Xsan 2 Administrator Guide v2.3: Revision to "Upgrade SAN hardware and software" procedure

This document revises the "Upgrade SAN hardware and software" procedure on page 132 of the Xsan 2 Administrator Guide v2.3.

Note: This procedure shows you how to upgrade from Xsan 2.0 or later. For help upgrading from an earlier version of Xsan, see the Xsan 2 Migration Guide (Second Edition) available at http://www.apple.com/xsan/resources/.

Follow these instructions if, as part of your Xsan 2.3 upgrade, you must replace PowerPC-based computers with Intel-based computers. (Xsan 2.3 requires all SAN computers to have Intel processors.)

1. Back up your SAN volumes.

   Before you begin, make a backup copy of the files on your SAN volumes.

2. Disable Spotlight on all volumes.

   Disable Spotlight on all Xsan volumes during the migration to new SAN computers.

   1. In Xsan Admin, select Volumes in the SAN Assets list.

   2. Select a volume and choose Edit Volume Settings from the Action pop-up menu (gear).

   3. Click to deselect "Enable on this volume" next to Spotlight.

   4. Repeat for all volumes in the SAN.

3. Unmount and stop all volumes.

   Before migrating data from your old metadata controllers to new computers, stop all SAN volumes so they can't be changed.

   1. In Xsan Admin, select Mounts in the SAN Assets list.

   2. Choose a volume from the Volume pop-up menu.

   3. Select all clients in the list and click the Unmount button.

      • To select more than one client, hold down the Command or Shift key as you select clients in the list.

   4. Choose Stop Volume from the Action pop-up menu (gear).

   5. Repeat for all volumes in the SAN.

4. Connect new computers to the SAN.

   Connect your new Macs to the SAN's Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks. If necessary, remove old computers to make ports available.

   Don't go through the Setup Assistant on the new Macs yet.

   Important: Lion Server is recommended for all SAN controllers and is required if you use Xsan Admin to manage users and groups. Make sure any client you want to convert to a controller has Lion Server.

5. Migrate the primary controller to a new computer.

   Use the Server Setup Assistant to migrate server data from the old primary controller to a new server.

   1. Use Xsan Admin to make sure the primary metadata controller is in the failover priority list for every SAN volume.

   2. Make sure Xsan Admin isn't open on any computer that can connect to a metadata controller.

      Xsan Admin can become confused if it's open when a SAN computer's IP address migrates to a new computer.

   3. Restart the old primary metadata controller in Target Disk Mode, so the server Setup Assistant can transfer data from it to a new server.

      You can restart in Target Disk Mode by holding down the T key when the computer starts up.

   4. Turn on the new server that you want to become the primary metadata controller, and wait for the server Setup Assistant's Welcome pane to appear.

   5. Proceed through the server Setup Assistant to the "Transfer an Existing Mac Server" pane, select "Transfer the information from an existing server," and click Continue.

   6. Connect the old primary metadata controller to the new server with a FireWire cable, and when you're ready to begin transferring data, click Continue in the Transfer Your Mac Server pane.

   7. After the server Setup Assistant finishes transferring data, proceed through the remaining setup panes.

   8. Shut down the old primary metadata controller, and disconnect it from the Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks.

   Don't start up the old primary metadata controller while it's connected to the Ethernet networks, because it has the same IP address as the new server you migrated it to.

6. Migrate standby controllers.

   Use the Server Setup Assistant to migrate server data from the old standby metadata controllers to new servers.

   1. Make sure Xsan Admin isn't open on any computer that can connect to a metadata controller.

      Xsan Admin can become confused if it's open when a SAN computer's IP address migrates to a new computer.

   2. Restart the former standby metadata controller in Target Disk Mode, so the server Setup Assistant can transfer data from it to a new server.

      You can restart in Target Disk Mode by holding down the T key when the computer starts up.

   3. Turn on the new server that you want to become the standby metadata controller, and wait for the server Setup Assistant's Welcome pane to appear.

   4. Proceed through the server Setup Assistant to the "Transfer an Existing Mac Server" pane, select "Transfer the information from an existing server," and click Continue.

   5. Connect the former standby metadata controller to the new server with a FireWire cable, and when you're ready to begin transferring data, click Continue in the Transfer Your Mac Server pane.

   6. After the server Setup Assistant finishes transferring data, proceed through the remaining setup panes.

   7. Shut down the former standby metadata controller, and disconnect it from the Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks.

   Don't start up the former standby metadata controller while it's connected to the Ethernet networks, because it now has the same IP address as the new server you migrated it to.

7. Migrate remaining SAN clients.

   When your SAN controllers all have Lion Server, you can migrate or upgrade the SAN clients.

   • If you're replacing client computers in the SAN with new computers, use the OS X Lion Setup Assistant or the Lion Server Setup Assistant to migrate data from old client computers to their replacements.

   • If you're keeping client computers in the SAN, upgrade them to OS X Lion or Lion Server.

   • If you aren't upgrading a client computer, and it has Mac OS X v10.6 or Mac OS X Server v10.6, upgrade to Xsan 2.2.1 or later.

   • If a client computer has Mac OS X v10.5.x or Mac OS X Server v10.5.x or earlier, you must upgrade it to v10.6 to use it in your Xsan 2.3 SAN.

   • Client computers that have PowerPC processors can't be used in your Xsan 2.3 SAN. Macs that have Intel processors and Fibre Channel ports or adapters can be used.

   Migrate to a new computer:

   1. Make sure Xsan Admin isn't open on any computer that can connect to a metadata controller.

      Xsan Admin can become confused if it's open when a SAN computer's IP address migrates to a new computer.

   2. Turn on the new computer, and wait for the Setup Assistant to appear.

   3. Proceed through the Setup Assistant to the pane that offers to transfer data from an existing computer, and choose to transfer data.

      Connect the old computer and the new computer with a FireWire cable, and restart the old computer in Target Disk Mode by holding down the T key when the computer starts up.

      If you aren't using FireWire to connect the computers, follow the onscreen instructions for connecting them.

   4. After the Setup Assistant finishes transferring data, proceed through the remaining setup panes.

   5. Shut down the old computer, and disconnect it from the Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks.

      The old computer has the same IP address as the new computer you migrated it to.

      If SAN volumes don't mount on a client migrated to OS X Lion or Lion Server, use the Xsan pane of System Preferences on the client to make sure Xsan is enabled.

   Upgrade Mac OS X and Xsan:

   Open the Mac App Store on the client computer you want to upgrade, and purchase OS X Lion.

   After you purchase OS X Lion, the Mac OS X Install Assistant opens. It upgrades Mac OS X v10.6 to OS X Lion, or Mac OS X Server v10.6 to Lion Server.

   If the client computer you're upgrading has Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.5, upgrade it to v10.6 before purchasing OS X Lion. After upgrading to v10.6:

   • Use Software Update to update to the latest version of Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.6

   • Use Software Update to update to Xsan 2.2.1 or later. You must update Xsan because there are underlying differences between Xsan 2.2 for Mac OS X v10.5 and Xsan 2.2 for Mac OS X v10.6.

   Upgrading to OS X Lion or Lion Server upgrades Xsan to version 2.3.

   If SAN volumes don't mount on a client upgraded to OS X Lion or Lion Server, use the Xsan pane of System Preferences on the client to make sure Xsan is enabled.

   Upgrade Xsan only:

   On a client computer with Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.6, choose Software Update from the Apple menu and update to Xsan 2.2.1 or later.

   If the client computer has Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server v10.5 or earlier, you must upgrade it to v10.6 in order to use it in your Xsan 2.3 SAN.

   If Xsan Admin displays a message about "Incorrect Search Policy," use the Login Options section of the Users & Groups pane of System Preferences (the Accounts pane in Mac OS X v10.6) to connect to the correct network account server (directory server).

8. Mount the volumes.

   1. In Xsan Admin, select Mounts in the SAN Assets list.

   2. Select the client in the list.

   3. Select the volume in the Volume pop-up menu.

   4. To allow the client to modify files on the volume, click the Mount Read & Write button.

   If the volumes do not mount on the clients, open System Preferences and make sure that Xsan is enabled in the Xsan Preferences.

9. Enable extended attributes.

   If you have only Macs on your SAN, enable extended attributes on your SAN volumes to improve volume performance and efficiency.

   Important: Enabling extended attributes can't be undone.

   Important: To avoid data loss, clients with Quantum's StorNext File System (Windows, AIX, IRIX, Linux, and Solaris computers) must not access volumes that use extended attributes.

   1. Open Xsan Admin and select Volumes in the SAN Assets list.

   2. Select the volume and choose Edit Volume Settings from the Action pop-up menu (gear).

   3. Click to select "Enable on this volume" next to Extended Attributes.

      The time it takes to convert the volume to use extended attributes depends on the number of files on the volume—it might take several hours for a large volume. During this time, the volume is mounted only on the converting controller and can't be used by clients. The volume is mounted on clients and other controllers when the conversion is finished.

10. Change filename case sensitivity.

    If all your SAN computers have OS X Lion or Lion Server, you can specify whether a volume ignores capitalization in filenames. For example, a volume can consider myfile, MyFile, and MYFILE to be the same or different filenames.

    For best performance with volumes that you share using the SMB protocol, make them case insensitive.

    1. In Xsan Admin, select Volumes in the SAN Assets list.

    2. Select the volume and choose Edit Volume Settings from the Action pop-up menu (gear).

    3. Select or deselect the checkbox next to Case Insensitivity and click OK.

       When you change case sensitivity, Xsan checks all existing filenames to make sure the change won't result in filenames being considered the same. This check can take a while.

       If Case Insensitivity is selected, the volume considers filenames to be the same if they're spelled alike but capitalized differently.

       If Case Insensitivity is not selected, the volume considers filenames to be different if they're spelled alike but capitalized differently.

       Note: After you click OK, the volume is unmounted from all Xsan computers, and then remounted.

11. Re-enable Spotlight.

    If you disabled Spotlight to upgrade SAN computers to OS X Lion or Lion Server, re-enable it now.

    1. In Xsan Admin, select Volumes in the SAN Assets list.

    2. Select the volume and choose Edit Volume Settings from the Action pop-up menu (gear).

    3. Click to select "Enable on this volume" next to Spotlight.