Move MABs to new server

Question

Hello Everyone

I have searched all over the web for this topic, although I found a few similar discussion, I did not fins them clear and helpful.

We have a server 2012 R2 with MABs running on it.

We have bought a new server with Windows server 2019 and would like to migrate MABs to the new server.

What would be the best procedure to follow ?

My procedure:

• Setup the new server with required components (cabling, software updates, etc.)
• Remove the new server from the network to make sure there is no connection between both servers
• Rename the new server to old server
• Install MABs on the new server
• backup the MABs database from the old server
• Take the old server of domain
• Add new server to domain
• Import MABs database

There are questions/doubts I have but I don't want to make the thread long.

Please help me out if anyone else has done this

Answer 1

Hi @Anthony Vand

Welcome to Microsoft Q & A community Forum!

Please find below the recommended steps:

1- Backup the current Database.

2- Name 2019 server with same name

2- Make the old server as workgroup and put the new server into the domain.

3- Install MASv3 and then ran the UR1 setup on the new server.

4- Register the server with the same old vault.

5-Restore the database and add a new storage.

6- Run reallocatereplica and check if the backups started to run successfully.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Answer 2

Hi@ AnthonyVand-1466

Yes that method is correct. DPM DB backup is enough to rebuild a DPM or MAB Server.

Here's the full steps:

This is the normal rebuild process I usually suggest (with no online backups). For online make sure customer knows the passphrase and backup the KEK file to a safe location:

Backup the DPM DB.

Take note of the FQDN from DPM Server.

Take note of DPM Version and Roll Update.

Take note of SQL Server name, Instance name, SQL version and SQL Service Pack number used for hosting the DPM Database.

If using static IP addresses take note of that information.

If performing Azure online backups, be sure you know what backup vault the DPM server is registered to and you know the Pass Phrase.

If using library sharing: Stop library sharing for the DPM server being re-installed.

If using tape encryption: Backup the encryption certificate and private key.

From Control Panel: Uninstall DPM and select retain the data. By this way the DPM Storage will be not touched and data will not be lost.

Reboot the Server.

Install DPM 201X RTM and leave this to create a new database.

Install same roll update you were before and restore the database from the backup your performed.

Once this is done you can open an elevated CMD and type: DPMSync -Sync Open DPM to make sure all is OK, such as Protection Groups and all the configuration you had before is in place.Run a consistency check on all the data sources.

If you plan to reinstall the Operating System, after finish this process (OS Reinstallation and join this to the domain with same FQDN), install same SQL and Service Pack Version used for hosting the DPM Database, if this was locally, and follow the suggestions previously.

However from our experience when online backups is part of the equation please have this in consideration:

If customer rebuild the DPM with a different name and register this on same Recovery Services Vault, this DPM will only obviously see the online backups of himself.

If customer wants to see the online backups from previous DPM Server, it will need to use a fresh DPM with a different name but same DPM Version and register on same Recovery Services Vault. Then using the Add External DPM Server option, it should see both DPM Servers and respective online backups.

If you use same FQDN, in theory, after the database is restored and DPMSync -Sync got completed and this is registered on the same Recovery Services Vault, you should be able to see the data from online from Restore Tab.

so all have to be at same version level as before, then restore dpm db, dpmsyunc -sync and ready to go, if storage is OK then no data will be lost.

Answer 3

OK so I went through a lot of ups and downs with this and ended up engaging MS support , but here is the full steps of what I did to get everything working. Hope it helps someone:

•Get the Azure passphrase

•Backup DPM Database on the old server | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/backup/backup-the-mabs-server#back-up-to-a-share-protected-by-mabs

•Pause all backup jobs on the old server

•Remove the old server from the network

•Rename the old server

•Reset the AD Account for the old backup server

•Name the new server with the old server name

•Add the new server to the domain

•Install required software on the server

o Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

o Expand RSAT tools options to find Hyper-V Module for Windows Powershell.

•Enable/configure Windows bare metal recovery

•Start MABs installation

NOTICE : in the beginning of the installation, you might get the error that you are not connected to the internet

If you are certain that you are connected to the internet and Windows/Network firewall is configured to provide connectivity, you may discard this error and click continue.

You need to download the vault credentials file from Azure vault.

Go to properties and download the credentials :

The passphrase which will be needed should be retrieved from the person who setup the vault initially, or it has to be regenerated by the owner/creator of the vault

•Install MABs | Use Azure Backup Server to back up workloads - Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn

•Install UR2 | Microsoft Update Catalog

•Add Storage | Use Modern Backup Storage with Azure Backup Server - Azure Backup | Microsoft Learn

NOTICE : DO NOT RESTORE THE OLD DATABASE. RECREATE EVERYTHING FROM THE SCRATCH
If you have physical servers with agents installed, you don’t need to re-install the agent, just attach them to MABs

• Synchronize the databases

o DpmSync -Sync

•After you restore and synchronize the MABS database and before you restore the replica, run the following command to reallocate disk space for the replica

o DpmSync -ReallocateReplica

• Recreate all the protection groups as it was on the old server
• Run the following command through PowerShell to make the virtual disk attach automatically after every reboot :

Get-VirtualDisk | Where-Object {$_.IsManualAttach –EQ $True} | Set-VirtualDisk –IsManualAttach $False

Set the "Scratch" partitions in the registry

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Azure Backup\Config

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Azure Backup\Config\CloudBackupProvider

Set the DPM Cache from management section of MABs

Follow the procedure and set the D drive as DPM cache, This requires the vaultcredntials file, vault passphrase located in Keepass and generating a PIN from Azure vault

• Note : Some servers had inconsistency problems when trying to create BMR recovery. To address this issue, MABs server had to be added to the local administrator group of the protected server and vice versa

Answer 4

Thanks @ AnthonyVand-1466 for sharing the full steps to benefit the broader community.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.