How to migrate ITMS 7.1 to 7.5 (using a new database)

[Migration User]

Hello folks!

I would like to migrate my current ITMS 7.1 environment to a complete new ITMS 7.5 environment with a new database. So I won't use my old database, because after the update from 7.0 it's not really reliable anymore. Unfortunately I couldn't find any description or migration wizard for that scenario. As I don’t want to recreate all my current items I should have an export/import automatism for the following items:

SMP: Filters/Reports/Tasks

Patch Management: Configuration/Policies/Packages/Sources

Site Management: Package Servers/Sites/Subnets + Relations

Software Management: Software Resources / Policies (MSDP)

All ideas are welcome ;) Cheers, Mike

[SK]

Hello Mike,

A lot of work has gone into our 7.1 to 7.5 upgrade process, so I urge you to please at least test it in your lab to see if it runs smoothly for you or not.  Using a copy of the production database along with either a P2V of the SMP or a VM created from the SMP's full server backup (database and server must be from same time period) will give you true results.

 

If you use AD Import for sites and subnets, then performing the same action on the 7.5 server will achieve that goal.  Redirecting the SMA on the site servers will allow them to populate their subnets.

The Replikator Tool (check the KB) will do your software resources and policies.

Manual copy or robocopy, etc will do the physical package files (best to have the same filesystem structure so as not to mess up the package objects).

Hopefully you have placed all of your custom reports, filters, tasks, config policies, etc in their relevant custom folders, so that you can target the folder for export via the ExportImportUtil.

[andykn101]

Although the upgrade process from 7.1 to 7.5 may be reliable a lot of customers will have upgraded previously from 7.0, including from systems with Dell solutions on them. And an SMP database after a couple of years can easily get quite few large tables that aren't easy to purge or truncate without considerable assitance from support - sometimes it's just easeire to start again.

I ran the excellent SMPDiag tool (http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH202997) recently on a system I look after and that showed quite a few db tables in need of attention.

And the Software Resource Replicator tool works well: http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH166711

One idea is to take an offline copy of the 7.1 system, upgrade that to 7.5 then use that to export/import other items that may be cumbersome to set up again from scratch.

[TeleFragger]

to be totally honest if you are wanting to do a new database to keep it clean.. I would stay clean and simply do all manually. Yes it is a pita..

I took our NS6 environment to 7.1 SP1 MP1.1 by creating a new environment and slowly transitioning things over to a DEV environment. Then when I felt it was in good shape I added a few test machines to the DEV environment. I created a TEST and PROD environment and found it easy to export items from one and import into another. This created other issues... constant errors in the altiris logs on the servers. If you export an item then look at the XML it will leave some data behind from the old environment like server name and a few others. I did not find this out until I fully went NS6 to NS7.1 then exported and imported all items from 7.1 DEV to TEST and PROD.

I am in the process of going to 7.5 this year and everything I do now manually. yes it is time consuming and takes more time but you can then guarantee that it is all clean. Freshly created on that server for that server.

The Software Resource Replicator tool  SK references works great. I do still use that to export and import in my software items from the catalog but only when I had a bulk list to do.

Hope you decide a way that works for you.