Preparing for migration

A migration of IBM Spectrum Control server is required in the following use cases:
  • Move to a more powerful machine with faster processor, more memory, and disk resources.
  • Move to a newer version of the operating system that is under support with OEM.

You can use the following information to help prepare your migration of IBM Spectrum Control server. Good planning helps you to avoid delays and problems when you migrate your system.

General considerations

Identify if the operating system version of the target server is compatible with the current IBM Spectrum Control server version. To know more details, see IBM IBM Spectrum Control server 5.4.x - server Platforms

The following terms are used in the following sections to identify the IBM Spectrum Control servers:
  • Source server: The existing IBM Spectrum Control server from where data is migrated.
  • Target server: The new IBM Spectrum Control server, where data is imported.

Before you migrate

Consider the following information before you migrate:

  • The target server must be installed at the same IBM Spectrum Control server level and Db2 level as of source server.
  • The migration uses the Db2 offline backup and restore procedure.
  • The target server operates with a unique hostname and IP address for practicality.
  • It is recommended to keep the same directory structure on the target server for user’s home directory, database, logs & installation paths.
  • The IBM Spectrum Control port range must be kept same as source server during the target server installation.
  • After Db2 restore, updates to the target IBM Spectrum Control database (default is TPCDB) tables are required, including new hostname and passwords.
  • After migration, probe and performance data collection for the configured devices are automatically started based on the established schedule.
  • Any additional groups that are configured in IBM Spectrum Control server are available in the new IBM Spectrum Control server, but the groups and users need to be created on the target server at operating system level.
  • The following IBM Spectrum Control server settings are accessible automatically in the target server post-migration:
    • History retention
    • User group information
    • Alert policies
    • Notification settings
    • Automated probe schedule
    • RollUp server connections
    • Licensing information
  • Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) needs to be re-configured on the target server as it requires uploading the private key from the target IBM Spectrum Control server.
  • If you are migrating a multi-server IBM Spectrum Control environment, you need to set up a new target multi-server configuration for the migration. This involves installing a new Db2 server and a new IBM Spectrum Control server.

Db2 preparation

Since Db2 offline backup and restore procedure is used for migration, it is important to have enough space to store the Db2 backup. To determine the current TPCDB size, perform the following steps.
Note: To determine the current TPCDB size in multi-server environment, run the following commands on the Db2 server.
  1. Login to the source server.
  2. Switch to the Db2 instance owner user using the following command:
    su - <db2_instance_owner>
    Where, db2_instance_owner is the name of Db2 instance owner user, which is db2inst1 by default.

  3. Run the following commands:

    • db2 connect to <database_name>
    • db2 "call get_dbsize_info(?,?,?,0)"
    • db2 disconnect <database_name>

    Where, database_name is the name of IBM Spectrum Control server database, which is TPCDB by default.

Record the DATABASESIZE parameter value from step 3. Convert the DB Size from bytes to GB. This is the minimum free space that is required on temporary destination to run TPCDB backup on source server. This same space must be available on the target server as well to keep the backup.

Collecting configuration data

Before you migrate, you must collect important configuration data from the source server. The process involves collecting configuration data for the following items:

  • User group and role information
    • If there are other groups and users that are configured in source server for local authentication, then those groups and users must be created manually on the target server, post migration.
    • This information can be viewed in User Management and can be exported from Settings > User management > Actions > Export > Export as CSV.

    • The LDAP authentication needs to be configured freshly post migration on target server, if configured in source server. Otherwise, copy the source ldap.xml file to target directory of server web registry to avoid manual steps.

      To know more information, see step 6 in the procedure section of Migrating IBM Spectrum Control server.

  • Db2 configuration

    Note: In multi-server configuration, run all the Db2 commands on the Db2 server that is hosting IBM Spectrum Control server database (default is TPCDB).

    Db2 configurations typically remain unchanged most of the time. However, variations can occur based on the specific client setup, leading to adjustments in a few configuration parameters.

    Refer to the following steps to check the current Db2 configuration changes in source IBM Spectrum Control server.

    1. Switch to the Db2 instance owner user by using the following command:
      su - <db2_instance_owner>
      Where, db2_instance_owner is the name of Db2 instance owner user, which is db2inst1 by default.

    2. Run the following command:

      db2 get dbm cfg
    Important:
    • The default database path configuration (DFTDBPATH) parameter may not be the default value on source server.
    • These values must be compared after Db2 is installed on the target server. If there are any changes, it is recommended to make similar changes on the target server Db2 configuration.
  • IBM Spectrum Control server configuration

    IBM Spectrum Control server configuration files typically remain unchanged most of the time. However, variations can occur based on the specific client setup, leading to adjustments in a few configuration parameters.

    Example:
    1. Logging is enabled in the conf file of the web server
    2. jvm.options file has some additional entries for a specific environment.

    After IBM Spectrum Control server installation on target server, any modifications applied to the source IBM Spectrum Control server must be replicated on the target IBM Spectrum Control server manually.

  • Exporting the Storage Resource Agent (SRA) List

    Skip this if you do not have SRAs deployed on the source IBM Spectrum Control server or you do not want to redeploy the SRA in new environment. Exporting the SRA is useful if you are planning to redeploy these agents and monitor the server environments on the destination IBM Spectrum Control server system. Later, you can follow the procedure to register the SRAs.

    1. From the IBM Spectrum Control server GUI, go to Servers.
    2. Make sure only Name and OS Type columns are selected.
    3. Go to Actions > Export > Export as CSV and save the file to disk.
    4. Open the file in a text editor. Remove the first row, row with hostname of the current IBM Spectrum Control server, and remove the quotations. Refer to the following example for comparison:

      Before:

      "Name","OS Type" 
"cohiba12.storage.tucson.ibm.com","Linux"
"pink-rock.storage.tucson.ibm.com","Linux"
"tpcblade6-10.storage.tucson.ibm.com","Windows"
"tpcblade6-11.storage.tucson.ibm.com","Windows"

      After:

      pink-rock.storage.tucson.ibm.com,Linux
tpcblade6-10.storage.tucson.ibm.com,Windows
tpcblade6-11.storage.tucson.ibm.com,Windows
    5. Save the CSV file after the changes. This file can be used to redeploy all the SRA in one go.

What to do next

After completing the preparation steps, proceed with the migration process. For further guidance on migration, refer to Migrating the IBM Spectrum Control server.