IBM Spectrum Protect upgrade and migration process: Frequently asked questions

Answer

Yes, beginning with IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1.2, enhancements were added to enforce stricter security settings and to provide stronger protection for storage environments.

Before you install or upgrade a server, take a few minutes to learn about the security enhancements and how they affect system installation and configuration:

• See What you should know about security before you install or upgrade the server.

Tip: To find the instructions for your product version, at the upper left of the page, click Change version and click your product version.

• Review the server installation instructions, which can change from release to release. See Installing and upgrading the server.

For late-breaking updates, which might include limitations or known problems, see the readme file:

• For fix pack releases, go to the IBM Spectrum Protect Version 8.1 fix pack readme files. Click the tab for your product version.
• For patch releases, go to the IBM download or Fix Central site. You can find the readme file, named README.htm, next to the installation package.

The security enhancements are designed to benefit you and your customers, so it's worth your while to learn more about them.

Question

I hear that restrictions apply when users upgrade the server from V7 to V8. Can you tell me more?

Answer

When you upgrade an IBM Spectrum Protect server from interim fix 7.1.7.200 and all later V7 levels to V8 levels, restrictions apply. Some upgrade paths are not possible because the server cannot be upgraded to a V8 level that was released earlier than the V7 level.

The following tables list the upgrade restrictions and the paths for successfully upgrading the server from V7.1.7 and V7.1.8 to V8.

Upgrading the server from V7.1.7:

Upgrading the server from V7.1.8:

Question

IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1.1 and later includes support for the Linux® on Power Systems (little endian) operating system. If I have IBM Spectrum Protect installed on a different operating system, can I migrate my storage environment to Linux on Power Systems (little endian) V8.1.1?

Answer

If IBM Spectrum Protect is installed on the IBM AIX operating system, you can migrate the storage environment to Linux on Power Systems (little endian). For instructions, see Migrating IBM Spectrum Protect Servers from one Operating System to Another.

Question

In IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1, support for the following operating systems was discontinued:

• HP-UX
• Oracle Solaris
• Linux on Power Systems (big endian)

If I installed a Tivoli Storage Manager server on one of these operating systems, how can I upgrade that server to V8.1?

Answer

You can complete a cross-platform migration to a supported operating system: AIX, Linux, or Windows. Then, complete additional steps to upgrade the server to V8.1.

For example, if your Tivoli Storage Manager V6.3 server is installed on an Oracle Solaris operating system, complete the following steps:
1. Complete a cross-platform migration from Oracle Solaris to AIX by following the instructions in Migrating IBM Spectrum Protect Servers from One Operating System to Another.
2. Upgrade the V6.3 server on AIX to V7.1.7 on AIX by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.2 or V6.3 to V7.1.
3. Upgrade the server from V7.1.7 to V8.1 by installing the V8.1 server on the V7.1.7 system. Follow the instructions in Installing V8.1 and verifying the upgrade.

Question

My environment includes a Tivoli Storage Manager V6.1 server. Support extensions for V6.1 ended in April 2017. Can I upgrade a V6.1 server directly to V8.1?

Answer

You cannot upgrade the server directly from V6.1 to V8.1. However, you can complete the following steps:

1. Upgrade clients to a level that is supported by V8.1. For more information about client/server compatibility, see technote 660949.
2. Upgrade the server from V6.1 to V6.3:
     a. Go to the IBM download site and extract the V6.3 PDF files.
    b. In the 63 folder, find the Tivoli Storage Manager folder and the Server Installation Guides subfolder.
    c. Open the guide for your operating system and follow the instructions in "Upgrading from Tivoli Storage Manager V6.1 to V6.3 or later."

3. Upgrade the server from V6.3 to V8.1 by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.

If your environment includes storage agents or library clients at V6.1, use the alternative upgrade procedure to maintain the compatibility of the server, storage agents, and library clients, as described in technote 98083. Complete the following steps:
1. Upgrade clients to a level that is supported by V8.1. For more information about client/server compatibility, see technote 660949.
2. Upgrade the server from V6.1 to V6.3 by following the instructions in the V6.3 Installation Guide at the IBM download site.
3. Upgrade all library clients and storage agents to V6.3.
4. Upgrade the server from V6.3 to V8.1 by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.
5. Optionally, upgrade library clients and storage agents to V8.1.

Question

I am running Tivoli Storage Manager V5.5, but support extensions for V5.5 ended in April 2017. Can I upgrade the server directly to V8.1?

Answer

You cannot upgrade a V5.5 server directly to V8.1. However, you can upgrade the server to V7.1 and then to V8.1. Complete the following steps:

1. Upgrade the V5.5 server to V7.1. Follow the instructions in Upgrading the server from V5 to V7.1.1.

2. Upgrade the V7.1 server to V8.1. Follow the instructions in Installing V8.1 and verifying the upgrade.

If your environment includes storage agents or library clients at V5.5, use the alternative upgrade procedure to maintain the compatibility of the server, storage agents, and library clients, as described in technote 1302789. Complete the following steps:
1. Upgrade the server from V5.5 to V6.3 by following the instructions in the V6.3 Upgrade and Migration Guide for V5 Servers at the IBM download site.
2. Upgrade clients to a level that is supported by V8.1. For more information about client/server compatibility, see technote 1053218.
3. Upgrade all library clients and storage agents to V6.3.
4. Upgrade the server from V6.3 to V8.1 by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.
5. Optionally, upgrade library clients and storage agents to V8.1.

Question

I am running Tivoli Storage Manager V5 and would like to move to V7.1 or V8.1. Would it make sense to use a "start from scratch" approach by installing V7.1 or V8.1 on a new computer, and setting up an all-new system?

Answer

Yes. Depending on your needs, this path can be viable. Rather than complete an upgrade on the same computer, some Tivoli Storage Manager users choose to deploy a V7.1 or V8.1 server on a new computer for new data backups. At the same time, they leave the V5 server in place until the data that is stored on the V5 server is no longer needed.

Before you start this type of upgrade, ensure that you fulfill the requirements:

Question

I would like to transition from Tivoli Storage Manager V5.5 to a new IBM Spectrum Protect V8.1 system as simply as possible with minimal downtime. Are there any useful tools or techniques for this transition?

Answer

Yes, you could use the IBM Spectrum Protect Migration Center tool to move data in nodes that belong to a V5.5 server to nodes on a V8.1 server. By using this tool, you might achieve briefer downtimes than you would with the V5 upgrade utilities. However, there are some tradeoffs to consider. IBM Spectrum Protect Migration Center uses export and import operations in the background. These operations can take place while your V5.5 server is online, but the operations copy any client files that are stored on the V5.5 server to the V8.1 server. For more information about the tool, contact Mark Wildey (mark.wildey@uk.ibm.com).

Question

What if I run into issues during an upgrade or migration? Are there any good resources to help me?

Answer

Yes, several resources are available:

Before you upgrade or migrate the server, review the documentation and complete all of the planning and preparation tasks. Ensure that clients, library clients, storage agents, and the Operations Center will be compatible with the upgraded server.

Question

Can I upgrade a Tivoli Storage Manager V5.5.6 server that runs on a Microsoft® Windows operating system directly to V7.1?

Answer

Yes, you can. However, if you have many V5 clients, V5 storage agents, or V5 servers to upgrade, you might encounter logistical difficulties.

For instructions about upgrading a Tivoli Storage Manager server from V5 to V7.1, see Upgrading the server from V5 to V7.1.

Question

If I upgrade my Tivoli Storage Manager server from V5.5 to V7, how much downtime should I expect?

Answer

The following factors can affect the upgrade time:

• The size of the database that is being upgraded.
• The number and speed of system processors.
• The configuration of storage devices. If you are introducing new hardware, plan sufficient time to define the new devices to the server, test the configuration, and adjust storage pools.
• The method for moving the data from the V5 database to the V7 database: media or network. With the media method, you extract the database to media. With the network method, you move the database over a network. The network method overlaps the extraction time with the insertion time. This method might help to reduce the time that is required for the upgrade.
• The type of workload that the server handles. A workload that consists of large numbers of small files, or files with long file names, can cause a relatively longer upgrade time.
• The amount of fragmentation in the V5 database. A higher level of fragmentation results in a more efficient database insertion process because fragmented data on the V5 system can use multiple threads and processors on the V7 system.

When you estimate the time it might take to upgrade the system, consider the results that were obtained in labs. For example, in benchmark environments in IBM labs, upgrade operations achieved 5 - 10 GB per hour by using the network method. This rate is based on the amount of space that is used by the V5 database, not the allocated space for the database. Your environment might produce different results. If you use the media method, the rate is decreased.

For more information about estimating the time that is required for an upgrade from V5 to V7, see Estimating the upgrade time.

Question

Can I upgrade the server from any level of Tivoli Storage Manager V5 to V7.1? Or is there a preferred level of V5 from which I should start the upgrade?

Answer

You can upgrade the server from V5.3.6 or later to any level of V7. However, to determine the most appropriate level for a V5 server, review the following guidelines:

• The preferred method is to upgrade the server to the latest level of V5. In this way, you can use the latest upgrade utilities to extract information from a source server database and to load the information into a target server database.
• For the selected server level, ensure that the latest interim fix is installed. In this way, you can reduce the risk of upgrade issues.
• Because upgrade utilities are provided in a separate package, you can install the latest version of the utilities without immediately upgrading the V5 server. If you are installing only the upgrade utilities without upgrading the V5 server, the following restrictions apply:

◦ The upgrade utilities must be at the same level as the V5 server, or at a later level.

◦ To avoid a potential issue with data extraction, the upgrade utilities must be at V5.5.4 or later.

◦ If you plan to extract the server database to media, the preferred method is to use upgrade utilities that are at V5.5.6 or later.

Question

To reduce operating costs, I would like to migrate my Tivoli Storage Manager V5 system to a Linux operating system. Is that possible?

Answer

Several options are available for cross-platform migrations to a Linux operating system. If you plan to migrate your system from V5 to V6.3, see the following table:

If you plan to migrate your system from V5 to V7, see the following table:

In addition to the previously described procedures, you can use database backup and restore operations to migrate your server from one operating system to another. For instructions, see Migrating Tivoli Storage Manager Servers from One Operating System to Another.

Question

If I am planning an upgrade from V6 to V7, how much time must I allow?

Answer

The required time depends on many factors.

In lab tests, an upgrade from V6.2 or V6.3 to V7.1 took 14 - 45 minutes. This time did not include planning tasks. The results that you achieve might differ, depending on your hardware and software environment, and the size of the server database.

For more information about the time that is required, see Planning the upgrade. To review the upgrade instructions, see Upgrading from Tivoli Storage Manager V6.2 or V6.3 to V7.1.

Question

Support for Tivoli Storage Manager V6.3 ended in April 2017. So, I'm thinking about upgrading my V6.3 system. Can I upgrade directly to V8.1?

Answer

Yes, you can upgrade a server directly from V6.3 to V8.1. Follow the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.

Question

Support for Tivoli Storage Manager V6.2 ended in April 2017 (except for servers on AIX). So, I'm thinking about upgrading my V6.2 system. Can I upgrade directly to V8.1?

Answer

You cannot upgrade directly from V6.2 to V8.1. The preferred method is to upgrade from V6.2 to V6.3, and then from V6.3 to V8.1. Complete the following steps:
1. Upgrade clients to a level that is supported by V8.1. For more information about client/server compatibility, see technote 1053218.
2. Upgrade the server from V6.2 to V6.3:
    a. Go to the IBM download site and extract the V6.3 PDF files.
    b. In the 63 folder, find the Tivoli Storage Manager folder and the Server Installation Guides subfolder.
    c. Open the installation guide for your operating system and follow the instructions in "Upgrading from Tivoli Storage Manager V6.2 to V6.3 or later."

3. Upgrade the server from V6.3 to V8.1 by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.
If your environment includes storage agents or library clients at V6.2, use the alternative upgrade procedure to maintain the compatibility of the server, storage agents, and library clients, as described in technote 1302789. Complete the following steps:
1. Upgrade clients to a level that is supported by V8.1. For more information about client/server compatibility, see technote 1053218.
2. Upgrade the server from V6.2 to V6.3:
    a. Go to the IBM download site and extract the V6.3 PDF files.
    b. In the 63 folder, find the Tivoli Storage Manager folder and the Server Installation Guides subfolder.
    c. Open the installation guide for your operating system and follow the instructions in "Upgrading from Tivoli Storage Manager V6.2 to V6.3 or later."

3. Upgrade all library clients and storage agents to V6.3.
4. Upgrade the server from V6.3 to V8.1 by following the instructions in Upgrading from V6.3 to V8.1.
5. Optionally, upgrade library clients and storage agents to V8.1.

Question

Support for Tivoli Storage Manager V6.1 ended in April 2014. So, I'm thinking about upgrading my V6.1 system. Can I upgrade directly to V7.1?

Answer

You cannot upgrade directly from V6.1 to V7.1. The preferred method is to upgrade from V6.1 to V6.3, and then from V6.3 to V7.1.

For instructions, see Upgrading from Tivoli Storage Manager V6.1 to V7.1.8.