Questions about -Ob2bmigrate

[ryan]

I’ve always wondered about the –Ob2bmigrate, specifically in the following ways;

• How does it differ from the migration which occurs when you open ADMS Console?
• Why is it that sometimes an ADMS Console migration is sufficient and in others, a –Ob2bmigrate is also necessary? I’ve never been able to connect the dots so it seems very random to me.
• Assuming that this secondary migration is necessary, why can the ADMS Console not simply kick this off once it has completed its operations? It shouldn’t be necessary IMO to have to trigger this from the command line after the ADMS Console migration is complete.

-Ryan

[minkd]

It is not necessary to do a b2bmigrate after upgrading to a major release or installing a service pack. In those cases the ADMS-Console can detect that a migration is required and it will automatically perform the b2bmigrate when it has finished with the rest of the migration.

You should only need to do a b2bmigrate when specifically instructed to (usually in the notes for a hotfix).

-Dave

[ryan]

Hi Dave,

 Thanks for replying.  Yes, I understand that the readme file indicates when a -Ob2bmigrate is necessary.  What I can't understand though is the rationale behind what it is actually doing (how is it different than ADMS Console migration) and why this step is even necessary since, as you pointed it, sometimes this operation happens automatically following the ADMS migration (so why not just do it when needed after the ADMS Console migration rather than having the user perform this step manually)?

  I've worked with Vault from the pre-Autodesk days so my questions are really borne out of curiosity more than anything...

-Ryan

[minkd]

The b2bmigration steps are (and always have been) part of the ADMS-Console migration.  You don't need to do a b2bmigration after an ADMS-Console migration.

The ADMS-Console only detects that a migration is necessary for major releases and service packs.

However, it cannot detect when a b2bmigration may be required due to a hotfix.  So for certain hotfixes, you have to explicitly tell the ADMS-Console to do the b2bmigration.

For example, if you install a major release and then immediately install a service pack, and then immediately install a hotfix which requires a b2bmigration; and you never run the ADMS-Console in between to do the migration(s), then you will only need to run the ADMS-Console to do all the migrations - you do not need to run the b2bmigrate afterwards.

-Dave

[ryan]

Are you saying that a migration that occurs when ADMS Console is opened is the same migration as occurs when you do a -Ob2bmigrate from the command line?!?!?

If this is true then why in the installation steps for a hotfix are instructed, after installation, to open the ADMS Console to complete the migration and only then do the -Ob2bmigrate?  The instructions would imply that the ADMS Console migration and -Ob2bmigration are in fact different.  For example (taken from readme for Cumulative Hotfix 2 for Vault 2014 SP1);

SINGLE SITE

Hotfix Installation

1. Reset the web service on the Autodesk Data Management Server (ADMS) by typing 'iisreset' at a command prompt.
2. Run DL22258964_Server.msp on the server to install the hotfix.
3. Open the ADMS Console and migrate all un-migrated databases and libraries before proceeding.
1. NOTE: It may be necessary to detach an un-migrated database if the update addresses a migration problem.
4. Close the ADMS Console application.

Database Update

1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the installed location of Connectivity.ADMSConsole.exe.
2. Run ADMS b2bmigrate operation in command line mode:
1. Example: Connectivity.ADMSConsole.Exe -Ob2bmigrate -VUadministrator -VPadmin_password -DBUsql_user -DBPsql_password
2. NOTE: Replace 'admin_password' with the appropriate administrator password for the -VP switch.
3. The last two command line parameters are required only if the 'sa' password is not the default password.
3. A 'migration successful' dialog will display when the b2bmigrate operation has completed.
4. If necessary, open ADMS Console and attach any previously detached databases.

Thanks Dave!

[minkd]

The b2bmigrate happens at the end of *all* migrations.  It has been this way from the beginning.

A version migration (ex: 2014 -> 2015) does more than the b2bmigration, but does the b2bmigration at the end.

If you open the ADMS-Console and all of the Vaults and Libraries have successfully migrated; and then you install a hotfix that requires a b2bmigrate then you must run the ADMS-Console with the b2bmigrate option.

After an major upgrade, if you have never opened the ADMS-Console so none of the Vaults, Libraries or the KnowledgeVaultMaster have been migrated yet; and you install a hotfix that requires a b2bmigrate, technically doing the "regular" migrate in the ADMS-Console will cover it so the latter step is unnecessary.

If you open the ADMS-Console and the KnowledgeVaultMaster and/or some of your Vault and Libraries have successfully migrated, and then you install a hotfix that requires a b2bmigrate then you must first migrate the remaining Vaults and Libraries (which does a b2bmigrate on those at the end), and you will still need to do the b2bmigrate afterwards to cover the Vaults and Libraries that had already been migrated.  Yes, you will be doing it twice on the Vaults & Libraries that had not already been migrated.

To document all the possibilities for when you need to do the b2bmigrate vs when you do not, would be confusing and could result in people skipping it when they shouldn't, which would likely result in more problems and frustration later. With that in mind the safest thing to do is to follow the instructions even if it means doing a redundant b2bmigration.

-Dave

[ryan]

Hi Dave,

 Thanks alot for you responses.  Funny enough, even after all of your participation on this thread, which is appreciated, I'm probably just as confused as to the difference between the migrations 😉

 Therefore, I will continue to follow the instructions in the readme and accept the fact that the difference between ADMS Console migration and a -Ob2bmigrate migration is a mystery.

 FWIW: From my perspective, it should never be necessary for the user to initiate a -Ob2bmigrate because whenever a hotfix gets installed it should simply just set a flag that tells the ADMS Console to perform this operation at the next launch.