Upgrade Or Start From Scratch? Real Life Experiences From The TrenchesMarnix WolfBlogger & System Center Cloud & Datacenter MVPSenior Consultant @ Insight24

MVP @MarnixWolf

Agenda• Introduction • TechNet • Caveats & showstoppers• Big Bang• Third Option• What’s best for your organization?• Resources

1. TechNet

Documents as per TechNet• Three upgrade scenario’s

• Single-Server and Distributed Upgrade – SIMPLE• Single-Server Upgrade – COMPLEX• Distributed Upgrade – COMPLEX

• Common mistake 01: ‘Simple vs. Complex’• ‘Simple’ & ‘Complex’ don’t relate to the scale of your SCOM 2007 R2 environment or 3rd party

MPs/add-ons

• Common mistake 02: ‘SCOM 2012 supported software’• Using outdated versions for the future SCOM 2012 MS servers and SQL Servers

• Common mistake 03: ‘SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2’• Is supported in SCOM 2007 R2 BUT only from CU#7 level

TechNet – RTFM & Real Life• Simple & Complex in real life

• 3rd Party Management Packs (Veeam, ComTrade, NiCE)• Don’t forget their related servers!

• 3rd Party add-ons (Savision, Jalasoft)• Connectors to incident management/event consolidation systems• Don’t forget Audit Collection Services (ACS)• ACS add-on Secure Vantage (SVT)

• Read, read and read• Know the TechNet documentation• Know how it relates to your environment• Know the Upgrade Flow Diagrams

• Think about the future• SCOM 2012 RTM > SCOM 2012 SP1 > SCOM 2012 R2• Make your upgrade solid and future ready

What’s so complex about it?• Windows Server 2003 > Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

• For the RMS, all MS servers and Gateway Servers• Cross archicture upgrades and/or –language and/or –editions aren’t supported• Only from Windows Server 2003 SP2/R2 x64

• SQL Server 2005 > SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2• For all SQL Servers hosting the SCOM 2007 R2 databases and Reporting component• Refrain from inplace upgrades, many times they (partially) fail because of SCOM Reporting• Install a new dedicated SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 server• Only SCOM 2007 R2 CU#7 supports SQL Server 2008 R2

2. Caveats & showstoppers

Check yourself before you wreck yourself1. Know what you have2. License costs

a) System Center 2012b) License costs 3rd Party MPs and/or add-ons

3. Time, resources and budget4. Key to success is preparation5. Fix issues before the upgrade6. SQL Collation settings:

SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS only7. Pinpoint the weakest links8. SMART

Caveats 1. ONLY a RMS and no MS servers in your MG?2. An old backup of the encryption key3. Making snapshots of the VMs of your MG before the

upgrade4. Backups aren’t spot on5. SCOM databases are loaded6. Upgrade performance SQL script isn’t run

Showstoppers for an upgrade1. Outdated Server OS and SQL vs. available

time/resources2. SCOM 2007 RTM > SCOM 2007 SP1 > SCOM 2007 R2

> ?3. Pilot > Production or Lab > Production4. Current SCOM 2007 R2 MG isn’t healthy5. Databases are corrupted6. Current SCOM 2007 R2 is a playground

3. Big Bang

SCOM 2012 RTM is so 2012!• Currently available SCOM 2012 editions• SCOM 2012 RTM• SCOM 2012 SP1

• What organizations wish for• SCOM 2007 R2 > SCOM 2012 SP1• And later on: Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 SP1

• What they get• SCOM 2007 R2 > SCOM 2012 RTM > SCOM 2012 SP1• SCOM 2012 RTM = Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 & SQL Server 2008

R2 SP2• SCOM 2012 SP1 = Windows Server 2012 & SQL Server 2012 SP1

SCOM 2012 SP1

SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2

SCOM 2012 RTM

SQL Server 2012 SP1

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Windows Server 2012

4. Third option

From SCOM 2007 R2 to SCOM 2012 RTM1. In-place upgrade2. Fresh installation3. Multi-homed migration

a) Fellow MVP buddy and good friend Cameron Fuller: http://blogs.catapultsystems.com/cfuller/archive/2013/03/06/multi-homed-migrations-from-opsmgr-2007-r2-to-opsmgr-2012-and-overrides-scom-sysctr.aspx

b) When down time of monitoring is unacceptablec) When it’s accepted to have two SCOM MGs in place

Challenges

Overrides targeted at:1. certain Objects instead of a Group2. Groups with explicit members3. Non-Windows Computer objects

(Exchange Server objects, IIS sites etc etc)

5. What’s best for your organization?

In-place upgrade

Data Warehouse database:• When this data must be kept in the SCOM 2012 DW

database• AND maintaining the SCOM 2007 R2 MG isn’t allowed

!!!Be careful!!!• Quite a few in-place upgrades failed on me > Reason

UNKNOWN• Create a valid and working fall back scenario• TEST it• Backup > backup > backup!

Fresh installation• When SCOM 2007 R2 isn’t healthy• When SCOM 2007 R2 has too much of a history• When the DW isn’t that important at all• When the current MG can be forgotten all together• HELLO

• SCOM 2012 SP1• Windows Server 2012!• SQL Server 2012 SP1!

Multi-homed migration• When no down time of monitoring is allowed• When two MGs are allowed for a longer time• When the current overrides are okay and must be

transferred to SCOM 2012

6. Resources

Microsoft & Community• Technet

• Upgrade Process Flow Diagrams• Upgrading from SCOM 2007 R2 to SCOM 2012• Upgrading from SCOM 2012 to SCOM 2012 SP1• Supported configurations SCOM 2012 and SCOM 2012 SP1• Upgrade Sequencing for System Center 2012 SP1

• Microsoft blogs• Kevin Holman• Stefan Stranger• System Center: Operations Manager Engineering Blog

• Blogs• Cameron Fuller• Bob Cornelissen• Daniele Grandini• Thoughts on OpsMgr >blog posts on upgrading

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