4.1 to 8.6 Upgade - New hardware

[cspgfphilly]

I see there are a lot of discussions on this and how you have to upgrade to version 7 first.  I am getting ready to do this migration this weekend.  It is only two servers and a smaller installation - about 150 phones.  Right now I am running on two HP DL 320 G3 servers which are supposed for version 7 and 8 is supported in a bridged mode upgrade.  I already have purchased two MCS-7816I5-K9-CMD2 servers which are supported for version 8.  The surprise came when I looked and they are not supported for version 7 at all.  My plan was to use DMA to migrate from the old HP servers to the new Cisco servers on version 7 and then upgrade to version 8 on the new hardware.  Does anyone know if I will be able to install version 7 on these MCS servers even if they are not supported?

Also, what am I able to do before the actual migration?  Can I install DMA and install all of the new software beforehand and then point the phones to the new server?  I read about the firmware versions on the phone which would be a problem.  I want to do as much of this as I can before the weekend because I will have limited down time.

Thank you for your help.

[dakeller]

If the hardware is not supported on a given version, then you cannot install on it.  Our installer looks for specific RAM/CPU/HDD to define the type of server.  So you will not be able to install the 7.x on teh 7816I5 server.  The upgrade process will need to follow this procedure:

1) DRS backup your 4.x cluster

2) Install DMA on 4.x and export the data

3) Install CUCM 7.x over the existing 4.x installation

4) Import DMA tarball (as part of the 7.x install)

5) secure your licensing

6) Install your subscriber

7) DRS backup the pub/sub

8) Perform the Refresh upgrade to CUCM 8.6 (this will put the servers in bridged mode)

9) DRS backup the data

10) Install CUCM 8.6 on the 7816I5 server (same name/IP)

11) restore the 8.6 DRS onto the pub and sub

This list is not exhaustive, so please refere to the upgrade documenation on CCO.  These are the high level steps you will need to perform to complete the upgrade.

As with any upgrade, the best solution for the phones is to upgrade the firmware on the phone prior to upgrading the CUCM.  So when you complete the bridged upgrade, the phones should immediately register and not need to upgrade their firmware.

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer

[cspgfphilly]

This just keeps getting better and better.  My old server only supports bridged mode up to 8.0 and my new server only support 8.5 and higher.  Am I going to be able to restore DRS from 8.0 to 8.6 and have it work correctly?  Is there any documentation on the second part of this process with the refresh upgrade to 8 and restoring it on the new server?

[dakeller]

What equivolent MCS server are your DL 320 G3 servers?  Typically, a bridged server is good for 8.0, 8.5 and 8.6.  The only exception to this is if you are running on smaller drives (72GB), then there might be a space issue on 8.6.  But if the disk size is supported for 8.5 or 8.6, you can bridge upgrade.

A bridged upgrade runs just like a hardware replacement.  The versions must match exactly.  So if you upgrade your server to 8.0 and your current MCS only supports 8.5, you cannot do the bridged upgrade.  So if you can proivde the information on HDD size, memory, CPU speed and MCS equivolent, I will check what options you have to upgrade.

Thanks,

Dan Keller

Technical Marketing Engineer