We purchased a new production server for WebFOCUS version 7.6.2 and on Tuesday the 11th we are planning on switching from our old server to the new one. (new server is 64bit windows 2003 o/s, old server is 32bit windows 2003 o/s) I am just wondering if there is a document out there with a list of things I need to do in order to make the transition work properly (and to insure that I don't trash the company's ability to run reports). We have about 160 users that access the tool through views so I need to insure that the existing dashboards will function properly after we disable the old server (this is my main concern).

I am brand new to Focal Point and even newer to server administration so any tips would be greatly appreciated. My background is in report and dashboard creation, however me and another senior developer are being asked to learn how to take care of the server side of life as well.

Thank you.

Are you migrating from one version of WebFOCUS to another as well as migrating to a new server?

In my humble opinion, Tuesday, Dec. 11th seems a bit soon to assume the migration will go smoothly...

7.1.3 is on the old server and 7.6.2 the new. We have tested the new server many times over and are very confident that it will work properly once the switch is made. I am just looking for a guide of sorts that will show me what needs to be done to point everything to the new server.

I am so far out of my element here that I hope I am asking the right questions.

Well, it seems that all I do is upgrades so I have lots of experience. But it is a big job and I'm not sure that I can do it justice here.

Are you the admin? And you didn't mention if this was client or reporting server or both? Or if you were changing releases?

First make sure that your reporting server is installed. You can do a migrate from your dev server to your new one to make sure that your config is ok. That will also port over all the data adapter connections.

Then go to the console and do a test retrieval on all the adapters.

For the client, you have to do the migration/customization by hand. Taking screen prints of the old/dev config is very helpful and great documentation. This includes Report Caster configuration.

For MRE, you will have to migrate basedir.

For RC, will it talk to different a different data base than the old/dev or the same one. If different, you will have to migrate the repository. If you do this, do not run rcusersync! It wipes out execution passwords.

All of the above is well described in the WebFOCUS installation guide for your platform.

If you have a chance to test ahead of time, you can copy your ibi/apps to the new box and test and then re-copy on production cutover day.

But the most important things are:
1. Test ahead of time.
2. Make a detailed plan of EVERYTHING you have to do on cutover day and the day before.

Please let me know if you need more detail. As I said, this is a huge topic and I have only scratched the surface.

I spoke with one of our admins and he said I might be over complicating this. We did install all of the products on the new server (Webfocus 7.6.2, Maintain and Reportcaster) and have tested everything (procedures, html pages, data adapters, etc...). All of our users log into a public dashboard using explicit login names and passwords to get to the views they are given permission to access. The question I was told to ask by the other admin is "do we only need to point users to the public dashboard on the new server"? We are just wondering if it is that simple. He thinks it might be, but I am a person who hates to assume. I personally like to research something completely (perhaps confusing the task at times) in order to avoid mistakes.

If you can alias new server to point to the same name as the old, then your users wouldn't have to change links or favorites. If you can't, then if everything is in the same place and you have tested your brains out, then having your users change their links (which is harder than you can imagine because they don't read emails), should be all that you have to do.

Good luck!!

Wait....users don't read e-mails? When did this start happening???

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely meet with a few of the other admins and research ideas presented so far on this post.

Thank you.

Well, it is because they can't read. I'm convinced of that.

mccav, make sure you look at Chris Burtt's (really well-written) post on the subject of his 71-76 dashboard migration..
https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...1057331/m/1301015062
in case there's a similar thing going on for you...

Thank you Susannah. I am sure I will run into the same issues once we have the new server up and running and I will certainly be watching Chris's thread to see what the community has to offer in regard to a potential fix to the situation.

And Ginny, I am sure most of my users can read, they just don't think they should have to. They believe that someone should read things for them, or that everything should just automatically work the way they think it should work.

I agree. And isn't it fun! At least it is job security for us.

MCAV,

Four days I migrated a production server from 713 to 764, installing the new 764 sofware on the same server 'box' as the existing 713. IBI's Paul Brochon (Philadelphia Office) assisted. He's a real install expert!

All IBI software goes into the server's 'ibi' directory, and then into sub-directories carrying the version# in their names, so the stuff for each release is always separated. The only things shared by the outgoing 'old' software and the incoming 'new' software are the Win/OS port numbers for web access, the content of the '...\ibi\apps\' folder (for self-service repots), MRE's domains and their content (for MRE and Dashboards), and the ReportCaster's Repository of schedules.
User profiles, if you use them, are kept in their own folder at the root of 'ibi' and are thus shared by all releases without any migration or changing of names or folders.

IBI provides migration tools for all of these except the Win/OS ports. The critical thing is the timing of when you run the migration tools.

I was able to run both versions of WebFOCUS on the same server (except the new RCaster) by assigning the 'new' version Win/OS ports in the 9nnn series (production already used the default 8nnn series). Copying the apps directory and domains (in basedir) into the 'new' version's folder allowed me to test the web based parts of WeBFOCUS while production continued 'up'.

At the appointed time I:
1) Turned off all Win/OS services belonging to 'old' (they are named with 'old's version#).
2) Used IBI's tools to migrate RC's Repository, MRE's domains, and other configurations for which there are tools.
3) Copied old's ibi\apps directory content into 'new's.
3) Changed the Win/OS ports used by 'new' to the default 8nnn series.
4) Started the Win/OS services used by 'new'.

You're putting 'new' on a different box than 'old' so there's no need for the usual precaution ot 'backup everything first'. I also suggest you 'cross map' the ibi directory of each server to the other so that you can easily move stuff between them.

Good Luck!
Chris

Chris - thank you for the information. I am printing it out right now and will keep handy for the 11th.

Thank you,
Mike