Automation General Discussion] RE:
R11.3 migration Tips and Tricks



ramon.ferreris:
Hi:

I am almost done with the 4.5.1 to R11.3 migration.

I will put it this way:

1) Get all the software you will need. I mean if is for unix, everything
for unix and include the patches, sp's and hotfixes, there are already a
handful of them..
2) Plain it on paer first. (What server, server names, ports and wcc port
(8080 vs. 80) eem plan the policies ahead of time.
3) set up a small test server or if you are like me . Climb into the edge
of the sword. and do it on the final setup.
4) Do not use the datamover, unless you do want to visit the nut house. I
have only 400 servers and around 12k jobs, but the first time I use DM it
was nice, but 5 minutes later it was a pain.
5) if you can - deploy the agent software first to the target servers.
6) install the AE and DB server and the EEM server, make sure the AE and
DB are working fine use command line for the first few tests, then add the
EEM. or once again , welcome to my club and do all at the same time.
7) Move 1 or 2 groups at a time, but schedule it so you have people
available to work with you in case issues happen.
8) I will add more as I find it.


Ramon,

Did you enconter problems with EMM/WCC? The install of AE
(server/Db/client/agents) was quite easy. But the WCC and EMM is giving me
a headache!! Any tips for me? It's still not running smotthly. All is up,
but when I log into WCC I don't see anything at all. No servers, nop jobs,
nothing.

Cheers,

Danny
Posted by:Hilgie
--
CA Communities Message Boards
99323857

[e-mail]
https://communities.ca.com


*************************** IMPORTANT
NOTE*****************************-- The opinions expressed in this
message and/or any attachments are those of the author and not
necessarily those of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., its
subsidiaries and affiliates ("BBH"). There is no guarantee that
this message is either private or confidential, and it may have
been altered by unauthorized sources without your or our knowledge.
Nothing in the message is capable or intended to create any legally
binding obligations on either party and it is not intended to
provide legal advice. BBH accepts no responsibility for loss or
damage from its use, including damage from virus.
*******************************************************************************

[Anon Anon]

ramon.ferreris wrote:

Hi:
Only while installing it under RedHat. (Maybe it was related to issues
with security here). Iam planning to try at a later time.

Once I changed to Windows 2008 I was working in a couple of hours.


Like make sure you have the proper id's defined. (Forget about commander
id's, are you using AD or local security) Each behaves differently )
Define the machines under autosys_secure
Windows 2008 - remember to register them properly following the readme
file in the wcc dvd or install location.
Do the configuration if you have more than one wcc one machine at a time.
(You have to add all the machines to the autosys_secure - eem part)
Do the EEM - Workload part first to define the machine instance - you can
add it or replace the " * " for the "instance name.*"

Ramon,

We use the AD security.
But, we have the EEM/WCC and AS Server running on the same machine (in this test envoirement).
I get a credential error when I want to create a server in WCC. Either with ejmcommander or with an own account. But the weird thing is, I can log in into WCC. Why do I get the credential errors? Where else do I have to insert the user?

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

Ok, I got everything working.

The only issue I still have now is that WCC doesn't work properly with IE9. Anybody else encounterd problems with IE9 and WCC?

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

Hilgie wrote:

The only issue I still have now is that WCC doesn't work properly with IE9. Anybody else encounterd problems with IE9 and WCC?

What kind of problems are you seeing? That it doesn't work at all? Some specific features?

Thanks,
Peter

[Anon Anon]

pkazmir wrote:

What kind of problems are you seeing? That it doesn't work at all? Some specific features?

Thanks,
Peter

Peter,

At first it looks all is running fine. But when I want to use any of the functions within the WCC no response is given (e.g. when I want to validate a server and hit the validate button, nothing happens).

So, it looks like the activex or any other program that is required to run isn't running.

I've set all security to low, have added the website address to trusted hosts, running IE9 as admin. CA support in Brussles is also trying to figure this out, but with no result yet. When I run WCC with Firefox on the same machine I don't have a problem at all.

Really looking forward to a solution.

Cheers,

Danny

[Stacey Ruggiero]

ie9 is not supported at this time
Here is the link the WCC certification site that lists what is supported.
https://support.ca.com/irj/portal/anonymous/phpsupcontent?contentID=%7b842B25A8-9D98-4B2D-884C-D455C612B67C%7d#r113SP1

[Anon Anon]

Ok, You'll have to know that I start this project completely blank, without any knowledge of R11.3 at all. So this might resolve in dumb questions.

- I've got a test envoirement which consists of three servers (1 MS SQL Server, 2 plain W2k8 R2 64 bit servers).
- In installed the AS Server and it created the database;
- It also installed an agent, and I registered the agent succesfully

Couple of questions:

1- Now, what does the 'Client' install does? Do I need to install a client? I've read and read but I can't seem to figure out what the 'Client' software does and if I even need it.

2- If I want the GUI like we use in 4.5.1 we need to install WCC right? WCC needs EEM right?

Ok, very basic questions, but I can't seem to figure this out....

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

Thanks for discussing this out in the open. I will be stating the same 4.5 to 11.3 conversion in a couple months.

[Anon Anon]

Thanks for discussing this out in the open. I will be stating the same 4.5 to 11.3 conversion in a couple months.

[Anon Anon]

Ok, You'll have to know that I start this project completely blank, without any knowledge of R11.3 at all. So this might resolve in dumb questions.

- I've got a test envoirement which consists of three servers (1 MS SQL Server, 2 plain W2k8 R2 64 bit servers).
- In installed the AS Server and it created the database;
- It also installed an agent, and I registered the agent succesfully

Couple of questions:

1- Now, what does the 'Client' install does? Do I need to install a client? I've read and read but I can't seem to figure out what the 'Client' software does and if I even need it.

2- If I want the GUI like we use in 4.5.1 we need to install WCC right? WCC needs EEM right?

Ok, very basic questions, but I can't seem to figure this out....

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

1- Now, what does the 'Client' install does? Do I need to install a client? I've read and read but I can't seem to figure out what the 'Client' software does and if I even need it.

The client install includes the command line interface to the AutoSys server. You should install it wherever you need to run those commands. (The CLI is not included with the system agent.)

2- If I want the GUI like we use in 4.5.1 we need to install WCC right? WCC needs EEM right?

There are two graphical user interfaces available for 11.3. The one that comes with the installation pacakge is WCC 11.3, and it does require EEM. The other is our newly-acquired product, CA Workload Automation iXp. iXp is a little more similar to the motif tools used with 4.5.1, but iXp does not come with AutoSys. iXp does not require EEM.

Thanks,
Peter

[Anon Anon]

Peter,

Thanks for clearing the GUI issue. I managed to install WCC. But from what I've seen, this is way to complicated for our needs. We now have to maintian a complete user management tool (with roles etc.). COuld you elaborate the iXp a bit more? Also, what is the pricing structure for this software? Is there a change that in the future the iXp comes standard with CA WA AE? Or maybe that customers can choose to pick 1?

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

Peter,

Thanks for clearing the GUI issue. I managed to install WCC. But from what I've seen, this is way to complicated for our needs. We now have to maintian a complete user management tool (with roles etc.). COuld you elaborate the iXp a bit more? Also, what is the pricing structure for this software? Is there a change that in the future the iXp comes standard with CA WA AE? Or maybe that customers can choose to pick 1?

Cheers,

Danny

[Anon Anon]

Hello, I too would like more detail on the CA Workload Automation iXp product. Are we able to download the product for eval purposes etc ? Much appreciated.

[Anon Anon]

Hi,

We have some documentation about iXp available online at http://www.ca.com/us/products/detail/CA-Workload-Automation-iXp.aspx. We don't typically do download evaluations, but we'll be happy to work with you to perform a POC or presentation. Contact your account manager, sales rep or consultant and they should be able to help you out.

Thanks!
Peter

[Anon Anon]

Peter,

This presentation is also available in The Netherlands?

Cheers,

Danny

P.S. Do you thinkj this product is going to be included in the CA WA AE R11.3 distribution? I'd be more then happy to switch from WCCD /EMM to aXp!

[EMANOPS]

Hi,
A brilliant discussion which helps a lots.
I am also working on the migration now, hitting quite some questions, see any of you can give some tips.

1. How do you separate the functionality of the servers? I am putting EEM, WCC, WAAE servers all together into one physical server, however, I was told this is not recommended by CA.

2. Is r11.3 downward compatible with 4.5.1? My approach is to install a new r11.3 Server and control the legacy client to do the migration jobs by jobs.

3. From your discuss, it seems no more 4.5.1 java like block diagram in r11.3, a new product must be used (CA Workload Automation iXp). As I know r11.3 start supporting external application for the GUI, any good suggestion?


Thanks and Regards,
Donald