11.4 Moving Non-Clustered Devices From NetWare 6.0 to NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare

NSS supports moves of devices containing NSS volumes from a NetWare 6.0 server to a NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare server. For information, see Section 11.1, Guidelines for Moving Devices Cross-Platform.

To preserve the NSS pool and volumes on the device when you move it, you must modify the volumes’ Storage objects in eDirectory. You “decommission” the volume by removing its related Storage object from eDirectory for the original server. You “recommission” the volume by creating a new Storage object in eDirectory for the destination server. When moving clustered devices cross-platform, such as in a mixed cluster configuration, Novell Cluster Services automatically manages the Storage object updates to eDirectory.

NOTE:The “decommission” and “recommission” terminology is used only to illustrate the process; it does not represent a particular technology or tool.

IMPORTANT:Similar handling is necessary when moving devices with NSS pools between any two OES servers (NetWare and Linux, NetWare and NetWare, or Linux and Linux).

This section describes how to move devices cross-platform from a NetWare 6.0 server to a NetWare 6.5 or OES NetWare server:

11.4.1 Prerequisites

When moving a non-clustered device, you must also move any other devices that contribute segments to the NSS pools on the device you are moving.

11.4.2 Setting Up File Access For Users on the Destination Server

Before or after you move a device, you need to set up file access for users on the destination server. The original server and the destination server can be in the same or different eDirectory trees.

If the destination server is in the same tree as the original server, the file system trustees and trustee rights continue to work after the move.

If the destination server is in a different tree, use eDirectory to enable or reassign affected users for access in the destination tree. For information, see the Novell eDirectory 8.8 Administration Guide.

11.4.3 Decommissioning Each NSS Pool and Its Volumes on the Original Server

For each NSS pool, decommission the pool and its volumes from the original server.

  1. Deactivate the pool: At a server console, enter

    nss /pooldeactivate=pool

  2. Remove the eDirectory Storage objects for the NSS pool and each of its volumes.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click eDirectory Administration > Delete Object.

    3. Specify the name and context of the object or objects you want to delete.

    4. Click OK.

  3. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 for each pool on the devices you plan to move.

  4. If you are using DFS in the tree where the original server is located, run VLDB Repair.

    On the primary VLDB server, at the command prompt, enter

    vldb repair

    The VLDB Repair removes a GUID entry for each of the decommissioned volumes from the VLDB.

  5. Remove or reallocate the devices from the original server. Depending on your storage configuration, this might require a server shutdown.

11.4.4 Recommissioning Each NSS Pool and Its Volumes on the Destination Server

For each NSS pool, recommission the pool and its volumes on the destination server.

  1. Relocate or reassign the devices to the destination server.

  2. Reboot the destination server to mount the devices.

  3. If a pool on the devices you moved is not automatically activated, activate the pool. At a server console, enter

    nss /poolactivate=pool

  4. Create the eDirectory Storage objects for the NSS pool and each of its volumes.

    1. In iManager, click Roles and Tasks Roles and Tasks Icon.

    2. Click Storage > Pools.

    3. Browse to select the destination server.

    4. Select the pool, then click Update eDirectory.

    5. In the lower right, select View Volume Details to view all volumes on the selected pool.

      iManager opens to the Volumes page with the server and pool preselected.

    6. For each volume in the selected pool, select the volume, then click Update eDirectory.

    7. Repeat Step 4.d through Step 4.f for each NSS pool and its volumes.

  5. Allow the eDirectory tree to stabilize.

    This can take several minutes.

  6. Run VLDB Repair.

    At the command prompt on the primary VLDB server, enter

    vldb repair

    The VLDB Repair adds a GUID entry to the VLDB for each of the recommissioned volumes.

  7. Make sure the devices are up and working as expected on the destination server.

  8. For each device, you can optionally upgrade the format for its partitions on the device, or leave the partitions in the old format.

    Upgrading the partitions on the device to the NetWare 6.5 and later partition format is strongly recommended, but it is not necessary unless you want to mirror a partition on the device. Before you can create the mirror, you must upgrade the partition format of the partitions on the device you moved.

    At a server console, enter

    mm upgrade partitions

  9. If you upgrade the partitions, we recommend that you consider upgrading the media format to take advantage of the enhanced hard link support.

    For information, see Section 4.0, Upgrading the NSS Media Format.

  10. If you want to mirror the upgraded partition from Step 9, see Section 13.7, Mirroring an Existing Pool with NSSMU.