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Migrating system data and settings to another XClarity Administrator instance

You can migrate the backed-up system data and settings to a new Lenovo XClarity Administrator that is in the same or different network.

Before you begin

The target management server must be a new XClarity Administrator instance at the same version as the management server that was used to create the backup and must be in the Initial Setup wizard, with no steps completed. For more information, see Installing and setting up XClarity Administrator for the first time.

Ensure that you notify all active users before you initiate the backup procedure. XClarity Administrator is quiesced during the procedure to prevent data from being modified. Therefore, you cannot access XClarity Administrator while the backup procedure is running.

Download the Certificate Authority certificate from the XClarity Administrator, and import the certificate into your web browser (see Managing disk space).

Backups in the source management-server backup repository are not migrated to the target management server. Before migrating data and settings, export any backups you might need to your local system.

About this task

Any changes to the source management server after the backup was created is not migrated to the target management server.

Restoring a backup does not change data or settings on the managed devices. For example, if you unmanage a device and then restore a previous backup when the device was still managed on XClarity Administrator, you might have connectivity issues with that device after the restore operation is complete. Likewise, if you manage a device and then restore a previous backup when the device was still unmanaged, you might need to manually modify the device's configuration to undo its managed status or use the Force option when trying to manage it in XClarity Administrator again.

Note
When running XClarity Administrator as a container, the volumes that were created on the host for the one container can be used as volumes by another container. After the volumes are bound the to the new (target) container, they can no longer be used by initial (source) container.

  1. Configuring the docker-compose.yml file for the target container to use the same IP address and container name as the source container.

  2. Stop the source container using the following command.

    docker-compose -p ${CONTAINER_NAME} down

  3. Start the target container using the following command, where <env_filename> is the name of the environment variables file. When the target container is started, the volumes are bound to the target XClarity Administrator container, and XClarity Administrator uses system data and settings from those volumes.

    <span className="ph">COMPOSE_HTTP_TIMEOUT=300</span> docker-compose -p ${CONTAINER_NAME} ––env-file <ENV_FILENAME> up -d

Procedure

Complete the following steps to restore XClarity Administrator.

  1. If the source and target XClarity Administrator are in the same network, complete the following steps.
    1. From the XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Administration > Back Up and Restore Data. The Back Up and Restore Data page is displayed.
    2. Click the Push Backup icon (Push data icon) to display the Push Data dialog.
    3. Specify the current IP address of the target XClarity Administrator.
    4. Click Continue to upload the backup to the target XClarity Administrator.

      Uploading the backup might take a while. A progress bar shows the status of the job.

      Attention
      If you close or refresh the web browser tab or window before the upload completes, the package might not be uploaded.
  2. If the source and target XClarity Administrator are not in the same network, complete the following steps
    1. From the source XClarity Administrator menu bar, click Administration > Back Up and Restore Data. From the Back Up and Restore Data page, click the Export Backup icon (Export icon) to export the backup to the local system.

      Exporting the backup might take a while.

    2. Copy the exported backup from the source management server to a system in the same network as the target management server
    3. From the Wizard page on the target XClarity Administrator, click the Import Backup icon (Import backup icon) to display the Import Data Package dialog.
    4. Click Browse to find the backup that you exported from the source XClarity Administrator.
    5. Click Upload to import the backup to the target XClarity Administrator.

      Importing the backup might take a while. A progress bar shows the status of the job.

      Attention
      If you close or refresh the web browser tab or window before the upload completes, the process might fail.
  3. When the import is complete, specify the encryption passphrase for the backup.
    Note
    If you do not have the encryption passphrase, you will need to create a new backup in the source XClarity Administrator (see Backing up Lenovo XClarity Administrator.
  4. In the Confirm Data Restore dialog, verify that all information is correct.
  5. Click Confirm to begin loading system data and settings.
  6. In the Restore Options dialog, optionally choose to import operating-system images, firmware updates, OS device drivers, network settings, and device inventory.
    Attention
    Ensure that you carefully read all warning that are displayed in this dialog.
  7. If you chose to import network settings or device inventory, shut down the source management server from the source XClarity Administrator by clicking Administration > Shutdown Management Server > Shutdown.

    Confirm that the source virtual appliance has shut down before continuing

  8. On the target XClarity Administrator, click Confirm to begin loading data and settings from the package

    If you chose to import network settings, after migration is complete the IP addresses from the source XClarity Administrator are reassigned to the target XClarity Administrator.

    Attention
    If the source XClarity Administrator uses DHCP, you must bind the target XClarity Administrator MAC addresses to the corresponding source XClarity Administrator IP addresses on the DHCP server. Wait at least 15 minutes after the DHCP server is modified before continuing.
  9. Wait for the Load Data and Settings from Package progress bar to complete.

    When the data-migration process is complete, you are redirected to the login page.

    Attention
    If you close or refresh the web browser tab or window before the upload completes, the process might fail.
  10. Log in to the target XClarity Administrator to continue managing your devices.