Meeting Place upgrade and migrate 8.0 to 8.5

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello,

I need to upgrade and migrate Meeting Place from 8.0 running on MCS server to 8.5 on Cisco UCS Chassis 5108 Blade B200-M2.

I am new to meeting place so require step by step assistance. I can provide any system information which is required.

I managed to collect following information:

1. Single node of MP App server on MCS 7835 server

2. Single Webex node on MCS later we plan to decommision the same and continue using Cloud services.

3. We are using express media server

Thanks in Advace.

[dpetrovi · Accepted solution]

Hi Amandeep,

Before we even talk about the steps to migrate, you need to ensure you have MeetingPlace 8.5 or 8.6 installation DVD. If you have that, and since you are using different hardware, the migration shouldn't be difficult.

here is a rough overview of what you would need to do:

1. On UCS server, install ESXi host (supported version) and install the VMware licenses

2. Create a VM per documentation

3. Install MeetingPlace 8.5/8.6

4. Then, based on the 8.5/8.6 version you installed, you need to download the appropriate Upgrade .bin file from cisco.com and copy it to 8.0 server

5. On MP8.0 server you will need to run this file in order to create 4 migration files and copy these files to your MP8.5/8.6 server

6. Finally, on 8.5/8.6 system you will run a specific restore from these migration files and your migration should be complete

Keep in mind that WebEx Node for MCS 8.5 is End of Sale, so you can discard any WebEx Node for MCS info.

Of course, there are many more details to this process, so once you confirm you have an 8.5/8.6 installation DVD we can proceed further.

In the meantime, can you provide me with more details about your system:

1. Do you have WebEx Scheduling or MeetingPlace scheduling? (I can see there is no mention of MP Web server, but wanted to check)

2. Are your user profiles managed by MeetingPlace (do you have Directory Integration: WebEx > MP > CUCM (via AXL)) or by WebEx (profiles created in WebEx and then synced to MeetingPlace)?

3. How many ports do you have licensed on MP8.0?

4. How many server do you plan to have on 8.5/8.6?

5. Ensure your UCS hardware is listed as supported:  http://docwiki.cisco.com/wiki/Cisco_Unified_MeetingPlace_Release_8.6_--_System_Requirements_for_WebEx-Scheduling_Deployments

-Dejan

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello Dejan,

Thanks for your response.

I could not reply on this becasue i was away from office. I had already requested our account manager for installation DVD and its taking time to move further. Anyways for the time being, I am providing the required information as below:

1. We have webEx scheduling.

2. Currently we have user profiles managed by Meeting Place and its not showing on Webex. We have also created some user profiles on WebEx with HOST previleges.

3. Could you please tell me where i can find this information?

4. Currently we have one server, so it would be one for 8.5 too.

5. We have Cisco UCS Chassis 5108 Blade B200-M2 and in detail as below:

     Model: N20-B6625-1

     CPU Cores: 12 CPUs x 2.526 GHz

     Processor Type: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5649 @ 2.53 GHz

However i don't find this exact information on the link, infact with a little bit difference. Could you please verify if this is fine or not?

I want to gather all the information before getting the file so that i can start as soon as i get the bootable media.

Please let me know if i can provide you more information.

Thanks in Advance.

Amandeep

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello Dejan,

I have got the DVD for Meeting Place 8.6.1.

Could you please suggest me further on this request?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Amandeep Singh

[dpetrovi · Accepted solution]

Hi Amandeep,

Now that you have MP8.6 DVD, you can do the following:

1. On UCS server, install ESXi host (supported version) and install the VMware licenses

2. Create a VM per MeetingPlace 8.6 documentation

3. Install MeetingPlace 8.6 on this Virtual Machine

For steps 1-3 refer to this document:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/meetingplace/8_6/english/install_guide/86mpinst/inst_vm.html

4. Then, you need to download the appropriate Upgrade .bin file from cisco.com (CUMP_AppServerUpgrade_8_6_1_2.bin -

http://tools.cisco.com/search/results/en/us/get#q=CUMP_AppServerUpgrade_8_6_1_2.bin) and copy it to your existing 8.0 server

5. On MP8.0 server you will need to run this file in order to create 4 migration files and copy these four files to your MP8.6 server

6. Finally, on 8.6 system you will run a specific restore from these migration files and your migration should be complete

For steps 4-6, refer to this document:

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/meetingplace/8_6/english/install_guide/86mpinst/upgrading_software.html

7. In the end, go through all the configuration parts of your MP Application server, verify all is configured properly (especially Directory Service configuration if you have your profiles synced from CUCM).

8. Once you verified all was correct, connect your MP8.6 Application server to your WebEx Site:

Step 1  Sign in as ‘admin’ to your WebEx Site administration page .

Step 2  Select Add User.

Step 3  Enter the following values:

• Account Type—Site administrator

• User name—Make sure that this user name is unique. It must not match any account that already exists on Cisco Unified MeetingPlace (e.g. WebEx Administrator – webexadmin).

• Email—Make sure that this email address is unique among all email addresses in Cisco WebEx user profiles. To prevent any conflicts, we recommend that you enter a unique email alias.

• Password—You will require this password when configuring the Cisco WebEx connection in the Cisco Unified MeetingPlace Administration Center in the next task.

You also need to specify the first and last name for this user, for example:

• First name—Administrator

• Last name—WebEx MeetingPlace

Step 4  Select Update or Add.

On the MeetingPlace Administration Center page go to Cisco WebEx Configuration > Cisco WebEx Site Configuration page.

Ensure all the fields are populated properly and that the Access Information (phone numbers are entered)

- Cisco WebEx site name:

- Cisco WebEx site administration user (this should be a new user you created above; e.g. webexadmin)

- Add the phone numbers that will be shown in e-mail notification for Dialing in to the server in the following format (e.g. 1-555-123-4567). Make sure that the first number in the list is a number that will be called from PSTN to reach MeetingPlace server (this number is also used for Network Based Recording connection).

Once you confirmed all the information is correct, click Configure WebEx button to connect your new MP8.6 Application server to your WebEx site. Once this connects, your WebEx Site will be adjusted for MP8.6 integration automatically, and you should be able to continue using your system normally.

I hope you will find this information helpful.

-Dejan

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello Dejan,

Thanks for your assistance.

I am planning to migrate Meeting place this weekend. However before going for final activity, i  have few queries. Could you please clarify my doubts as mentioned below:

1. We have so many webex/audio meeting scheduled on WebEx site. I don't want to losse any meeting details. Could you please verify what will be the status after migration?

2. WebEx site is already integrated with existing meeting place, so can i use same information to integrate with new Meeting place as you mentioned in Step1-4.

3. Does it require downtime while running .bin file in order to create 4 migration files which will later be uploaded to new meeting place 8.6?

4. Is it possible to upload the 4 migration files to ver. 8.6  using the WinSCP as the same i used to upload .bin file and download 4 migration files from the exiting ver. 8.0 in the test environment.

These might be silly queries, however these are most important for me.

Thanks in Advance.

Amandeep Singh

[dpetrovi · Accepted solution]

Hi Amandeep,

Let me answer your questions:

1. There will be no changes to the meetings on the WebEx Site. Meetings on WebEx Site would be affected only if you for some reason decided to reprovision the entire WebEx site which is not part of the migration process.

2. Once you migrate the to MP8.6 and all the data is restored, I would advise you create a separate administrator type of account on your WebEx site, and use that account to populate WebEx Intergation settings on MP Application server. There is a slight difference between 8.0 and 8.6 when it comes to WebEx integration, so I don't recommend using MP's built-in admin account for this integration.

3. Yes, it does require a downtime. Also, you wouldn't like your users to use MP8.0 system during or after you created migration files, as you want to ensure all the date is migrated.

4. You can use WinSCP to transfer migration files. When you generate migration files using the .bin file you can choose option to use local MP8.0 App server as the RSYNC server and hence save them locally to your MP8.0 server. Once files are generated and saved locally, you will just have to adjust permissions on the files so you can copy them with WinSCP to your machine (chmod 777 filename). Once you have them on your machine, then copy them to MP8.6 again by using WinSCP.

I hope this helps.

-Dejan

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello Dejan,

Thanks for your immediate response.

Just to have more clarification on 3rd & 4th point.

3. In case migration doesn't go well then will i be able to use existing system as it is?

4. What permissions need to ajust and where?

Thanks,

Amandeep

[dpetrovi · Accepted solution]

Hi Amandeep,

In case migration doesn't go well, you will be able to use the existing system as it is. Intervention is only needed if you migrate and connect your MP8.6 App server to your WebEx Site, and then decide to go back. Then we need to revert the actual site back to 8.0 compatible version. It is a harmless process, but needs to be done by TAC.

As for permissions, once the 4 migration files are generated on MP App 8.0 app server, you will need to SSH to that MP App server, browse to the directory where 4 migration files are stored, and there modify permissions on the files by running linux command 'chmod 777 filename' for each of the files. Since these files are generated by 'root', if you don't update permissions, you won't be able to copy them with WinSCP which uses 'mpxadmin' account to connect.

I hope this helps.

-Dejan

[Amandeep Virk]

Hello Dejan,

Thanks for assisting me to complete this activity. I have successfuly migrated MeetingPlace and integrated with WebEx site.

Now everything is working fine.

Thanks,

Amandeep Singh

[dpetrovi]

Hi Amandeep,

I am happy to hear that. I am glad all is working fine.

-Dejan