IBM FileNet P8, Version 5.2.1

Migrating data with FileNet Deployment Manager

Use FileNet® Deployment Manager to migrate data from one object store to another.

Objects that are stored in object stores can be exported and imported to migrate them from a source object store to another destination object store. You can use FileNet Deployment Manager for this migration. The environments can be in a single FileNet P8 domain or in separate domains.

The process for migrating data is similar to the process for migrating and deploying applications. However, some of the steps might require additional planning or time, based on different considerations when you work with data. For example, a data migration usually involves a greater number of objects, and these objects might have complex dependencies. The following information explains the basic steps for migrating data and provides links to more detailed information about those steps. In addition, it provides links to information about the different considerations for data migration, and includes some recommendations that might help with the data migration steps.

To migrate data with FileNet Deployment Manager:

Define the source and destination environments. For more information, see Defining the deployment environment. This information includes deployment environment concepts and the tasks for creating the source and destination environment definitions and defining the connections to those environment definitions.
Migrate the data from the source environment. The migration steps include exporting the data, creating the FileNet Deployment Manager structures that are required for data conversion and import, and converting the data to ready it for import. For more information about these steps, see the concepts and tasks within the Prepare data for deployment section.
1. Export the data from the source environment. Determine which data objects must be migrated, add these data objects to an export manifest to manage the export action, and export the data objects into a deployment data set. For more information, see Identify objects to deploy, Creating or updating an export manifest, Exporting assets to a deployment data set.
  The selections that you make for the export include options in the export manifest can significantly affect the efficiency of the export and import processes during a data migration. To optimize the efficiency of your data migration, use the recommendations for configuration of the export include options. For more information, see Data migration: Recommendations for export include options.
2. Retrieve object store, security principal, service, connection point, and other data to create environment half maps. Half maps are created for both the source and destination environments, and the process for creating them varies according to the type of data that they hold. For more information about the creation of different types of half maps, such as object store half maps or connection point half maps, see Extracting the source environment half maps.
3. Repeat the half map creation for the destination environment. For more information, see Extracting the destination environment half maps.
4. From the available environment definitions, create the source-destination pair definition for this data migration. The source-destination pair definition consists of a source environment, a destination environment, and the data maps that result from the combination of the half maps for these environments. The data maps manage how to prepare the deployment data set for import into the destination environment. The process for creating data maps varies according to the type of data that they hold, such as an object store data map or a connection point data map. For more information, see Creating a source-destination pair definition.
5. Select the source-destination pair and the deployment data set to convert the objects in the deployment data set for import. The conversion action uses the data in the data maps to convert environment-specific attributes in the deployment data set. This conversion produces data that is suitable for import into the destination environment. For more information, see Converting objects for import.
Analyze the converted deployment data set for potential errors that could occur during the import and for the impact on the destination environment. FileNet Deployment Manager provides the capability to create change impact analysis reports to help you with this analysis. The importance of this analysis can vary according to the type of data migration. For example, the analysis for a migration into an external production environment is likely to be more thorough than the analysis for a migration into an internal test environment. For more information, see the concepts and tasks in Analyzing objects for import.
For more specific information about working with change impact analysis for a data migration, when large amounts of data might be imported, see Data migration: Recommendations for analyzing migration results.
Back up the destination system. Complete this step immediately before the import step, allowing the minimum possible time to elapse between the backup and the import. This practice can minimize downtime on the destination system and can help reduce data inconsistencies on the destination system itself and between the destination system and the source system. For more information about backing up a FileNet P8 system, see FileNet P8 domain backup and recovery.
Import the converted deployment data set into the destination environment. For more information, see the concepts and tasks in FileNet P8 asset deployment.
For more information that might help you improve the efficiency of the import, see Data migration: Recommendations for import options.