Novell Documentation: NetWare Server Consolidation 4.0 - Understand NetWare Server Consolidation Issues

Understand NetWare Server Consolidation Issues

Before running a consolidation project in a NetWare^®/eDirectory^TM environment, be sure you have prepared your server as described in Prepare the Source and Destination Servers.

You should also be aware of the issues discussed in this section.

Open Files Cannot Be Copied

The Server Consolidation Utility cannot copy files that are open and currently in use.

There is one exception to this rule. NSS has a feature called File Copy on Write. This permits a file that is being changed to be accessed in the same state as it was in when it was last closed by all processes.

This feature is enabled on an NSS volume either by using ConsoleOne^® or entering

nss /filecopyonwrite=volname

at the server console to change the volume attributes.

For example, nss /filecopyonwrite=vol1 would enable File Copy on Write for the vol1: volume. The effect is immediate, but it affects only files that are currently closed and then opened later.

Cluster Failover Stops File Copy

If you run a Server Consolidation Utility project involving a NetWare cluster and the cluster fails over during the consolidation, the file copy will stop. The Server Consolidation Utility project must be run again.

Consolidating NDPS Printer Agents

If you plan to consolidate NDPS^TM Printer Agents as part of a NetWare/eDirectory consolidation, be aware of the following points:

The Server Consolidation Utility does not move Print Brokers or Print Managers. If you want to move a Print Broker, you must first create a new broker on the target server, copy the contents to the new server (perform the consolidation), and then delete the old broker.
Printer Agents can be moved; print queues cannot.
Printer Agents that are moved still use the same Print Broker.
Printer Agents can be moved only within the same tree. They cannot be moved between different trees.
Print Services Managers must be operational during the consolidation.
After moving Printer Agents from the source to the destination server, unload the source Print Services Manager so the migrated Printer Agents can establish a connection to the destination Print Services Manager.
HINT: After unloading the source Print Services Manager, send a test print job to the printer that was moved. This ensures that communication with the destination Print Services Manager is established. After that communication has been established, the source Print Services Manager can be brought back up.
You might need to manually load or reload the appropriate tsa.nlm or smdr.nlm.