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Old 07-15-2008, 07:46 AM   #1
mnsfj23
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Question Upgrading to BES 4.1 SP5

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We are planning an upgrade of the BES. Our current version is 4.0.5 MR5. We wish to upgrade to 4.1.5. I had a few questions regarding the process.

A little preface about our environment:

-One MAPI profile
-Stable Exchange 2003 SP2 environment
-Windows 2003 Enterprise environment
-Current BES with 500 users

1. The 4.1.5 will be installed on new hardware (will be following the 4.1.5 Upgrade Guide for new install on new machine). Do we need the Migration Tool (besmigration.exe) to move the users seamlessly?

2. Will the users need to reactivate their devices after the new BES has been implemented? (Please note, there will be no changes with the existing CAL, SRP ID..etc)

3. Anything else that I need to watch out for?

Thank you!
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Old 07-15-2008, 07:55 AM   #2
hdawg
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Quote:
We are planning an upgrade of the BES. Our current version is 4.0.5 MR5. We wish to upgrade to 4.1.5. I had a few questions regarding the process.

A little preface about our environment:

-One MAPI profile
-Stable Exchange 2003 SP2 environment
-Windows 2003 Enterprise environment
-Current BES with 500 users
Quote:
1. The 4.1.5 will be installed on new hardware (will be following the 4.1.5 Upgrade Guide for new install on new machine). Do we need the Migration Tool (besmigration.exe) to move the users seamlessly?
No

Quote:
2. Will the users need to reactivate their devices after the new BES has been implemented? (Please note, there will be no changes with the existing CAL, SRP ID..etc)
No, however they will receive an updated IT Policy and series of service books.

Quote:
3. Anything else that I need to watch out for?
Take backups!

Personally, I'd recommend performing the 4.1 SP5 upgrade in-place on the current BES, and then migrating to new hardware using a knife-edge cutover.

Keep these handy too:

KB13393 - BlackBerry MDS Connection Service is still listed in BlackBerry Manager after removing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server from the BlackBerry Domain
KB10708 - Repair Install process causes the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service to stop
KB10116 - MDS-CS in BlackBerry Manager must match the NetBIOS name of the computer
KB14439 - BlackBerry MDS Connection Service or BlackBerry Collaboration service do not start
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Old 07-15-2008, 07:56 AM   #3
DarthBBerry
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3 words will help you greatly: Knife Edge Cutover. Best way to go.

Be sure to upgrade your OLD BES to 4.1.5 first, then Knife Edge.
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Old 07-15-2008, 08:04 AM   #4
mnsfj23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DarthBBerry View Post
3 words will help you greatly: Best way to go.

Be sure to upgrade your OLD BES to 4.1.5 first, then Knife Edge.
Thanks for the advice. Well, what would be the risk if the current BES is left alone, and I install a new BES (4.1.5) on a new hardware, bring it up online and create a new SQL DB instance (the current DB is a MSDE instance) then move the users to the new BES? I guess my thought is similar to the KEC plan, but without upgrading the current BES to 4.1.5. The worry is that if the move to the new BES doesn't go well, I can always turn the BES services back online on the old BES as a mitigation plan.
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Old 07-15-2008, 08:06 AM   #5
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[QUOTE=mnsfj23;1017418]
Quote:
Well, what would be the risk if the current BES is left alone, and I install a new BES (4.1.5) on a new hardware, bring it up online and create a new SQL DB instance (the current DB is a MSDE instance) then move the users to the new BES?
If you move the database from MSDE to SQL and point the new server to that same database, just hosted on SQL, then you're good. If you point to a new / different database then each user will need to wipe and re-activate their HH.

Quote:
The worry is that if the move to the new BES doesn't go well, I can always turn the BES services back online on the old BES as a mitigation plan.
That is what full OS backups are for.
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Old 07-15-2008, 08:42 AM   #6
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[QUOTE=hdawg;1017423][QUOTE=mnsfj23;1017418]

If you move the database from MSDE to SQL and point the new server to that same database, just hosted on SQL, then you're good. If you point to a new / different database then each user will need to wipe and re-activate their HH.


Thanks! So this is what I'll do. Backup the MSDE config db on the old BES, create a new config DB on our SQL cluster, restore the MSDE db to the newly created SQL DB, stop the BES services on the old BES, install 4.0.5.5 on the new hardware, install the upgrade media 4.1.5, point the db location to remote SQL DB, and then move the users over using the old Blackberry Manager GUI.

Thanks again!
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Old 07-15-2008, 01:18 PM   #7
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One more question.

What needs to happen to the MDS migration?

"When using BlackBerry® Mobile Data System (BlackBerry MDS) Services, you must create a new mdss and mdss_dis database. A knife-edge cutover of the BlackBerry MDS Services is not supported.

Note: MDSS is supported only if the BlackBerry Enterprise Server name is not changed."

The BES name will not change.
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Old 07-15-2008, 11:12 PM   #8
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Do you use MDSS / MDS-IS?

Do you know the difference between MDS-CS and MDSS/MDS-IS?

Can you restate your procedure again? It made me dizzy after reading it a few times.
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Old 07-16-2008, 07:15 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hdawg View Post
Do you use MDSS / MDS-IS?

Do you know the difference between MDS-CS and MDSS/MDS-IS?

Can you restate your procedure again? It made me dizzy after reading it a few times.
Well, I know that the MDS-CS is the connection server for the BES and that changing the machine name of the BES (Windows name) can bring up problems with web broswing. Is the MDS-IS for BPS or BIS?

Sure. Sorry about that I'm still in planning phases so my process is kinda jumbled right now, so bear with me.

-Currently have one BES (Also the BlackBerry Server Name) with 500 users on it.
-Version is 4.0.5.5
-Current DB is the MSDE Config DB
-Want to move to an actual SQL DB and the SQL DB will housed on a remote SQL 2000 server.
-Have a new hardware that's being prepped for a new BES installation
-Want to have the BES version 4.1 SP5 on the new box
-Since I don't want the users to re-activate using enterprise activation (that would be a disaster), I need to backup the current MSDE config db and restore that onto the soon to be created SQL DB on the remote SQL server.


1. Record the current BES info (SRP ID/KEY, CAL keys, BES admin info)
2. Backup the MSDE DB on the exisiting BES and save it locally
3. Create a new SQL DB on the remote SQL 2000 server and name it BESMgmt (the same default name as the MSDE DB)
4. Install BES 4.0.5.5 on the NEW server, point the DB location to the newly created BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote server. (Here's a question; Should I just skip the manual creation of the DB and just let the BES install create a DB on the remote SQL server?)
5. Install the BES 4.1 SP5 media on the NEW server. (Make sure the BES services are Stopped)
6. Restore the MSDE DB backup from the OLD server to the new BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote SQL server.
7. Stop and disable the BES services on the OLD server.
8. Start the BES services on the NEW server.
9. Move the BES users from the OLD to the NEW server

Again, sorry for my gibberish. Thanks for your help.

Mike
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Old 07-16-2008, 08:00 AM   #10
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Quote:
Well, I know that the MDS-CS is the connection server for the BES and that changing the machine name of the BES (Windows name) can bring up problems with web broswing.
Correct.

Quote:
Is the MDS-IS for BPS or BIS?
MDS-IS is MDS Integration Services (previously called MDS Services); it is for custom application development / integration. Most people don't use this ... doesn't appear that you do either.

Quote:
-Currently have one BES (Also the BlackBerry Server Name) with 500 users on it.
-Version is 4.0.5.5
-Current DB is the MSDE Config DB
-Want to move to an actual SQL DB and the SQL DB will housed on a remote SQL 2000 server.
-Have a new hardware that's being prepped for a new BES installation
-Want to have the BES version 4.1 SP5 on the new box
-Since I don't want the users to re-activate using enterprise activation (that would be a disaster), I need to backup the current MSDE config db and restore that onto the soon to be created SQL DB on the remote SQL server.
Ok, this makes sense now.

Quote:
1. Record the current BES info (SRP ID/KEY, CAL keys, BES admin info)
2. Backup the MSDE DB on the exisiting BES and save it locally
Good and good.
Quote:
3. Create a new SQL DB on the remote SQL 2000 server and name it BESMgmt (the same default name as the MSDE DB)
NO! ... well, not totally. At this point you want to restore your SQL database backed up from MSDE to SQL. I would then start up the services on the current BES and make sure you've properly moved the SQL database. Don't try to do too many steps without checking whenever you can.

Quote:
4. Install BES 4.0.5.5 on the NEW server, point the DB location to the newly created BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote server. (Here's a question; Should I just skip the manual creation of the DB and just let the BES install create a DB on the remote SQL server?)
5. Install the BES 4.1 SP5 media on the NEW server. (Make sure the BES services are Stopped)
6. Restore the MSDE DB backup from the OLD server to the new BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote SQL server.
7. Stop and disable the BES services on the OLD server.
8. Start the BES services on the NEW server.
9. Move the BES users from the OLD to the NEW server
So here's where it gets messy ...

I wouldn't follow this procedure, but rather after verifying that the database was successfully migrated I would shut down the BES services on the old server and take ANOTHER backup of the database on the SQL server. I would actually take a complete SQL backup at this point.

Then I would install BES 4.1 SP5 on the new server. (make sure whatever account you're using to connect to SQL from the new server to the SQL server has the sysadmin role). You'll upgrade the database and install the software at the same time. This is 100% supported. Make sure that when you install 4.1 SP5 you read every screen completely ... you'll get to a screen that will prompt you for the BES Server Name. This name needs to match the current name listed within the BlackBerry Manager on the current server. The name will NOT default to the proper name; it will default to the NETBIOS name of the current server; which will break your environment. So after changing the name to match what the BES Server Name is on the old server (most likely its NETBIOS name), you continue through the install ....

When the install is done you need to take extra care to ensure that the services on the old BES don't get started ... in fact; set them to disabled.

You start up the services on the new BES and then the BES will push out new service books and IT Policy to your users ... but they won't have to reactivate. The service book and IT Policy update is a standard part of upgrading to 4.1 SP5 ... even upgrades from 4.1 SP4 have this happen.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit.

Good luck
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Old 07-16-2008, 01:40 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnsfj23 View Post
Thanks for the advice. Well, what would be the risk if the current BES is left alone, and I install a new BES (4.1.5) on a new hardware, bring it up online and create a new SQL DB instance (the current DB is a MSDE instance) then move the users to the new BES? I guess my thought is similar to the KEC plan, but without upgrading the current BES to 4.1.5. The worry is that if the move to the new BES doesn't go well, I can always turn the BES services back online on the old BES as a mitigation plan.
If you want to do it this way, then you will have to install the same version of BES on the new server and then backup the old db and restore to new server. Make sure to keep the BES name the same. Then upgrade the new server to current software level. If you go with a fresh install of BES and DB then you will have to reactivate the users. You can also do a new install of BES and point the DB to the current DB and then move the user to the new server. This will update the DB schema with the new software. GL
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Old 07-16-2008, 01:44 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mnsfj23 View Post
Well, I know that the MDS-CS is the connection server for the BES and that changing the machine name of the BES (Windows name) can bring up problems with web broswing. Is the MDS-IS for BPS or BIS?

Sure. Sorry about that I'm still in planning phases so my process is kinda jumbled right now, so bear with me.

-Currently have one BES (Also the BlackBerry Server Name) with 500 users on it.
-Version is 4.0.5.5
-Current DB is the MSDE Config DB
-Want to move to an actual SQL DB and the SQL DB will housed on a remote SQL 2000 server.
-Have a new hardware that's being prepped for a new BES installation
-Want to have the BES version 4.1 SP5 on the new box
-Since I don't want the users to re-activate using enterprise activation (that would be a disaster), I need to backup the current MSDE config db and restore that onto the soon to be created SQL DB on the remote SQL server.


1. Record the current BES info (SRP ID/KEY, CAL keys, BES admin info)
2. Backup the MSDE DB on the exisiting BES and save it locally
3. Create a new SQL DB on the remote SQL 2000 server and name it BESMgmt (the same default name as the MSDE DB)
4. Install BES 4.0.5.5 on the NEW server, point the DB location to the newly created BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote server. (Here's a question; Should I just skip the manual creation of the DB and just let the BES install create a DB on the remote SQL server?)
5. Install the BES 4.1 SP5 media on the NEW server. (Make sure the BES services are Stopped)
6. Restore the MSDE DB backup from the OLD server to the new BESMgmt SQL DB on the remote SQL server.
7. Stop and disable the BES services on the OLD server.
8. Start the BES services on the NEW server.
9. Move the BES users from the OLD to the NEW server

Again, sorry for my gibberish. Thanks for your help.

Mike
You need to restore the old DB to the new server before you upgrade to 4.1.5 or else the schema will not be upgraded.
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