To understand how to install CloudM Migrate in a multi-server environment, it is useful to understand the architecture and how CloudM Migrate operates in a multi-server environment.
Multi-server CloudM Migrate can be setup on in-house servers or can be setup using any of the cloud hosting providers such as Google Cloud Compute, Microsoft Azure and Amazon EC2. Installation is straightforward as long as the servers are all installed within the same network and some simple rules are followed when cloning any secondary services.
Installation Issues
If you have any problems installing CloudM Migrate, please refer to the installation article.
If you have problems getting a multi-server environment setup, or issues with communication between servers, check the secondary server installation guide.
User Interface
The user interface (web) is the central point of administration for CloudM Migrate in both single and multi-server modes. Migrations are started and stopped from the interface, and feedback on the progress of the migration is provided through the interface. The user interface is always installed to the same server as the primary service.
Primary Service
The primary service is the main point of control for migration processes. The user interface communicates with the primary service to start and stop migrations. The primary service allocates individual user migrations to secondary services and provides control and load balancing of user migrations. The primary service is always installed to the same server as the user interface.
Only one primary service per network should be installed.
Please note that the primary Server's name shouldn't be longer than 15 characters.
The Primary Server needs to TCP 1433 enabled on the SQL Server (see below).
Secondary Services
Secondary services perform the actual migration of data from the source and destination platforms. They are controlled by the primary service. A secondary service can also be installed on the same server as the primary service in a simple setup but in a multi-server configuration this is not recommended. Usually they are installed on many servers to provide massive scalability for CloudM Migrate. You must have at least one secondary service in the system to perform migrations.
Secondary services are installed within the same network as the primary server, whether that be on a migration farm built within your own network infrastructure or built on Google Cloud Compute, Microsoft Azure or Amazon EC2.
Please note that the secondary Server's name shouldn't be longer than 15 characters.
All Secondary Servers need to have TCP 1433 enabled on the SQL Server (see below).
Enable TCP 1433 on the SQL Server
To enable TCP 1433 (which must be completed on the Primary Server AND all Secondary Servers):
- Open SQL Server Configuration Manager > SQL Server Network Configuration > Protocols for {Instance} > and double click on TCP/IP (or right click and select Properties).
- Select the IP Address Tab.
- Scroll down to the IPAll > TCP Port field and enter 1433.
- Ensure that the TCP Dynamic Ports field is clear.
- Press Win+R
- Enter services.msc
- Restart the SQL Server instance.
Source and Destination Platforms
The source and destination platforms are your platforms where your data is being migrated from and to. CloudM Migrate supports the widest range of source and destination platforms for migration from almost any platform.
The following components make up and are used by CloudM Migrate:
- Primary Service
- Secondary Service
- SQL Server Express 2017
- Redis
Performing a Multi-Server Installation
The most common way to setup CloudM Migrate in a multi-server environment is as follows:
- Install the user interface and primary service on a server
- Install many secondary services on many servers
Following installation of one or more services, you should start CloudM Migrate and check that the services can communicate with each other. To do this, perform the following:
- Open CloudM Migrate (available from the start menu)
- Open the Remote Migration Connections dialog from the tools menu
- Check your servers are connected. If you have installed secondary servers and they are not visible then refer to the multi-server troubleshooting section.
- For more information about the Remote Connections dialog, see the documentation.
When CloudM Migrate is running and servers are connected, you are ready to complete configuration or start a migration.
Ensure that primary and secondary systems can communicate via their DNS names. This may require adding HOST file references, in environments without working DNS.
How a Multi-Server Migration Works
When a multi-server migration is ran the following takes place:
- CloudM Migrate allocates the migration to the primary service
- The primary service allocates user migrations to the secondary servers depending on their configuration and current capacity
- The secondary servers process the migrations and report back status during a migration and when it completes
- When a migration completes on a secondary service, it will automatically run another migration if there are more to be ran
- If for any reason a secondary service fails to run a migration, if the secondary service or secondary server crashes or is restarted, then the migrations being processed on that secondary will be allocated to another secondary
- When the migration completes reports are generated on the primary server