20.2 Performing the Post Office Migration

In order to reduce the amount of time during which users cannot access their GroupWise mailboxes during the post office migration process, the post office data is copied twice. During the first copy, the POA is allowed to continue running and users can continue working. Because users are still accessing their mailboxes, some files are modified after being copied, thus necessitating the second copy of the files. For the second copy, the POA is stopped and users cannot access their Online mailboxes. However, only the modified files are copied, so the second copy procedure completes much more quickly.

  1. In the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin directory, use DBCopy to copy the post office directory from the NetWare or Windows server to the new directory on the Linux server.

    ./dbcopy -m -f /post_office_directory /destination_directory
    

    The -m switch indicates that DBCopy is being used for migration to Linux. The -f switch indicates that this is the first pass of the migration process, during which the post office queue directories (wpcsin and wpcsout) are not copied. The post_office_directory variable includes the Linux mount location (for example, /mnt), the mount point directory, and the full path to the post office directory on the NetWare or Windows server. The destination_directory variable is the directory you created on the Linux server in Step 5 in the previous section.

    DBCopy creates a log file named mmddgwbk.nnn. The first 4 characters represent the date. A three-digit extension allows for multiple log files created on the same day. The log file is created at the root of the destination post office directory. Include the -v switch in the dbcopy command to enable verbose logging for the post office migration.

    DBCopy is typically used for backing up your GroupWise system, but when you use the -m switch to migrate a post office to Linux, it changes directory names to lowercase as required on Linux and copies the message queue directories as well as the GroupWise databases in the post office. For more information about DBCopy, see GroupWise Database Copy Utility in Databases in the GroupWise 7 Administration Guide.

    This initial copy operation might require a substantial amount of time, but users are still able to access their mailboxes. Use the fastest network connection available for this copy operation.

  2. If your Linux environment includes the X Window System, run the GroupWise Installation program to install the Linux POA for the post office, as described in Installing the GroupWise Agents on Linux.

    or

    If the X Window System is not available, run the text-based GroupWise Installation program, as described in Installing the GroupWise Agents Using the Text-Based Installation Program.

  3. Change to the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin directory.

  4. If the X Window System is available, enter the following command to start the Linux POA to verify that it runs for the post office in the new location:

    ./gwpoa --show --home /post_office_directory --noconfig 
    

    The --show switch starts the POA with a user interface. The --home switch provides the location of the post office. The --noconfig switch prevents the POA from reading configuration information from eDirectory™; the current eDirectory information is obsolete because the post office has been migrated. For purposes of this initial test, the POA starts with default configuration settings, including using any available IP address.

    You should see the POA server console described in Starting the Linux Agents with a User Interface. If the POA server console does not appear, review the preceding steps to verify that all steps have been followed. For additional assistance, see Post Office Agent Problems in Strategies for Agent Problems in GroupWise 7 Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.

    or

    If the X Window system is not available:

    1. If LDAP authentication is not in use, enter the following command to start the Linux POA to verify that it runs for the post office in the new location:

      ./gwpoa --home /post_office_directory --noconfig 
              --ip POA_server_IP_address --httpport 7181
      

      The --home switch provides the location of the post office. The --noconfig switch prevents the POA from reading configuration information from eDirectory; the current eDirectory information is obsolete because the post office has been migrated. The --ip switch provides the IP address of the server where the POA is running. The -httpport switch enables the POA Web console and provides the port number.

      or

      If LDAP authentication is enabled for the post office, enter the following command:

      ./gwpoa --home /post_office_directory --noconfig 
              --ip POA_server_IP_address --httpport 7181
              --ldapipaddr LDAP_server_IP_address
              --ldapport LDAP_port (if not the default of 389)
      

      The --ldapipaddr switch provides the location of the LDAP server. The --ldapport switch is required only if the LDAP server communicates on a port other than the default of 389.

      IMPORTANT:To simplify this test, do not use an SSL connection to the LDAP server.

    2. Open a Web browser and display the following URL:

      http://POA_server_IP_address:7181
      

      You should see the POA Web console described in Monitoring the Linux GroupWise Agents from Your Web Browser. If the POA Web console does not appear, review the preceding steps to verify that all steps have been followed. For additional assistance, see Post Office Agent Problems in Strategies for Agent Problems in GroupWise 7 Troubleshooting 2: Solutions to Common Problems.

  5. If you have access to a GroupWise mailbox on the post office you have migrated, start the GroupWise client to further verify the functioning of the POA.

  6. After verifying that the Linux POA runs successfully for the post office in the new location on Linux, stop the Linux POA, as described in Stopping the Linux GroupWise Agents.

  7. If you are using SSL, create a new certificate file (filename.crt) and a new key file (filename.key) for the Linux server and place them in the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin directory, which is the default location where the POA looks for certificate files.

    For instructions on creating certificate and key files, see Server Certificates and SSL Encryption in Security Administration in the GroupWise 7 Administration Guide

  8. If you are using LDAP authentication, copy the public root certificate file (filename.der) from the LDAP server to the /opt/novell/groupwise/agents/bin directory.

  9. If you are migrating a post office that has a library with a document storage area located outside the post office directory structure, decide how to handle the document storage area:

    You have two alternatives for accessing the document storage area from the post office on Linux:

    • Mount the document storage area: You can leave the document storage area on the NetWare or Windows server. To provide access, permanently mount the storage area directory to the Linux server where the post office is located, using the mount command provided in Section 19.2.1, Making a NetWare or Windows Server Visible from Linux.

    • Migrate the document storage area: If you want to eliminate the NetWare or Windows server, you can migrate the document storage area to a convenient location on the Linux server. This also eliminates the need for the permanently mounted file system.

      Mount the document storage area to the Linux machine, then use the following DBCopy command to migrate the document storage area to the Linux server:

      ./dbcopy -m -b /storage_area_directory /destination_directory
      

      The -m switch indicates that DBCopy is being used for migration to Linux. The -b switch indicates that DBCopy is being used to migrate a documentation storage area containing document BLOB (binary large object) files. The storage_area_directory variable includes the Linux mount location (for example, /mnt), the mount point directory, and the full path to the document storage area. The destination_directory variable is the location on the Linux server where you want to migrate the document storage area.

      DBCopy creates a log file named mmddgwbk.nnn. The first 4 characters represent the date. A three-digit extension allows for multiple log files created on the same day. The log file is created at the root of the destination document storage area directory. Include the -v switch in the dbcopy command to enable verbose logging for the storage area migration.

    If you encounter problems accessing documents after the migration, refer to TID 10101095 in the Novell Knowledgebase.

  10. Notify users that they must exit the GroupWise client unless they are running in Caching mode.

    Users in Caching mode do not need access to the post office in order to continue using GroupWise. However, they cannot send and receive new messages while the POA is not running.

  11. Continue with Reconfiguring the Post Office in ConsoleOne.