Migration from SEPM RU7 is unsupported........

[Migration User]

"Migration from SEPM RU7 is unsupported"

What a disappointment this is. Weeks ago I upgraded from RU6 to this latest version to prepare for this 12.1 migration believing that being at the most current version would be helpful only to find that by upgrading, I have now screwed myself from completing this until November when 12.1 RU1 arrives. What doesn't make any sense is that older versions would have been supported.

Why did Symantec drop the ball like this and why didn't Symantec have this information at the top of every admin document as the most important information in the release notes for RU7? I'm sure many of us are in the same boat and unfortunately, I don't have a disk image old enough to restore back to so I can upgrade so now I'm stuck waiting 4 months..........THANKS SYMANTEC FOR WASTING MY TIME!!!

[ℬrίαη]

It's unsupported because the RU7 schema is newer than 12.1 schema so "upgrading" from a new to an old schema would likely break something.

One of the first recommended steps is to do a backup.

[Chetan Savade]

Hi,

Support for Migrating from Endpoint Protection 11 Release Update 7 to Endpoint Protection 12.1

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH163698

 

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/upgrade-paths-sep-121amber

[Migration User]

Thanks, but this is how I became aware of this snafu. Had this been in the release notes for RU7, then I wouldn't have upgraded and instead waited to 12.1 to upgrade. I would go further and say that this information was the most important info to know about the whole RU7 version and should have been on the front page of every document in the installation.

[Chetan Savade]

Hi,

Check following articles.

 

Using 11.x disaster recovery files with Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager 12.1

 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH162071

 

Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1: Installing the Manager for the first time and deploying clients

 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH163580

 

Upgrading and migrating to Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1

 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH163602

[Migration User]

I do have the backup files from the RU6 to RU7 upgrade so I could technically downgrade by uninstalling RU7 and doing a fresh install of RU6 using the Disaster Recovery method. What I would like to know is that if I were willing to do that, why can't I apply the Disaster Recovery method and do a fresh install of 12.1? Is this possible or must I downgrade and than upgrade?

Here is the updated information on the DR precedure for the 12.1 version. I notice all of the DR info is now in one file but I wonder if I can uninstall and do a fresh 12.1 installation and then add the DR info from the 11.0.7 version and not restore the DB backup, only forcing me to upgrade the policies and groups manually.

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH160736 

[Migration User]

Using 11.x disaster recovery files with Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager 12.1

 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH162071

 

 

This seems like a possibility. This document confirms that the upgrade process retains certain data such as the keystore, domainid, etc. Would I be correct in assuming this??

[Chetan Savade]

Yes, upgrade process retains such information. what plan of action is in your mind ?

[Migration User]

My question is; How did you migrate to RU7 weeks ago when it wasn't released until last week? Sep 12.1 was released before RU7 so I'm a little confused about your time line.

Also this information is in the release notes on page 14:

Upgrading Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager server from version
11.0 RU7 to version 12.1 is not currently supported.

Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager server version 11.0 RU7 cannot migrate
to Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager server 12.1 due to database schema
differences between the two products. This migration path is blocked with an
error message. If you plan to migrate to Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager
12.1 in the near future, stay with your existing Symantec Endpoint Protection
Manager version and migrate from that version. Symantec Endpoint Protection
Manager 11.0 RU7 supports migration to Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager
12.1 MP1.
 

[Migration User]

Being that I have only one domain, I was able to uninstall the RU7 SEPM and do a fresh install of SEPM 12.1 and then follow the 11.x DR documentation linked above to restore back my DomainID and JKS Keystore file. All my clients appeared in a few minutes and all I had to redo was the groups and policies, which I would have done anyway going to this new version as some features have been added.

Anyway, if any of you have a simple one domain setup like myself you can be up and running in minutes. Thanks again to Chetan for providing a link to TECH162071 which led me down this road.

[Migration User]

Ted I can easily, easily see how this happened to him. It just happened to me! The release notes for 7 said NOTHING of this, and the upgrade chart in SEP 12.1 documents stated the upgrade path covered 11.xxx

And isn't that was 7 is - 11.xxx?

Our issues is that Insight - the reseller, dropped the ball BIG time like they ALWAYS do, and so our license expired and I was not able to get 12, but was able to get the early documents - the stuff from the beta I had, etc. and read them end to end. Good, it would upgrade over 11.xxx it said.

I WAS able to get 7 so downloaded it because for some reason although our licensing is screwed up (thanks again to Insight and some lack of planning by some folks in our chains)  it allowed me to get the latest 11, but not 12.

Besides, it's a WHOLE lot easier to upgrade a whole system to 11.0.7 from 6 than it is to go from 11 to 12, so 12 takes more planning, test servers, testing on clients, test databases, etc. - weeks of planning on a government environment. Where updating 11.x to 11.y takes only days if that even. I can push it out inside of a week, where 12 will be in a month even if I had it in hand.

So yeah, I see very easily how and why this happened to him - it happened to me, and I bet it's not all that uncommon!

Now I need to ask - knowing that 12.1 was out, why was 7 changed to the point that it excluded it from being in the upgrade path? Why did they make changes to 11.0.7 so that upgrades to 12 would no longre work knowing full well that the logical path would be weeks of testing, then moving to 12.1 but needing to keep 11 current in the mean-time?

I see a little loss of logic on this one, sorry - no offense to you.

[ℬrίαη]

The reason 7 was excluded from the upgrade path is because the schema for RU7 is newer than the schema for 12.1 so upgrading from RU7 to 12.1 would likely have caused an issue.

[postechgeek]

My company has decided that we will be installing RU7 now, and wait for 12.1 RU1 before upgrading. Gives us more time to test and for some of the major bugs to be worked out (if there are any). Maybe take that approach?

Mike

[ℬrίαη]

I'm starting to lean this way as well...Found a few issues already so I'm not sure what to do. OR I just upgrade the SEPM and only push 12.1 clients here and there and go with a full rollout when RU1 comes out.

[Migration User]

before i would start a flamewar...

Easy steps to take: You have your Options:

• restore backup for SEPM > SEPM 11.0.6
• stay on MR7 and wait till patch is released for migration