Mark,
Just wanted to follow up. I have successfully done the migration of my 8.0.9 Zimbra server from CentOS-6 on a Xen Host to Zimbra 8.8.8 on Centos-7 on a VMware ESXi server Using the Zimbra Admin doc mentioned.
Here are some notes:
1. I installed the Zextras 'Legacy' package on the original server and had the Zimbra Network NG Backup module running on the new server
2. I set the backup directory on the old server as a mounted NFS share from a local NAS
3. While some people have said that the Zextras backup works like rsync, it does not remove deleted items. I had to set the retention to 1-day for deleted items and run a purge right before starting the import on the new server.
4. Right before the import to the new server I ran a "zxsuite backup doSmartScan deep true" on the old server to fixup the data. This took about an hour for 755,000 items in the db.
5. I then stopped zimbra services on the old server to stop mail flow. (My firewall mail proxy then started spooling incoming mail)
6. I mounted the NFS directory containing the old server backup to the new server
7. In doing the import on the new server I started with the standard import command. I found this to be very slow. After 6 hours of import I only had 250,000 of 755,000 items restored. I also noticed that CPU utilization of my 2-vCPU machine was 100% most of the time. So I forced a stop of the import, shutdown the server and added 6 more vCPUs (host has dual 8-core CPUs) and brought the RAM to 20Gigs. Then I started it back up and started the restore again, this time using the new added flag "concurrent_accounts" set to 4. My server then flew through the next 500,000 items in 4 hours. So I would definitely recommend using a much more robust VM setting for the external restore process. After the restore, I set the VM sizing back to what I usually use in production.
8. out of 755,000 items, I only had 11 unrestored items!
9. my question regarding HSM, above is moot. The data is pulled into the backup out of the HSM and is restored to the new server in the default mailstore first. HSM rules would need to be setup after that.
10. On my Network Edition, the NG Mobile activation button seems to not do anything. However following the wiki for activation (
https://wiki.zimbra.com/wiki/Zimbra_NG_ ... _NG_Mobile) I pushed the button and then did the CLI Command. Upon Restarting the server the Mobile NG was activated.
11. You must enable the Zextras_Client zimlet on all COS and user account in order to Sync Shared anything (mail, contacts, calendar) on mobile devices. Then the share Sync must be enabled by the user using right-click and selecting Synchronization. Previously, I could sync shared contacts with iOS devices, but this did not work anymore with either version in 8.8 (Zimbra MobileSync or MobileNG)
The migration took about 12 hours total for all the preset work, migration and fixups after the fact. All-in all it was a smooth process and all my users seem quite satisfied. No one has lost anything! One thing to remember is that your internal DNS MX record should also point to your SPAM filter/Firewall whatever you use so that all the various internal systems that send email have a place to go while your main server is down for the migration.
Only a couple of bugaboos remain
A) I am getting two backup failure alerts. One for Chat (which we do not even have enabled as far as I know... we are not licensed for ZimbraTalk). The error is "Table 'zimbra.MESSAGE' doesn't exist... sql : 'SELECT * FROM MESSAGE' "
Full message:
Code: Select all
Operation Backup Chat Server Failed.
Operation Id: 38a9e947-9879-48dc-a46d-6929bb374827
Operation Host: zimbra2.MYDOMAIN.com
Scheduled operation
Network Modules NG Version: 2.8.0
Network Modules NG commit: 772e7329112d3ca56a07cbcec8731b9e59b39a50
ZAL Version: 2.2.1
ZAL commit: e92f292ddefac84a68283b33136bb5ec6a4b98f9
Zimbra version: 8.8.8_GA_2026 20180405163320 20180405-1651 NETWORK
Error : java.sql.SQLSyntaxErrorException: Table 'zimbra.MESSAGE' doesn't exist
Query is:
sql : 'SELECT * FROM MESSAGE'
B) Also getting this error on Backup Server Customizations: "Error : File does not exist /opt/zimbra/conf/templates/abook"
full message:
Code: Select all
This is an automated notification from Backup about Backup Server Customizations.
Operation Backup Server Customizations Failed.
Operation Id: 1e3c29fc-874a-49e3-b053-39cb004147eb
Operation Host: zimbra2.MYDOMAIN.com
Scheduled operation
Network Modules NG Version: 2.8.0
Network Modules NG commit: 772e7329112d3ca56a07cbcec8731b9e59b39a50
ZAL Version: 2.2.1
ZAL commit: e92f292ddefac84a68283b33136bb5ec6a4b98f9
Zimbra version: 8.8.8_GA_2026 20180405163320 20180405-1651 NETWORK
Error : File does not exist /opt/zimbra/conf/templates/abook
C) Also, in the Admin Console for Zimbra Network under "General" it shows Admin module "Stopped" but Backup, Chat, Mobile, and HSM are Running. Wondering if this is normal?
I may be submitting a Support request for the above items.
Thanks for your help and answers Mark. I appreciate it. Other than the above, all seems to being going swimmingly with the new server. I am happy with the results.
Cheers!
Gary