2.2 Performing the Post Office Migration

In order to reduce the amount of time during which users cannot access their GroupWise mailboxes during the post office migration process, the post office data is copied twice. During the first copy, the POA is allowed to continue running and users can continue working. Because users are still accessing their mailboxes, some files are modified after being copied, thus necessitating the second copy of the files. For the second copy, the POA is stopped and users cannot access their Online mailboxes. However, only the modified files are copied, so the second copy procedure finishes much more quickly.

  1. In the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin folder, use DBCopy to copy the post office folder from the NetWare or Windows server to the new folder on the Linux server.

    ./dbcopy -m -f -p /post_office_folder /destination_folder

    The -m switch indicates that DBCopy is being used for migration to Linux. This ensures that all folder names and file names are in lower case.

    The -f switch indicates that this is the first pass of the migration process, during which the post office queue folders (wpcsin and wpcsout) are not copied.

    NOTE:If you are migrating a large and active post office, you can run DBCopy with the -f switch multiple times as you work towards the final copy.

    The -p switch indicates that you are migrating a post office.

    The post_office_folder variable includes the Linux mount location (for example, /mnt), the mount point folder, and the full path to the post office folder on the NetWare or Windows server.

    The destination_folder variable is the folder you created on the Linux server in Step 5 in the previous section.

    DBCopy creates a log file named mmddgwbk.nnn. The first four characters represent the date. A three-digit extension allows for multiple log files created on the same day. The log file is created at the root of the destination post office folder. Include the -v switch in the dbcopy command to enable verbose logging for the post office migration.

    DBCopy is typically used for backing up your GroupWise system, but when you use the -m switch to migrate a post office to Linux, it changes folder names to lowercase as required on Linux and copies the message queue folders as well as the GroupWise databases in the post office.

    This initial copy operation might require a substantial amount of time, but users are still able to access their mailboxes. Use the fastest network connection available for this copy operation.

  2. (Conditional) If your Linux environment includes the X Window System, run the GroupWise Installation program to install the Linux POA for the post office, as described in the following section of the GroupWise Installation Guide for your version of GroupWise:

  3. (Conditional) If the X Window System is not available, run the text-based GroupWise Installation program, as described in the following section of the GroupWise Installation Guide for your version of GroupWise:

    If you need to perform the installation from a remote location, you can use ssh to access the remote Linux server. Copy the GroupWise software image or software distribution directory to the server where you have migrated the domain, then run the text-based Installation program to install the POA on the Linux server.

  4. Change to the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin folder.

  5. (Conditional) If the X Window System is available, enter the following command to start the Linux POA to verify that it runs for the post office in the new location:

    ./gwpoa --show --home /post_office_folder --noconfig

    The --show switch starts the POA with a user interface. The --home switch provides the location of the post office. The --noconfig switch prevents the POA from reading configuration information from eDirectory; the current eDirectory information is obsolete because the post office has been migrated. For purposes of this initial test, the POA starts with default configuration settings, including using any available IP address.

    You should see the POA server console described in the following section of the GroupWise Installation Guide for your version of GroupWise:

    If the POA server console does not appear, review the preceding steps to verify that all steps have been followed. For additional assistance, see the following section in GroupWise Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems for your version of GroupWise:

  6. (Conditional) If the X Window system is not available:

    1. If LDAP authentication is not in use, enter the following command to start the Linux POA to verify that it runs for the post office in the new location:

      ./gwpoa --home /post_office_folder --noconfig 
        --ip POA_server_IP_address --httpport 7181

      The --home switch provides the location of the post office. The --noconfig switch prevents the POA from reading configuration information from eDirectory; the current eDirectory information is obsolete because the post office has been migrated. The --ip switch provides the IP address of the server where the POA is running. The -httpport switch enables the POA console and provides the port number.

      or

      If LDAP authentication is enabled for the post office, enter the following command:

      ./gwpoa --home /post_office_folder --noconfig 
        --ip POA_server_IP_address --httpport 7181
        --ldapipaddr LDAP_server_IP_address
        --ldapport LDAP_port (if not the default of 389)

      The --ldapipaddr switch provides the location of the LDAP server. The --ldapport switch is required only if the LDAP server communicates on a port other than the default of 389.

      IMPORTANT:To simplify this test, do not use an SSL connection to the LDAP server.

    2. Open a web browser and display the following URL:

      http://POA_server_IP_address:7181

      You should see the POA console described in the following section of the GroupWise Installation Guide for your version of GroupWise:

      If the POA console does not appear, review the preceding steps to verify that all steps have been followed. For additional assistance, see the following section in GroupWise Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems for your version of GroupWise:

  7. (Conditional) If you have access to a GroupWise mailbox on the post office you have migrated, start the GroupWise client to further verify the functioning of the POA.

  8. After verifying that the Linux POA runs successfully for the post office in the new location on Linux, stop the Linux POA, as described in the following section of the GroupWise Installation Guide for your version of GroupWise:

  9. (Conditional) If you are using SSL, create a new certificate file (file_name.crt) and a new key file (file_name.key) for the Linux server and place them in the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin folder, which is the default location where the POA looks for certificate files.

    For instructions on creating certificate and key files, see the following section of the GroupWise Administration Guide for your version of GroupWise:

  10. (Conditional) If you are using LDAP authentication, copy the public root certificate file (file_name.der) from the LDAP server to the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin folder.

  11. (Conditional) If you are migrating a post office that has a library with a document storage area located outside the post office folder structure, decide how to handle the document storage area:

    • Mount the document storage area: You can leave the document storage area on the NetWare or Windows server. To provide access, permanently mount the storage area folder to the Linux server where the post office is located, using the mount command that is provided in Making a NetWare or Windows Server Visible from Linux.

    • Migrate the document storage area: If you want to eliminate the NetWare or Windows server, you can migrate the document storage area to a convenient location on the Linux server. This also eliminates the need for the permanently mounted file system.

  12. (Conditional) If you decide to migrate the document storage area, use the following DBCopy command to migrate the document storage area to the Linux server: 

    ./dbcopy -m -b /storage_area_folder /destination_folder

    The -m switch indicates that DBCopy is being used for migration to Linux. This ensures that all folder names and file names are in lower case.

    The -b switch indicates that DBCopy is being used to migrate a documentation storage area containing document BLOB (binary large object) files.

    The storage_area_folder variable includes the Linux mount location (for example, /mnt), the mount point folder, and the full path to the document storage area.

    The destination_folder variable is the location on the Linux server where you want to migrate the document storage area.

    DBCopy creates a log file named mmddgwbk.nnn. The first four characters represent the date. A three-digit extension allows for multiple log files created on the same day. The log file is created at the root of the destination document storage area folder. Include the -v switch in the dbcopy command to enable verbose logging for the storage area migration.

  13. Notify users that they must exit the GroupWise client unless they are running in Caching mode.

    Users in Caching mode do not need access to the post office in order to continue using GroupWise. However, they cannot send and receive new messages while the POA is not running.

  14. Continue with Reconfiguring the Post Office in ConsoleOne.