Migrating from Version 4.0.x to a Version 6.0.x standalone application server

Use the migration tools to migrate from Version 4.0.x to a Version 6.0.x standalone application server.

Before you begin

If you use an earlier version of WebSphere Application Server, the system administrator might have fine-tuned various application and server settings for your environment. It is important to have a strategy for migrating these settings with maximum efficiency and minimal loss.

You can migrate administrative configurations with the Migration wizard, which is the graphical interface to the Version 6.0.x migration tools (the WASPreUpgrade command and the WASPostUpgrade command). You can also migrate manually, using the tools from the command line, as this task describes.

You can perform incremental manual migration by calling the migration tools multiple times, each time specifying a different configuration file. There are various reasons for having multiple configuration files. Whatever the reason, migrating one configuration file at a time lets you test applications incrementally before continuing to the next configuration file.

Manual migration provides a more incremental migration approach than the complete migration that the Migration wizard provides. IBM provides a set of migration tools for migrating administrative configurations to the base WebSphere Application Server product from Version 4.0.x. The overall migration process is to install the Version 6.0.x product, back up the current configuration and necessary files, and restore the configuration.

Before using the migration tools, consult the Release Notes document to understand what fixes you must apply to earlier versions. Applying fixes to an earlier version might also apply fixes to files that have a role in the migration. Apply any fixes to ensure the most effective migration of configurations and applications possible.

Typically you can use the WASPreUpgrade and WASPostUpgrade migration tools to upgrade from Version 4.0.x to Version 6.0.x on the same machine. If your scenario includes migrating a Version 4.0.x configuration on one machine to WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0.x on another machine, use the alternate procedure described in Migrating from Version 4.0.x to a remote standalone Version 6.0.x machine.

About this task

This article describes using the Version 6.0.x migration tools to migrate the following products:
  • WebSphere Application Server Advanced Edition Version 4.0.x
  • WebSphere Application Server Advanced Single Server Edition Version 4.0.x (the steps vary slightly)

The WASPreUpgrade tool saves the existing Version 4.0.x configuration into a migration_specific_backup directory. The WASPostUpgrade tool uses this directory to add the old configuration settings to the new Version 6.0 environment.

Procedure

  1. Perform a typical or custom Version 6.0.x installation.
  2. Use the Version 6.0.x Profile creation wizard to create a standalone profile.
    Note: When you create the Version 6.0.x profile, the NodeName you choose must match one of the NodeNames in the Version 4.0.x environment.
  3. Recommended: Use the Migration wizard to migrate the node (the recommended way to access the Migration wizard is through the First Steps console). If you choose to use the Migration wizard, you do not need to proceed through the rest of the steps in this task.
  4. Save the current configuration using the WASPreUpgrade script from the migration/bin directory of the product CD-ROM. Save the configuration in the migration_specific_backup directory:
    WASPreUpgrade /usr/tmp/migration_specific_backup /usr/websphere/appserver your_node_name
    For Version 4.0.x Advanced Edition, verify that the administrative server of the existing environment is running. The WASPreUpgrade tool provides status to the screen and to log files in the migration_specific_backup directory. ASCII log file names start with the text WASPreUpgrade and include a date and timestamp.

    See WASPreUpgrade command for a list of the files and directories from the existing Version 4.0.x configuration that WASPreUpgrade saves to the backup directory.

    The WASPreUpgrade tool saves selected files from the Version 4.0.x app_server_root/bin directory. It also exports the existing application server configuration from the Version 4.0.x repository. The WASPreUpgrade tool calls the XMLConfig tool to export the existing Version 4.0.x repository to the websphere_backup.xml file in the migration_specific_backup directory.

    Version 4.0.x Advanced Single Server Edition does not require the administrative server to run at the time of migration. The WASPreUpgrade tool copies the server-cfg.xml file from the app_server_root/config directory to the migration_specific_backup/config directory.

    If errors occur for a Version 4.0.x Advanced Single Server Edition scenario while running the WASPreUpgrade tool, you might have to apply fixes to the Version 4.0.x installation to successfully complete the export step. See the IBM Support page for the latest fixes that might be applicable. When viewing this information from the information center, click Support to link to the IBM Support page.

  5. Migrate the previous configuration to the new installation with the WASPostUpgrade command in the profile_name/bin directory of the Version 6.0.x installation. The WASPostUpgrade tool migrates Version 4.0.x configuration information created by the WASPreUpgrade tool to the Version 6.0.x installation.

    The WASPostUpgrade tool does not migrate samples or the administrative console application because there are already samples and an administrative console application in Version 6.0.x.

    The WASPostUpgrade tool records detailed information specific to each enterprise bean it deploys, in the WASPostUpgrade.log file.
  6. Stop the administrative server of the earlier version if it is running, before running the Version 6.0.x node.
  7. Configuring WebSphere Application Server after migration. This is a way of verifying the results of the migration tools. You can also use Configuration mapping during migration to verify the results of the migration. The article has a detailed description of how the migration tools migrate objects, and what you should verify.

Results

You can use the migration tools to perform a manual migration from WebSphere Application Server Version 4.0.x to Version 6.0.x.

What to do next

After you test and verify that the applications and configuration data you moved to the Version 6.0.x node is successful, you can uninstall the Version 4.0.x application server as described in the information centers for those releases. Click the Library link at the bottom of any Version 6.0.x information center article to locate the information centers for the other releases.

Return to Migrating product configurations to continue.




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Last updated: Aug 29, 2010 6:22:59 PM CDT
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