Bridge Upgrade with Spare Hardware - DRS Restore Question

[j.a.m.e.s]

Dear All,

I am planning an upgrade to UCS from 7.1.3 running on MCS 7835-H2 hardware.

I have managed to find a spare MCS 7845-H2 and I wanted to know whether:

1. Is it possible to do a DRS restore from 7835 to 7845? A quick look at the spec sheet suggests Dual Core, 146GB disks and 4GB RAM are the main differences between the two chassis.

2. Can the restore process accommodate a change of IP address? It would be an advantage to use a different IP address on the spare bridge hardware in order to access the SFTP server.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Regards

James.

[Aaron Harrison]

Hi

Yes, you can restore to different hardware. Some restores might be problematic if you are restoring to a smaller server (i.e. smaller HDDs being the major concern).

You can't build the new server with a different IP (must have the same IP, hostname, and all other details) - however once you have done the restore you can go through the standard change-of-CUCM-IP routine to set a new IP. This typically means building the server off the network with another PC or your laptop running SFTP with the backup on it.

Regards

Aaron

Please remember to rate helpful posts to identify useful responses, and mark 'Answered' if appropriate!

[Aman Soi]

Hi James,

Backup can be restored on a different Harwdare and is platform independent.

You need to have same credentials like IP address,Hostname, security password, OS and Application password while restoring the backup on a different platform.

regds,

aman

[Rob Huffman]

Hi James,

Just thought I would add one note to the great tips from my friends

Aaron & Aman (+5 each!)

If moving to 9.x from  7.1.3 on VM Check the migration available

as part of the Drive to 9 "Jump" upgrade from 7.1.3/7.1.5 to 9.1.2

This is a new simplified upgrade process that is detailed by Amit here.

https://supportforums.cisco.com/community/netpro/collaboration-voice-video/ip-telephony/blog/2013/05/20/drive-to-9

And more specifically in the attachment below from Vijay.

Cheers!

Rob

Attachments:

• Drive_to_Nine_Jump_upgrade_versions_4.1.3-7.1.5_to_9.1.2[2].pdf (2.2 MB)     Preview

"When it comes to luck you make your own  " 

- Springsteen

[j.a.m.e.s]

All,

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I hadn't realised that OS, App Admin and Security passwords had to match during the DRS restore. Does this only apply when changing the hardware type, or is this a requirement for all restores?

Regards

James.

[Manish Gogna]

Hi James,

As per the DRS Admin guide, a couple of points are important:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/drs/8_5_1/drsag851.html

"Before  you restore Cisco Unified Communications Manager, ensure that the  hostname, IP address, and deployment type of the restore matches the  hostname, IP address and deployment type of the backup file that you  want to restore. DRS does not restore across different hostnames, IP  addresses and deployment types."

and

"DRS encryption depends on the cluster security  password. If you change this security password through the Command Line  Interface or a fresh install, then it is recommended that you take a  fresh backup immediately or remember the old security password."

Whether the hardware is changed or not, the above points need to be considered.

HTH

Manish

[j.a.m.e.s]

I guess the restore process uses the Security password (and perhaps the other passwords too) in order to restore the .tar.gz onto the target hardware.

Thank you all for your responses, this is very helpful for my planning.