DX NetOps

Technical Tip: Should I use Modeling Gateway (MG) to change versions or upgrade to a Major Release of Spectrum?

CA Spectrum Tech Tip by Glenn Shoemake, Principal Support Engineer

Description: Should I use Modeling Gateway to upgrade my landscape from an older version of Spectrum (8.1, 9.0, 9.1, etc…) to the latest version of Spectrum?

Solution:
We do not recommend using MG across different versions of Spectrum (especially major releases) because of:
- New features or attributes added to newer versions of Spectrum are not accounted for when creating your MG export file on an older version of Spectrum.
- Modeling Gateway script/resource files get updated fairly often in the Spectrum patch process and you could be missing fixes that could have corrected a
possible import/export issues.
- Depending on the version of Modeling Gateway you are using, an export file could have syntax errors, because there was some changes in 9.2 that caused some
of our older XML files to have errors upon importing.
- Large MG import/export files can take many hours to complete when a simple upgrade or migration would be quicker and more reliable.

Note: Modeling Gateway should not be used to migrate models from one version of Spectrum to another. There are situations when the methodology
used to identify and/or model an entity changes between Spectrum versions and Modeling Gateway is not designed to accommodate these situations.
Therefore, users should not attempt to use Modeling Gateway to import an XML file generated by performing an export in another version of Spectrum.

Yet: Frequently Asked Questions - CA Spectrum - 10.1 and 10.1.1 - CA Technologies Documentation 

Says:

  Q: Can you provide an example of how you recommend merging databases?
   A.Of course! Here is an example:

      If you are using new hardware (this is recommended):

      (Note: If you are using 3 machines or more, make sure you do not model devices on your MLS. Run the modeling       gateway imports on the remote SpectroSERVERs, not the MLS.  Modeling gateway export of 9.2.x will work with            modeling gateway import of 10.0/10.1, so if you are using new hardware, you do not need to upgrade all of the       9.2.3 H12 servers first. You can just run the modeling gateway export on the current 9.2.3 H12 and once 10.1 is       installed, run the import).

So which is the truth?

I've tried both upgrading sub landscapes to 10.1.1 and running an import and also going 9.4 export->10.1.1 import and both always kick up a load of errors and models for devices I know are responding aren't activating in time which screws up the port/link import as it can't resolve between unactivated devices.  I have a ticket open with support over this as I have to merge a bunch of at-capacity 9.4 landscapes into nice new 64 bit 10.1.1 landscapes and I can't make it work without a load of errors and inter-device links going missing.

Hi David,

That tech tip was from 2013 and was for older versions of Spectrum.  The FAQ is correct for version 10.x, so if you are experiencing problems, we will need to investigate it as it is supported.

Cheers

Jay

You'd better tell that to Tech Support then as they've just referred me to this page when I logged the ticket that my imports aren't working correctly.

Have a look at ticket  00507808.

I’m sorry to hear that…I will follow up on it.

Thank you

Jay

Hi Jason,

Could you please update if there is any further update regarding usage of Spectrum Modeling Gateway Toolkit to upgrade from Multiple SpectroSERVER(eg: 3) to Single SpectroSERVER? I need to retain SPM Tests, Custom Subview, SANM Profiles etc.

As per Frequently Asked Questions section of CA Spectrum 10.0 Documentation:

Q: Is there an upgrade path from multiple SpectroSERVERs to a single SpectroSERVER?

A: No, there is no upgrade path and the install does not do this for you. The supported method for going from multiple servers to a handful of servers would be to use the modeling gateway export/import functionality.

Unfortunately there is no other option/utility.  Modeling gateway is the only option.  To limit some of that loss you could take one of your SSdb and load it in then use modeling gateway for the other 2 SS.

Cheers

Jay