Migrate from V4 to V6 with the Migration wizard

V6 migration always works by migrating an earlier supported version of WAS to an Application Server profile.

 

Before you begin

Collect the following information about your V4 installation before you begin this procedure. The Migration wizard prompts you for the information during the migration.

Legend: Supported versions and their keys in the following table are:

  • IBM WAS Advanced Single Server Edition, Version 4.0.2 and later (V4.0.y AEs)

  • IBM WAS Advanced Edition, V4.0.2 and later (V4.0.y AE)

  • IBM WAS Enterprise Edition, V4.1 and later (V4.1.y EE)

Table 1. V4 information that is required
Panel and field in wizard V4 product Record your value here Link to description of field
V4.0.y AEs V4.0.y AE V4.1.y EE
Installation root directory Yes Yes Yes   See WASPreUpgrade command for a description of the currentWebSphereDirectory parameter.
Configuration file name Optional: Defaults to config/server-cfg.xml file. No No, if EE is installed on top of AE. Optional if EE is installed on top of AEs: Defaults to config/server-cfg.xml file.   The name of the XML configuration file to process. See WASPreUpgrade command for a description of the import parameter.
Use port values assigned to previous installation? Optional; defaults to false. Optional; defaults to false. Optional; defaults to false.  

Specifying “true” causes any ports of matching VirtualHosts to first be removed from the new configuration before adding the new values.

Specifying “false” for this parameter will just add new port values.

See WASPostUpgrade command for a description of the replacePorts parameter.

Before using the Migration wizard, have access to the existing, previous version of WebSphere Application Server. You must also have a valid V6 profile to serve as the target of the migration.

You should have installed Version 6 already. Use the Profile creation wizard to create a new Application Server instance if the target profile for the migration does not yet exist. After verifying that a valid V6 target exists, one can start the procedure.

Note: When you create the V6 profile, the NodeName you choose must match one of the NodeNames in the V4.0.x environment.

The Network Deployment product does not create a profile during installation because there are three profile types. The Installation wizard prompts you to create a profile, but that action is optional during installation. Create a stand-alone Application Server profile if you have not yet created one.

 

Overview

This topic describes using the Migration wizard to migrate a Version 4.x Application Server to a V6 stand-alone Application Server.

The Migration wizard is new as of V6. The wizard is the graphical interface to the V6 migration tools, which are the WASPreUpgrade command and the WASPostUpgrade command. The migration tools are command line tools.

You must supply the following V6 information about the target profile during the migration:

Table 1. V6 information
Panel and field in wizard Record your value here Link to description of field
 
Backup directory name   See WASPreUpgrade command or WASPostUpgrade command for a description of the backupDirectoryName parameter.
Profile name   See WASPostUpgrade command for a description of the profileName parameter.

After gathering all of the information that is required during the migration, use the wizard to migrate a V4.x Application Server to a V6 stand-alone Application Server.

 

Procedure

  1. Start the First steps console.

    • ./install_root/profiles/profile/firststeps/firststeps.sh

    • install_root\profiles\profile\firststeps\firststeps.bat

  2. Click the Migration wizard option on the First steps console.

    The First steps console starts the Migration wizard. The wizard displays its Welcome panel.

  3. Read the Welcome panel to learn about the migration, then click Next.

    The wizard displays the Detected versions of WebSphere Application Server panel.

  4. Select a previous version, then click Next to continue.

    Select the check box to specify the location of a previous installation that might not appear in the list. V4.0.y AEs requires you to identify the location of the configuration file. You do not need to identify the location of the configuration file for other V4 editions.

    The default location to use for the previous installation varies depending on the V4.x product that you have installed. The following list shows default locations:

    • IBM WAS Advanced Single Server Edition, Version 4.0.2 and later (V4.0.y AEs) uses a default location for the config\server-cfg.xml file.

    • IBM WAS Advanced Edition, V4.0.2 and later (V4.0.y AE) uses the output from the XMLConfig tool. You must have the Advanced Edition admininstrative server running during the migration.

    • IBM WAS Enterprise Edition, V4.1 and later (V4.1.y EE) uses the location of the product that it is extending, which can be either AEs or AE.

    If the previous version specification is correct, the wizard displays the Migration backup directory panel.

  5. Specify a backup directory, then click Next to continue.

    If the V6 profile is valid, the wizard displays the Target profile selection panel.

  6. Select the target profile from the list of valid profiles for the installation, then click Next.

    Use the Profile creation wizard to create a target profile for the migration if one does not yet exist.

    The wizard displays the Port value assignment panel.

  7. Choose whether to use port values assigned to the previous installation, or generate new V6 port values that are already assigned to the target profile, then click Next.

    The wizard begins the premigration. The wizard displays a Migration status panel during the premigration.

    If the premigration is not successful, the wizard displays a failure panel. If the premigration is partially successful, the wizard displays a warning panel.

    Correct any problems and retry the migration.

    If the premigration is successful, the wizard displays an indication of success.

  8. Click Next to start the postmigration.

    If the postmigration is not successful, the wizard displays a failure panel. If the postmigration is partially successful, the wizard displays a warning panel.

    Correct any problems and retry the migration.

    If the postmigration is successful, the wizard displays an indication of success.

  9. Click Finish to exit the migration wizard.

 

What to do next

Refer to Using the Profile creation wizard to learn more about creating profiles.

Refer to the description of the wasprofile command to learn more about the profile creation tool, and to see examples of how to use the wasprofile command.