Migrating B&R to the new server?

[Libertas]

Hi guys,
Before you mention, I have searched the forum to get the information I need, but I haven't been able to find all of it and I got some info which was conflicting, but specific to those users requests, so I am not a 100%, and my migration is a no-point of return sort of thing, so your help is appreciated.

I have:
HP DL180 G5 server with 12x 1TB SATA disk within a Raid 5 (approx 10TB)
Windows 2008 32-bit
Veeam B&R 5.0.2.224
Internal SQL instance as a part of the normal Veeam B&R install
3 Backup Jobs
- HQ1 - Approx 1.76TB VBK + 28 vrb files (total of all files 3.73TB)
- HQ2 - Approx 1.12TB VBK + 28 vrb files (total of all files 2.1TB)
- RemoteSite - 300GB VBK + 28 vrb files (total of all files 1.3TB)

I want to:
Copy all of the above data to removable 2TB external hard disks (I have a few of them for this project, so space is not an issue)
scrub all data of server and change internal storage to
12x 2TB SATA disks on Raid 0+1 (project aim is not to increase disk space but to increase performance & redundancy)
install Windows 2008 R2 64bit (Backup Exec requires 64-bit to run SQL 2008 R2 Continious Protection)
install Veeam B&R 64-bit and re-import all above jobs/files and settings

Aim of this post:
Is there anyway to do the above without having to re-create/run all the job from scratch,
i.e. can I "export/import" jobs and VBK/VRB files from one server to another
I need to do this as current data is very large (as you can see from above, de-duped data is around 3TB) and the last time I had to do this it took around 2-3 days to get initial data backup from SAN, plus I lost all of the historical data.

Questions:
Can it be done?
What do I need to do/save/copy/etc?
What do you guys suggest?
Remembering that once I delete the data/server, I have passed the point-of-return (the windmill along Carson Spur in Back to the Future III, for those of you who know what I'm talking about).

To the Veeam Support Team:
Is it best that I raise a support call for this?

Many thanks for all your help.

[Libertas]

I meant to say:
Veeam B&R 5.0.2.230

[Gostev]

Yes, sure, this is possible and fairly easy to do. Just be sure to save those Veeam configuration database files (MDF/LDF), and then restore them to the new Veeam install. Google to find a good step-by-step for moving SQL database files from one server to another, as this is the only (somewhat) complex part of the whole procedure. Thanks.

[Libertas]

Hi Gostev, I can see from the main page that there is a big enouncement in the next 12 days. Would you say that it would be in my interest to do what I need to do before that announcement, or wait until after as software/features will be released that will help me in doing what I want to do? Thanks, Farhad

[Gostev]

Sure, go ahead and do this now, don't wait. Thanks.

[Gostev]

One thing I have forgotten to note that you need to be prepared for, is that you're going to "lose" all saved passwords, because they are encrypted with machine-specific key. So, all saved passwords will have to be re-entered after you complete the migration, until then nothing will work obviously due to authentication failures. Thanks.

[Libertas]

One thing I have forgotten to note that you need to be prepared for, is that you're going to "lose" all saved passwords, because they are encrypted with machine-specific key. So, all saved passwords will have to be re-entered after you complete the migration, until then nothing will work obviously due to authentication failures. Thanks.

Hi Gostev, I'm not following you, what are machine saved passwords?

Also would you be able to list all the items I would need please, other than the vbk files?

Many thanks,

[tsightler]

Like the credentials for vCenter, any ESX hosts, any Windows passwords used for Veeam VSS/application aware processing, etc. When you enter those via the Veeam GUI they are stored in the database encrypted using a machine specific key, so when you move this database to another machine Veeam is no longer able to decrypt these passwords so you'll have to reenter them.

[Libertas]

hi guys,
Sorry to come back to this, but I am planning to do this work on Friday and I just wanted to tie up some loose ends.
With regard to the database backup, would it be best to copy the databse files from the old server to the new server after installing an own version of SQL 2005, or is it best to run through the installation of Veeam on the new server, let it create the new database, and then swap over the files?
Please bear in mind that I am going from a 32bit OS to a 64bit OS, so I'm not sure even if what I plan to do is wise, or is it best to install from fresh and just take a hit on a full backup running for around 3-4 days?
To all that read, thank for your time in reading/posting.

[Vitaliy S.]

With regard to the database backup, would it be best to copy the databse files from the old server to the new server after installing an own version of SQL 2005, or is it best to run through the installation of Veeam on the new server, let it create the new database, and then swap over the files?

It doesn't matter, though if I were you I would install SQL Express 2005/2008 on the new machine, attach Veeam Backup configuration database and then point to this database while runnig setup for the backup console.

On top of that, here is some guidance that might be useful too: SQL DB to another server?

Good Luck!

[Libertas]

I believe as standard Veeam B&R 5 32-bit (which is what I installed first time round on the current server) installs a SQL Express 2005. Would it be a problem if I installed on the new 64-bit server SQL Express 2008, and then moved the database files from old server to new, or is that an overkill?

[Vitaliy S.]

No, everything should be ok, as both SQL 2005/2008 are fully supported as per our Release Notes.

[morris1x]

[merged]

Hello:

I've noticed something that has turned into a bit of a headache for me.

I've had to reinstall Veeam on three different servers now (Don't ask! ). Not wanting to recreate 70+ jobs from scratch, I moved the database from the old server to the new one and connected Veeam to that database. This works well, with one problem: all of the passwords for every server and every job have to be re-entered or else a job run will lockout the service account.

Is there anyway around this? I'm assuming there isn't, but maybe this behavior is something that can be addressed in the next patch.

Also, (and granted this is probably minor) the email notification in the job summary has the name of the old server in it. The sig looks like this:

Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager
https://[FQDN old server]:9443/default.aspx

I can't for the life of me find a way to correct this.

Any tips? Thanks.

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi Morris, you need to re-enter all your passwords if you migrate SQL configuration database to another machine, because of the reasons described above. Thanks!

[morris1x]

Ok. How about the other question? How do I change the link at the bottom of the Enterprise Manager notification to reflect the new server?