CUCM 8.5 upgrade from CUCM 6.1

[ryabutler]

Hi,

We have a Cisco UCS C210 rack mount server that we will install CUCM 8.5 and CUC 8.5 as virtual machines.

We have an exisiting CUCM server running version 6.1 that will later be removed from the network.

I want to migrate the data from CUCM 6.1 and restore it on the new CUCM 8.5 server.

Is it just a matter of doing a backup using the Disaster Recovery System on CUCM 6.1 then doing a restore with those same files on CUCM 8.5?

Or is there something else I need to do first among other potential steps?

Any help here would be great.

Thank you!

-rya

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Rya,

DRS restores will only work between "exact" matching versions. So, you will need

an 8.5(1) backup to restore on the new build. This generates a whole new world

of questions about whether or not your current servers will support an upgrade

or at least a bridged upgrade to 8.5(1)

Check here as your first step;

Supported Cisco Unified Communications Manager Releases by Server

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6790/ps5748/ps378/prod_brochure0900aecd8062a4f9.html

Cheers!

Rob

[putney_m]

Rya,

The other option would be to install your production version of Call Manager in the VM Ware environment running on the C210 server, restore your production data to it, and then perform the upgrade to 8.5/8.6. Now there are a couple of caveates to this,

First, here is a link to help in installing CUCM 6.1 in VM Ware, it is pretty straight forward, you just need to make sure you use the correct disk type.

http://www.blindhog.net/how-to-install-call-manager-6x-in-vmware/

Then as long as you are on a supported version of 6.1, you can do a straight upgrade to 8.5/8.6. Here is a link to the Cisco document on what version can upgrade to what.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/compat/ccmcompmatr.html

Once you have it up and working on 8.x version then I would create a backup of the 8.x version. Create a new 8.x call manager using the OVA template. Then restore your data to it.

Here are the instructions to install CUCM in VM Ware in a way that TAC will support.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/virtual/servers.html

I just went through a similar upgrade from 7.0 to 8.5(1) for a company, and this is the basic format I followed and everything worked out fine.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.

Michael Putney

[Steven Griffin]

Rya,

It is a bit more complicated than that.

• You must first upgrade your CUCM 6.1 to 8.5 and then do a DRS backup as you cannot restore a 6.1 CUCM backup file onto an 8.5 CUCM.  

• Find the model server you have and refer to the following URL to find out if it can be upgraded to 8.5: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6790/ps5748/ps378/prod_brochure0900aecd8062a4f9.html

• Also look at the following URL to find out if your version of CM 6.1 can be upgraded to 8.5: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/compat/ccmcompmatr.html#wp43011

• When you do the restore onto 8.5 on the UCS server the hostname, IP Address, and certificate information must match the old server

• Be sure to have your old licenses rehosted to your new UCS VMWare MAC address. 

-Steven

[Aaron Harrison]

Michael's suggestion is sound I believe. I've done the same for 4.x upgrades to Linux versions, and it stacks up for 6.x upgrades.

What he suggested was build 6.x in VMWare, then upgrade the VM to the required 8.x version before generating the backup file. That can then be imported to to UCS system running the same 8.x software.

On non-VM aware versions of CCM it's necesary to edit the installed software (specifically the network startup scripts) to get licenses working; VMware aware versions are probably much trickier.

Aaron

[putney_m · Accepted solution]

There are a couple of moe things I forgot to include in the post.

You may be able to just deploy the OVA template for CUCM and then install version 6.1 on that virtual machine that is created, then perform the upgrade(s) to get you to the final version you want to run. This is how I did it with the 7.0 system to get it to 8.5(1). It is worth a shot then you do not have to do the extra steps of the miltiple backups/restores.

Make sure once the 6.1 system is working in VM Ware that you have a valid and reachable NTP server configured. If you do not then the upgrade will fail with an unknown error.

Speaking of NTP, Cisco has changed how the license mac value is calculated for CUCM and now includes values such as the primary NTP and primary DNS servers configured to generate the value. This can cause issues if you try to build everything, get the licenses in place, and then change those values to reflect the environment in your production environment. A way to work around this would be to input some bogus value such as 1.1.1.1 for the primary NTP and DNS servers, then put the real values in the secondary values.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Michael Putney

[ryabutler]

Wow thanks for the many replies.  I need to cycle through this info some more.

The challenge here is I really don't want to do an upgrade on the old server running CUCM 6.1.3 to CUCM 8.5.  Then do a backup and then do a restore on the Cisco UCS server running CUCM 8.5.  I'm trying to keep both servers available as a Plan B, so to speak.

Again I will read through the thread further and plan my upgrade based on what Michael recommended.  I'll let everyone know if I have any issues.

Thanks again!

-rya