[cartwfh]

Thanks for reading this post. My dilemma deals with how to add 2 new 4.1 servers to a 3.6.6.5 BES environment. Here goes.

We currently have one 3.6.6.5 BES server handling 500 users in 6 locations ( 2 Western US offices, 2 mid-Atlantic US offices, and 2 southeastern US offices), reading from 6 exchange servers, with an SQL database in the same location as the BES itself. I intend to regionalize the service by adding 2 new servers ( 4.0) which one will service the 2 western offices, the other servicing the 2 southeastern office and the main 3.6.6.5 box continuing to handle the main 2 Mid-atlantic offices until that box is updated to 4.1 as well.

The 3.6.6.5 box was updated recently from 3.6.2 to meet the database consistencey requirements as laid out by RIM. Will I be able to add a 4.1 server and move users to this new server without issue while pointing tham all to the same database? Will the servers see each other or are the database requirements for the two( 3.6.6 vs 4.0 still different animals? MY plane is to build to new 4.1 servers here in the main office, connect them to the database, ship them to the new locations with no users yet migrated, migrate the users after the site technicians bring the new boxes on line, the knife-edge the 3.6.6.5 box over, in place upgrade to 4.1.... voila right?

Or perhaps my plan is doomed from the start? Any thoughts?
!

[boobleberry]

Hi Cartwfh,

Your new 4.1 servers pointing to the same database will see each other. However, your other servers will not. You will also need to perform a device "wipe" for each user you move over to your new server. Otherwise you will not be able to wirelessly activate your users (providing that they are using device OS 3.8 and above). You can still activate via USB without wiping the device but any IT policies that you set on the new server will not be applied to the device. hmm, better yet, if you do not wipe a device from one DB to another, then the "old" IT policy will stll be enforced (RIM calls this their security feature) and the new IT polic will not be pushed to the device.

If your new DB is clean on your new servers you can always backup and import your DB to the new servers. Not sure how well that would go though. Anyone else done that before?

Hope this helps out a little.

[jibi]

You could just upgrade the 3.6 installation to 4.1 and then install the other 4.1 BES servers to point to that same database and move users between the servers at will with no user interaction and very little disruption (no handheld wipes, no reactivations initiated by the users - there is a short enterprise activation that happens automatically on the device).

Just a suggestion - might make life a bit easier (or it could have a botched upgrade and you'd be in a bad place, but...).

[cartwfh]

the 3.6 box is older and does not meet 4.0 minimum requirements. not a problem to do a cut over but then the additional syncronizations of 4.0 (notes task, wireless contacts and such) will make wireless email delivery slower than it already is since only on server will be in use untill the 2 new servers are ready to go. That would in turn make me have to handle the introduction of these servers on a much faster schedule than I had planned to do. sounds like that might be my only option though.

[boobleberry]

Actually Jibi has a point. Why not just have your new servers point the the old DB. Since you have an all-in-one installation all you have to do is remove the BES app from the server (or disable the services) and keep SQL. Unless of course you are also in the process of doing a hardware refresh.

Is your BES local to the Exchange server?

[jibi]

Originally Posted by cartwfh

the 3.6 box is older and does not meet 4.0 minimum requirements. not a problem to do a cut over but then the additional syncronizations of 4.0 (notes task, wireless contacts and such) will make wireless email delivery slower than it already is since only on server will be in use untill the 2 new servers are ready to go. That would in turn make me have to handle the introduction of these servers on a much faster schedule than I had planned to do. sounds like that might be my only option though.

what about doing a knife-edge cutover with the 3.6 installation to the new server hardware and then upgrading it to 4.1 at your own pace then introducing the second 4.1 server to the database at that point as well and moving some users over to it?



...i suppose we could come up with something a little more creative, though... hehe.