Is there are best practices document or recommended procedure for migrating an existing UrBackup Server to a new hardware platform? I’ve read through the documentation but wasn’t able to get a sense of exactly how to perform the task. Any thoughts or past experiences?
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I will be watching this thread closely and i also would like to get a sense of the correct approach to this problem.
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Hello edward.reed:
Are you moving the original backup storage hard drive to a new platform?
Or, are you wanting to move the backup data from the old hard drive to a new hard drive on a new platform?
All for now
We have yet to move a server successfully, it always works out faster to just install a new server then add the clients to that server and start backup from zero, the reason… well the data store… we are trying to copy the store from one disk to another, we have about 21’000’000 files, so far it looks like 30 days to do this, might as well re-back everything up as that store is only February (under 20 days) of data… so thats the first issue.
Next is the unique ID of the server for which it has a copy and so does the client, so in theory you can install the new server then take the server ID file and copy that back, if you have access to the server backend engine (we dont as its run on a QNAP NAS). I have requested a “backup” and “restore” feature in the server GUI as most of this would be fixed with that feature, it would also be nice to have a “move data store” feature in the GUI as there are so many links in the database that have to work.
The below link is interesting and answers a question i had, the new storage path has to be identical if you move the server, as it appears to hard code the links in the database, can be fixed by running a script, sounds like a GUI button is required for that if its a script.
Heres the word from the developer about it
This would be all new hardware, replacing the server and drives. Even worse, this would be changing platforms too. The existing UrBackup is running on a Windows Server with the backup data stored on a storage device connected over iSCSI. On the new system UrBackup will run in a Docker container and use local storage.
If I setup the new installation of the Server and move the server id file to the new installation, will the clients automatically register on the new server without user intervention? We have over 500 clients and about 50TB of backup data. Most client users don’t even know that UrBackup is in place. Giving them instructions to connect the client software to a new server is a recipe for disaster with no guarantee that they’ll actually perform the instructions.
Ive not tested this, but my understanding is yes, as thats the ID the client will present to the the new server. The new server will us UDP to find the client, the client will report in with the server ID it has (your old server) so as long as the new server has the old (restored) ID, the client will be seen and ok with the server to then inherit all new the new backup settings
ok. I’m still several weeks away from receiving the new hardware but I’ll give this a shot once it arrives. Thanks for the info.
PLEASE keep us updated on your progress. I am also looking to migrate an installation and it would be nice to refine and adopt some sort of coherent procedure sheet – even if it’s rough and draft-like. Hope all works well for you.
And THANK YOU for asking the question!