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AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

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  • 1.  AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    Posted Aug 02, 2013 11:19 AM

    Hi Everyone!

     

    I have a few questions for you all around transfering a customer from a VM that they host internally to a dedicated server in our datacenter.

     

    The reasoning is that their VM is out of space but they have very large growth plans over the next few months, so we have put together a few large scale 5000 device servers to support them.


    Question 1-

    What is the best way to migrate from a VM to dedicated server without losing historical data and with minimum downtime to prevent current dataloss. Currently the new AirWave server is on 7.7 but the previous server is on 7.6.1, do I need to make them the same (This may not matter if you tell me I need to just make an image copy or something to move the servers).

    Will I have to use FTP to file transfer or can we do something like a backup server that then becomes the primary server?

     

    Question 2 -

    Controllers and Airwave are currently connected via VPN networks, but currently the plan is to no longer have this link. During the downtime how do I make the controllers and airwave recognize the new public Ips associated with this change?

    -- All of the controllers will change to public IPs in AirWave, and AirWave SNMP will change to public IPs on the controllers. Ideas on how  I prevent downtime with this?

     

    Thanks for your help!



  • 2.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions
    Best Answer

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Aug 02, 2013 12:24 PM

    This effort will take some time, I suggest you open a support case so that they can assist you during this transition.

     

    Here's an outline of the steps to answer QUESTION 1.

     

    1.  The plan

    You're moving from one server to the next, are you trying to maintain the same IP addressing?

    - If you are, then you'll want to make sure to grab the existing key from the Home -> License tab -> The license key is all 14-16 lines.  Take backups from /var/airwave-backup and put onto an off server location.  I suggest grabbing all backups, since the latest may be incomplete (you can usually tell when you look at a list view of the backups, they should all be relatively the same size).  Since you're using the same IP, you'll want to power down the old server or change the IP on it so it's not conflicting with the new setup.

    - If you're not, get a new license key from licensing.arubanetworks.com

         (if you're an older customer, then this might not be available -> in which case you'd contact support to get a new license key) linked to the new IP address.  Backups can be SCP'd from the old server at any time (granted it's still up / running).  Since the old server will still be up, you only need to transfer the latest backup (if you're on the more cautious side, it's still a good idea to grab all backups to an external source).  Note that if you change the IP, you may need to adjust firewall rules and change settings on controllers for traps.

     

     

    2.  Staging the new server

    The new server needs to be able to restore the existing data, so it can't be on a newer release, but it can be on a newer patch release.  So if you're backup is of 7.6.1, you can start the new server install using 7.6.5.  The restore will work on any version in 7.6 for a 7.6 backup, though it's usually better to only restore on either the same patch release or higher (meaning don't use 7.6.0).  You'll have to run through the amp-install portion which has you input network info, hostname, and root password.  Keep in mind that the fresh install will begin with root/admin for the CLI (admin/admin on the GUI).  Once that's up and going, you can go ahead and login to the GUI and apply the license key.  Also, transfer the backup into /var/airwave-backup.

     

     

    3.  Restore

    Restoring is a single command, but I run it in a few commands since I like to be cautious.  On the CLI:

    # screen

    # amp_restore -d /var/airwave-backup/nightly_data001.tar.gz

    I run most operations in screen so that if I pull my laptop or get disconnected, the operation will still run on the server.  Without screen, anything could happen where the restore gets cut off mid-restore, requiring a restart from fresh install.

     

     

    4.  Yay, AMP's running!

    Once the restore completes, wait 5-10 minutes for the services to start up, then try to access the AMP web page.  If credentials used are off of an LDAP or Radius, they may not work initially after restore, so be sure you know the credentials for an admin user in the internal database.  If LDAP / Radius aren't working, login with internal database admin, go to AMP Setup -> Authentication -> reinput the LDAP or Radius password.

     

    5.  After restore

    After restore, validate that the data was restored (check AMP Setup -> Users, check VisualRF, check some clients with user history - stretch graphs to see more history).  After validating, you have the option to upgrade to the latest which as of today is 7.7.2.

     

     

    QUESTION 2

    I suggest that this change doesn't overlap with the AMP migration to the new server.  You should do this change after migrating to the new server.

     

    The changing of device IPs will have to be done individually per controller, so you'll have some delay in data collection as you go across the AMP changing settings.  I would suggest first doing a global SNMP string change (make sure controller is currently serving SNMP to both strings during this time across existing IP address -> if you're managing controller from AMP, you can push the settings before you update the communication strings).

     

    Changing SNMP string in bulk in AMP:

    1. Start at AP/Device list

    2. Expand list to show all devices

    3. Filter the list to show controllers using the 'type' sort or funnel (funnel works well if you have all the same type of controllers)

    4. Click the modify devices wrench above the list table (this should put checkboxes next to all the devices in the list)

    5. If the list is only controllers, you can use 'select all' at bottom of table, otherwise individually check off each controller

    6. Below list table is option to update credentials.  Button looks like:

    update creds.jpg

    7. Input the new SNMP string and update.

     

    Otherwise, you'll have to go to each individual controller's manage tab to update the credentials.

     

     

    Updating device IP addresses

    -Unfortunately, there's no efficient way to bulk edit to different values.  The best way is to time the change for each controller with the update in AMP.  So as you move from the VPN tunnel to public IP, you should be going into the controller's manage page in AMP, and update the IP addresses as you go across the devices.

     

     

    This is a lot of info, so feel free to ask for any clarification.  Though I do suggest having a support case open in case you run into any issues during this transition.



  • 3.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    Posted Jun 24, 2015 10:33 AM

    sorry to revive an old post but i am about to do a similar job for a customer. I am migrating from one hardware server to another with same version of airwave. My question is about the licensing, i am assuming because my IP will stay the same, the license will just move over with the restore?

     

    thanks



  • 4.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Jun 24, 2015 04:53 PM

    The license should be carried over with the restore, but it doesn't hurt to grab a copy of it from Home -> License just in case.  Also, I would suggest setting up the new setup on a different IP to avoid IP conflict while the 2 setups overlap.  Then when everything has settled, and old server has been decommissioned, update the new server to the correct IP address.  This prevents any loss of connectivity issues due to having 2 servers with the same IP address.

     

    (I also suggest changing the IP of the older server in case you ever need to bring it back up while the new one is running).  Advised to keep old VM instance for a while in case you need to recover any additional information from the server prior to complete deletion of the instance.



  • 5.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    Posted Jun 25, 2015 07:02 AM

    thanks for your help



  • 6.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    EMPLOYEE
    Posted Jun 25, 2015 11:51 AM

    No problem.  You can also generate a temporary key from the licensing site (or request a temporary key from support) to help the transition.



  • 7.  RE: AirWave VM to Dedicated Server Migration Questions

    Posted Oct 30, 2019 01:48 AM

    Thanks for the post.

     

    It helps me to when i migrate VM to dedicated server withut loosing any data.