ePO 4.6.2 - From 2003 32bits to 2008 R2 64bits

[feblex]

Hello everyone, I have read a lot about migrating ePO from 2003 to 2008, so before asking anything here's what we have now:

Current Server

OS: Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise 32 bits

Server name: oldserver

Server ip Address: 1.1.1.1

ePO: 4.6.2

Database: SQL Server 2005 in another server

This is what we want:

New Server:

OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 64 bits

Server name: newserver

Server ip Address: 1.1.1.1

ePO: 4.6.2

Database: SQL Server 2005 in another server

We have almost 500 managed systems and almost every product: HDLP, VSE, GSE, HIPS, PA, EEPC, Encrypted USBs, Sentrigo stuff and other integrations...

So basically is an OS upgrade with another server name while keeping the same IP.

These are the kbs i've read:

How to migrate ePO 4.5 or ePO 4.6 from a 32-bit system to a 64-bit system (or to a different installation path)

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB71078

This seems to be the one that i should use, but the thing that worries me is that it says that it will not work if i use another server name.

But then i found a workaround for a name change:

ERROR: Failed to get server key information (issue: ePO 4.5 Server renamed)

https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB66620

So i was thinking about using both kbs. But i'm not sure of the order, for example, i can prepare newserver while oldserver is still working on production, but then if i rename oldserver to newserver i'll have to keep the real newserver offline while the agents get the new site list, so i'm kinda confused with this right now...has anyone done this in the past?

[petersimmons]

Have you considered standing up a brand new server, registering it with the old server and then just transferring every machine to the new server? (Using the Agent Transfer Utility) It requires a couple more steps than what I outlined BUT you can keep both servers up and there's no issues with having to regenerate ePO's internal certificates. You also don't have to match every single extension perfectly. They can be slightly different. I always seems to mess up a couple steps myself when doing a "brain transplant".

[feblex]

I haven't cosidered it. But i'm still confused with something, when i look for Agent Transfer Utility in McAfee kb i find this article: https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB75841&actp=search&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=... which tells me the following: "If you are migrating your ePO server from a 32-bit to 64-bit operating system (see KB71078) with a different host name and IP address", and kb71078 is the one on the first post. So judging by that, it would seem that i have to do that kb instead of what you said.

[petersimmons]

I'm not really sure why you need to do the KB method? The Agent Transfer Utility works fantasically. Of course, with that method you end up with a different hostname and IP (which is not a problem) because they are two distinct servers. Once the 'old' server is finished transferring you end up with the problem machines that aren't communicating. You can fix those and then decomission the old server.

The drawback to the ATU Migration as opposed to the brain transplant method (the KB) is that no one has documented the ATU Migration yet (but I will since more people ask about it all the time).

EDIT: And let me add this: I actually prefer to have the old and new servers up at the same time to work on them should anything go wrong or just take longer. The fact, that I can get a new IP and hostname out of it is a bonus. This is also the method I use to help customers virtualize the ePO servers.

Message was edited by: petersimmons on 8/27/12 4:21:17 PM EDT

[feblex]

Of course i prefer the ATU migration you describe, it appears to be a lot safer that the brain transplant.  I was just worried because all the kbs seem to lead me to "you have to do this brain surgery or it won't work".

So let me tell you what i understood from what you said, so i can be sure of what i'll do.

• Install a fresh copy of the same version of ePO in my new server
• Install every product extension (can be slightly different, but i'll use the exact version anyways)
• Backup de old server according to KB66616
• Restore on the new server (In the case of the database as i have it on another server, and i'll have both servers running at the same time i can just restore a copy of the database with another name and point the new server to it)
• Then on the old server, edit the main agent handler with the new ePO info (ip, fqdn, etc). If it fails i guess i can just put the old server info back again.
• Wake everybody up, hope it works and verify
• Take down old ePO

[petersimmons]

Not exactly, there's no backup and restore here. You're migrating the agents from the old server to the new server. You can share policies and tasks. And you will want to export and import the system tree. Both methods would be supported by Support. The other clearly works in the KB. It is the only method that works with a backup and restore. That part was true. This method even works with two different versions of ePO (4.5 vs. 4.6) because it doesn't involve  any backups or restores. It is a migration of agents between two independent servers. You leave the data and any quirks of the old server behind. Of course, in 3 months you won't need the data anyway.

Clearly I need to document the whole process and post it. You aren't the first customer who has given me confused looks. Can you wait a week or two for a more full set of documentation? (Which I'll post on my blog here) I am not sure I can get everything needed written down before then.

I just used this method last night while testing out a beta version of Deep Command to control vPro systems between two different patch versions of 4.6.

[feblex]

I can wait. I'd rather be sure than hasty.

Thanks for the answers, i'll be waiting for the documentation.

[feblex]

Hi Peter

I hope you haven't forgot about us.

[feblex]

Any news Peter?

[feblex]

Has anyone here tried what Peter mentions or anything like it?