While using Autodesk Vault, you may encounter the need to move your data from one server to another. Some of the reasons to move to another server could be due to hardware replacement, upgrades, or the wish to create a test environment with a copy of your production data. There are two supported methods to migrate your vault and its data to a new server:
Performing a Vault Backup and Restore and using the ADMS Detach and Attach command. This article will focus on the first method, Backup and Restore, for details on the ADMS tool see Migrating Your Autodesk Vault Server using ADMS Detach and Attach.
Is ADMS Backup and Restore the right direction for your organization?
Pros: Backup and Restore creates all SQL permissions and migrates the databases. It maintains all Vault permissions. This method backs up and validates all the Vaults, Content Centers, and the filestores. Everything is contained in the backup folder – including the filestores – leaving one folder to copy to the new server.
Cons: Time to complete can be long depending on the size of the database. You have to have downtime from the production environment to backup, copy, and restore. You need space for both the backup file of the databases and filestores as well as the restore of each.
Let’s get started:
Before you begin you must have the following prerequisites installed: A matching or higher version of SQL Server as your original server and the same patch level version or higher of Autodesk Management Server (ADMS) Console installed. These can be installed on a single server or multi-application environment and as a local or remote SQL Server configuration. Instructions for installing SQL are available here (which includes instructions for a remote SQL Server configuration) and help to install Vault can be found here. *IMPORTANT WARNING* After installing the ADMS Console do NOT open it on the new server/s, or you may not be able to proceed with the restore. Once you have finished installing Vault and SQL, you are ready to migrate your databases.
Steps:
- From the ADMS Console on your current server - perform a backup - select Tools and select backup and restore
- Choose Backup and click on next
- Enter the backup location
- Copy the Backup folder from the Current server to the new server
- From the ADMS Console on your new server – perform a restore - select Tools and backup and restore
- Choose Restore and select next
- Enter the backup folder you copied to above and where to restore the database data files to as well as filestore location (top level). Choosing original will default to the folder structure on the originating server that created the backup
- Once completed you can delete any Unassigned sites displayed with the original server name.
When Building a Test Server:
If you are migrating to a new server to build a test server you can use ADMS backup and restore at any time, there is no concern about downtime to production. You need only install SQL and ADMS on the new server and restore the Backup.
