There are times when it might be necessary to move your SureSync installation to a new machine. For instance, if the machine you have SureSync installed on is being replaced by newer hardware you would need to move SureSync to new machine.
Please note that special care must be taken when moving a database to a new machine to ensure that users are not locked out of the SureSync database due to lack of permissions on the Group Folder(s) in the database. If the old machine and the new machine are both members of the same domain and you use domain accounts and groups for Group Folder permissions in SureSync, there should be no additional work needed. The same user accounts and groups will be recognized on the new machine.
If you are using local groups only then you must change the permissions on the Group Folders in your database before copying it to the new machine. You can end up using local groups either by choice when in a domain (you decide not to use domain accounts for the Group Folder permissions) or because one or both of the machines are standalone and do not have access to domain accounts. You can also have problems if the machines are members of different domains and there is no trust established between them. In these cases you must add the "Everyone" group to each Group Folder in your database and grant that group "Full Control" before copying the database to the new machine. This will allow you to open the database on the new machine and then you should immediately redefine your security for each Group Folder on the new machine and then remove the "Everyone" group to prevent unauthorized access to the SureSync database.
To move SureSync to a different machine you would do the following:
- Place all Schedules and Real-Time Monitors on hold using the old SureSync installation first. This makes sure that the jobs don't launch on the new machine before you've verified everything is configured correctly on the new machine.
- If your SQL database is hosted on a separate SQL server, you need to know the server name, instance name (if any) and database name so you can open the same database on the new machine. If the database is hosted on a SQL instance on the machine being retired, you will need to use SQL Management Studio to perform a full backup of the database and restore it into SQL on the new machine. This is most common with SQL Express installations. You can easily retrieve your database information by launching the SureSync Desktop on the old machine and mousing over the name to the right of Licensed to: in the lower right hand corner. A pop-up will display with a "[server\instance] database" message showing the details for your current opened database. With SQL Express (or any other locally installed SQL), the sever\instance is going to change to having the new server name when you open the database on the new machine.
- Your database will have a copy of your license file stored within it. However, it is a good idea to have a copy of your "SureSync License.lic file" available in case you need to reimport your license.
- Install SureSync on the new machine.
- Open your database on the new machine. To do so, launch the SureSync Desktop on the new machine. Click on the Home button, select Database and Open Existing Database. Provide the database details from step 2 to open the database on the new machine.
- You will want to look through your Jobs and make sure all of the paths are still relevant and correct. If you removed a machine you will want to remove any reference to that machine from all the Jobs. This must be done to completely release the licenses and make them available for reuse.
- It is critical that you ensure all paths are correct. If the machine SureSync was installed on was involved in your Jobs, you must modify all of the Jobs that contained root paths on that machine to reference the new machine if the machine name of the new machine is different. In that situation, you must use the Computer wizard to add the new machine and then modify the path references of the old SureSync machine. As long as the paths are the same SureSync provides an easy way to make this change. For example, assume SureSync was on ServerA and ServerA was referenced in a Job synchronizing C:\SalesData. SureSync is then moved to ServerB and the C:\SalesData that was on ServerA is also now moved to ServerB. You must update the Communications Agent reference so the Job points to ServerB and not ServerA. To do this, click on the Home button, select Communications Agents and then Replace Machine References. This will allow you to change all root paths in all of your Jobs that reference ServerA to ServerB in just a couple of clicks. If you need some paths in your synchronizations to remain referencing ServerA then you must change Jobs manually.
- In the SureSync Desktop, expand Computers in the left-hand tree and locate the old server or workstation in the list. Click the "Delete" button in the ribbon bar to remove the old machine from the environment. This cannot be done if the machine is still referenced in any Job in the database.
- Any machines that have been removed completely from the SureSync environment should then be deactivated. To do so, click on the Home button and select Licenses. On the Licenses panel, click the "Activations…” button. Check the "Deactivate" checkbox next to the machine(s) that need to be deactivated. You should also select Activate for the new machine if it has paths in the Jobs. Once your selections have been made, click the "Activate, Deactivate or Refresh via Internet" button to process the request. If the machine does not have an Internet connection, you would instead press the "Export Activation/Deactivation Request" button and follow the instructions to send an activation request into support.
- You will want to install a Scheduler on the new machine to allow Schedules and Real-Time Monitors to be launched the appropriate times. This is done by clicking on the Home button and selecting "Scheduler Services”. In the "Scheduler Services” panel, click the "Install” button to install the Scheduler service. You should also remove the old Scheduler from the retired machine.
- After you have finished making any necessary modifications to the Jobs, you can take your Schedules and Real-Time Monitors off hold and they will resume running your Jobs in an automated manner. Before doing this, you have the option of running a Preview on any modified Jobs to ensure they are doing what is expected.