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As an admin, you might want to move all file services from a NetWare or OES 1 server to an OES 2 Linux server on new hardware with both the migration source and destination servers being in the same directory. You want to do that without disrupting your users.

Here is a step-by-step process for planning and carrying out the migration:

• Step One: Install an OES 2 Linux file server with NSS

You'll want to have significantly more storage space on the migration destination server than the source server. As part of installing NSS, you should create a pool for the new storage. You can use NSSMU to set up a pool for all volumes. When you use NSSMU to do this, activate the drive that you're going to place NSS on, and set up the pool and name it. Set up the pool to consume all the drive space.

• Step Two: Migrate all file data from the source server to the migration destination server

Assume that you have enough data that you think it will take a week to migrate. On Monday night after your end users go home, start the data migration process. Do is by logging in as root on the destination server and running the following command:

 migfiles -s  -n -P POOL [-m]

Do this every night through the week after your users go home. The first time that this command is ran, omit the -m option. The mig files command picks up where it left off the night before in migrating the source server data.

• Step Three: Modify user working directory

Run the following command:

 mls -s  > mls.yaml

The mls command lists all files, trustees, attributes, and quotas from the source server.

 maptrustees -s  -d  maptrustees.yaml

Then run

 migtrustees -d  maptrustees.yaml

is the LDAP server address for both the source and destination servers.

• Step Four: After the data is moved, migrate file rights, attributes, and quotas

If a large data set is involved you should give yourself sufficient time for this.

Rights, attributes, and quotas are migrated by running the following command:

After running this command, run the following command:

 maprights -n mls.yaml > maprights.yaml

The maprights command sets up mappings to the destination NSS file system.

Finally, run the following command:

 migrights maprights.yaml

The migrights command applies all mappings to the destination NSS file system.

• Step Five: Notify users to log in again

The last step is to ask users to log in again. If you want to send a message to your users, you can create a message file with the command vi message. Type in something like this.

Dear #{first} #{last},

We have finished migrating your files onto the new file server. In order to transfer over to the new system, you will need to relogin to your computer.

Regards,

#{from} of your friendly IT staff.

After creating this file, named message, run the following command:

 mignotify -a login -e myusername@mycompany.com -s smtp.mycompany.com -m message -i maptrustees.yaml

This will email the message you created to all of your users who have had their file services migrated, if the mail attribute has been set in e Directory for your users.

• Notes of Interest

This scenario was for cloning the file servers on the same directory server. To clone a file server into another directory, run maptrustees with the -r option. This generates random passwords for your users. Then, run migtrustees with the destination LDAP server in the new directory. After this, notify the users of a password change using mignotify by using the #{password} variable the message file.

The migfiles, migtrustees, and migrights commands all have -i flag for --verbose-information. If you want to see the status of these utilities as they are running, then use this flag.

You can also just pipe commands as follows:

 mls -s  | maprights -n | migrights -i

Source: http://wiki.novell.com/index.php/How_to_%22clone%22_a_file_service_to_a_new_file_server