Upgrade BF Sever from 2012 to 2016

[BregBF]

Currently have BF installed on 2012 Virtual server and I want to install on a 2016 physical server. Is it possible to utilize the current license to install on 2016 and run parallel servers in the same networking environment?

[Aram]

What you are describing is a server migration. I’d recommend the following for reference:

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/Tivoli+Endpoint+Manager/page/Server+Migration

This provides guidance on performing a migration, which entails bringing down the old server as part of the process (meaning there wouldn’t be two BigFix server instances with the same masthead running at the same time).

[BregBF]

Thank you for your input

[Aram]

Please don’t hesitate to reply here if you have any questions/concerns.

[BregBF]

OK so it looks like I will not be able to utilize the existing license to stand up a new instance of BigFix. We can only migrate from 2012 to 2016 server with the stipulations of using same name, ip address and the likes. So my scenario can only be accomplished by having 2 separate licenses and clients pointing to an independent server.
Question: Are licenses based upon endpoints? For example 1 server licensed for 10K endpoints would cost differently than 2 servers with 5k endpoints apiece in the same environment? If so, can the cost associated with Group 1 (1 server 10k users) be adjusted/distributed to accommodate Group 2 (2 servers each with 5k users)?

[JasonWalker]

If you can take a few hours of downtime, it’s far easier IMO to perform a disaster-recovery scenario.

Build the new server with a temp name & IP address, and install SQL. Then, on your old server, disable BigFix, swap names & IP addresses between your new and old servers, restore the Bigfix database & files onto the new server, reinstall Bigfix Server on the new server (the installer will treat it as an upgrade/reinstall) and run the SQL stored procedure for renaming a server.

You can practice the restore-and-upgrade scenario to get an idea of the downtime required and to practice the procedure. Until you are ready to swap the names and addresses, the old and new server can coexist, you just won’t have any clients reporting on the new server.

[Aram]

Question: Are licenses based upon endpoints? For example 1 server licensed for 10K endpoints would cost differently than 2 servers with 5k endpoints apiece in the same environment? If so, can the cost associated with Group 1 (1 server 10k users) be adjusted/distributed to accommodate Group 2 (2 servers each with 5k users)?

BigFix licenses are based on the endpoints, not the number of BigFix Server instances. Your license entitlement does allow you to have 2 BigFix Server instances (i.e. 2 mastheads) and to allocate the number of endpoints as desired. However, Clients can only report to one BigFix Server at a time, and while we provide a Fixlet to have Clients switch their masthead, you’d also have to migrate BigFix users/operators, settings, policies, etc…

Perhaps you could give us a little bit more insight on what it is you are trying to achieve? Is your existing masthead tied to a particular server name or IP (rather than a DNS alias)?

[BregBF]

Thank you. I have to look at all scenarios before taking action. I think the first action is to just simply migrate the 2012 to 2016 server and leave the current functionality in tact and than perform disaster recovery to create the separate server.

[BregBF]

This is all great information and I appreciate your responses. As I work with my team to figure out our strategy I will come back to my post and fill in the blanks. Thanks again

[BregBF]

Let me break it down like this. Our objective is to take our existing virtual server (VS) and replace it on a physical server (PS). Currently we have 5000 endpoints managed by A and 2000 managed by B. Initially Group B’s endpoints will migrate to new PS while Group A will continue to function as is on VS. VS is 2012 and PS will be 2016. Existing 2016 SQL server supports VS. We want to take existing license credentials on VS and spread over 2 instances of BigFix with VS managing A and PS managing B endpoints. Ultimately we want Group A and B endpoints on PS and use the VS as a Disaster Recovery Server for our network. I’m trying to identify a solution and than present to my IBM rep to plan out our course of actions.

[Aram]

Is there a reason that the endpoints from both groups A & B couldn’t report to and be managed by the PS initially rather than later?

Essentially, we wouldn’t recommend having two BigFix instances with the same license/masthead online at the same time. You can have two BigFix instances with different mastheads, but that means they really are separate and distinct (different console operators/users, different content, different policies/actions, etc…).

[BregBF]

Political reasons beyond my control. I guess initially to accomplish our first objective to upgrade the VS 2012 to PS 2016 is a straightforward process. We will migrate all endpoints to the new PS and get that out of the way. Separating the Groups A & B management of endpoints in our scenario is the main problem. The managers of A & B want to control the management of their endpoints. My group has to deal with this issue internally before we can proceed. I’m not sure if obtaining another license is an option at this point in time. Thanks again

[BregBF]

Aram,
In order to install software through BF, do I need to have rights on the target in order for actual application to install