Moving a SureSync 9 Communications Agent to another machine

Instructions for moving a Communications Agent to another machine.

There are times when it might be necessary to move a Communications Agent installation to a new machine with a different NetBIOS name. For instance, if the machine running the Communications Agent has a hardware failure or is replaced by a new piece of hardware. This is different from moving a full SureSync installation. Most of the configuration changes are made on the main SureSync machine.

To move the Communications Agent to a different machine you would do the following:

1. Install the Communications Agent on the new machine.
2. On the main SureSync machine, place any Schedules and Real-Time Monitors on hold that reference the old Communications Agent machine. This is done on the General tab of each Schedule and Real-Time Monitor.
3. On the main SureSync machine, click on the "Computer" icon in the Ribbon Bar to launch the Computer Configuration wizard. Configure the new Communications Agent following the steps in the wizard.
4. On the main SureSync machine, go through all of your Jobs that reference the old machine and modify those paths to reference the new machine. This is done by clicking on the Root Paths tab of the Job, highlighting the path to the old machine, and clicking Edit. You can then select the new agent from the drop-down and then browse to the correct location on the new machine. Note: If all paths on the old machine should be updated to the new machine, you can click on Home | Additional Actions and select "Replace Machine References." From that dialog, select the old Communications Agent name in the first drop-down and the new one in the second drop-down. Click "Replace References: to switch the agent definition in all Jobs in the database.
5. Once all references have been updated, click the "Licenses" button the ribbon bar and click the "Activations" button. Check "Deactivate" next to the name of the old Communications Agent machine and click the "Activate or Refresh via Internet" button. This will deactivate the old machine.
6. On the SureSync Desktop, expand the Computers part of the left-hand tree. Expand either Servers or Workstations, find the old machine, right click on it and select "Delete" to fully remove the old machine from the database.
7. Go back to Licenses by clicking on the "Licenses" button in the ribbon bar, click the "Activations" button, check Activate next to the new Communications Agent machine, and click the "Activate or Refresh via Internet" button to activate the new license.
8. Please be aware that you might get licensing warnings as you work through this process. This happens because you’re technically exceeding your license until the old Communications Agent machine is removed completely. Just continue through the steps and the licensing issues will clear themselves by the time you’re done with the process.

Also, if you’re unsure of your configuration changes then it is a good idea to preview each Job before turning your Schedules and Real-Time Monitors back on.