Last updated on September 08, 2017

Migrating an Appspace on-premises server

This article is for IT Administrators who wish to migrate their current Appspace server to another server. The migration process involves backing up, restoring database tables stored in MySQL Workbench, and reinstalling Appspace on the new server. It also involves replicating the original Appspace folders to the new server.

To perform a full backup and migration, follow the instructions below:

  1. Backup Existing Appspace Databases
  2. Backup Appspace Folders
  3. Request for Appspace License
  4. Reinstall Appspace
  5. Restore Databases
  6. Restore Appspace Folders
  7. Activate Appspace

Important

  • SSO configurations will not be copied over to the migrated server.
  • Users whose invitations are pending must be deleted on this server, and re-invited again on the new server after migration.
  • We recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of Appspace prior to a migration.

Prerequisites

  • Administrator privileges for Windows and Appspace accounts.
  • MySQL version 5.x running the latest MySQL Workbench edition.
  • Identical license key(s) for the backup server.
  • At minimum, a valid Appspace Cloud login credential for Appspace Installation Center download.
  • Use only local hard drives to install Appspace. Remote storage drives such as SAN and NAS are not supported.

Note

The instructions in this article uses the MySQL database as an example.


Backup Existing Appspace Databases

  1. Stop the Internet Information Services (IIS) on the Appspace server, from the command prompt using this command: iisreset /stop


    For more information, please refer to the instructions on the Microsoft website: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/95826e7a-bac4-4e1f-bcb6-c52d49c9d7f4.mspx?mfr=true or https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732317(v=ws.10).aspx

  2. Run the MySQL Workbench program from the Windows Start menu.

  3. Click ‘Local instance MySQL’. The ‘Local instance MySQL’ tab will be displayed, with the Data Export and Data Import/Restore links shown on the Navigator sidebar.


    Note

    You may need to enter the root password (if not already stored in the vault).

  4. Select Data Export under Management in the Navigator pane, and in the Local Instance MySQL tab, select one database schema you would like to export, and ensure that all the tables are selected in the Schema Objects window on the right.

  5. Select the ‘Export to Self-Contained File’ option, and choose a location to store your .sql file (you may also customize the name of the file to your own preference). Click the Start Export button.


    Allow some time for the export process. The progress bar will indicate the status of the task. The task will be completed once the Status indicates that the file has been exported. You may verify this by navigating to the location of the newly-generated .sql file in Windows Explorer.


  6. Repeat Steps 3 to 5 for all the other database schemas by creating new self-contained .sql files. Ensure that only one database schema is selected at any one time, and that the ‘Export to Self-Contained File’ option is selected before exporting.

    Important

    The following databases are required by Appspace for the backup process:

    1. aspnetsession
    2. dsnmetrics
    3. playoutmetrics
    4. tokenman
    5. webman
    6. ext_*

    Note: Ensure all databases with the prefix “ext_” are copied.


Backup Appspace Folders

  1. From Windows Explorer, copy and paste the following Appspace installation folder to a desired backup location:

    • C:\Appspace

    You may choose to copy the folder to a location within the server, or to an external source such as a USB drive or a secure cloud storage service.


    Note

    In Appspace versions prior to 5.1 (i.e. 5.0.x), the installation and content folders are located here:

    • Installation Folder – C:\Nexus
    • Content Folder – C:\NexusMediaNet\FTPFastNetV2

    It is recommended that these old folders are restructured to match the current installation folder structure:

    • Installation Folder – C:\Appspace
    • Content Folder – c:\Appspace-Content
  2. Repeat the same process for any other folder that hosts Appspace files (if any).


Request for Appspace License

Each new Appspace installation requires a new Appspace license. Please contact your respective Appspace sales representative to request for a new Appspace license that matches your previous installation.


Reinstall Appspace

Please refer to the Installing Appspace on-premises article to reinstall the Appspace on-premises server.


Restore Databases

You must restore databases in MySQL by manually importing the self-contained SQL files backed up earlier.

  1. Stop the Internet Information Services (IIS) on the server, by following the instructions on the Microsoft website: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732778(v=ws.10).aspx

  2. In MySQL Workbench, click Data Import/Restore, and select the ‘Import from Self-Contained File’ option. Locate the .sql file in your server and choose the appropriate Default Target Schema from the drop-down menu.


  3. Click the Start Import button. The progress bar will indicate the status of the task.

  4. Repeat the same procedure for the other database schemas (dsnmetrics, playoutmetrics, etc).


Restore Appspace Folders

Once the databases are restored, you may proceed to restore the installation folder from the previous Appspace server to the same location in the new Appspace server. By default the location will be at:

  1. From Windows Explorer, navigate to the Appspace installation folder. Replace the installation folder in the new Appspace server with the backed-up installation folder from the previous Appspace installation.

    • C:\Appspace


  2. Repeat the same process for any other folders backed up earlier.


Run Appspace Installer

  1. Rerun the Appspace Installation Center (AIC) and select the Upgrade option. Please refer to the Upgrade Appspace section.


  2. Start the Internet Information Services (IIS) on the server, by following the instructions on the Microsoft website: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732778(v=ws.10).aspx


Activate Appspace

Proceed to activate the new license. Please refer to the Activating Appspace on-premises article.