CA Client Automation

We are building out a new 12.9 infrastructure and migrating over everything from 12.5. We have thousands of custom queries well organised in a folder structure in DSM Explorer under the Queries node. We have just been told that any queries under folders will not be imported into 12.9 using the import utility unless we manually create the folder structure! This seems crazy! Support was contacted and we were told the same. Surely one of the following applies:

1. Could the folder structure creation not be scripted in T-SQL ? Surely support/consultant are going to run into this as a widespread issue?
2. Can the existing DB be used or upgraded to work with 12.9 instead?

We use dynamic queries to do very important things in terms of grouping machines and applying deployment polices, security etc. We cannot tolerate a situation where the queries do not import then all of a sudden production servers are getting software intended for dev system due to missing queries.

Hi Shocko

If your new DM will have the same name as the old one then you could upgrade the old DM to 12.9 and then move the MDB, maybe virtualize the 12.5 and upgrade that copy rather than the production 12.5.

I am sure services will be glad to assist you but I would assume this would be chargable.

regards

Rich

Unfortunately we are running 12.5 SP1 on Windows 2008 x64 SP2 with SQL 2005 so we need to upgrade everything including hardware. We could virtualize and move the DB off to a dedicated server but still have no direct upgrade path it seems. 

sorry I couldn't be of more help

Thanks Richard. I'm really surprised at this I have to say.

Richard, could you elaborate on the requirement to keep the same name for the DM? Might it not be possible to do the following:

1. Clone the existing physical 12.5 SP1/SQL 2005 instance to a VM (SQL local to the machine)
2. Assign this VM a new network identity
3. Upgrade local SQL to SQL Server 2008 (Support with 12.5 SP1)
4. Upgrade to 12.9 ???
5. Migrate Cleints
6. Upgrade SQL to 2008 r2?

Hi Shocko

You cannot change the Hostname of the DM itself (not even the FQDN)

So if you virtualise the existing DM you could then upgrade it and then follow the backup and restore green book in order to attach the upgraded mdb to your newly built physical DM.

You just need to keep the newly built DM off the network until you are ready to switch over to it.

Rich

Can I just confirm though that the issues described with the query folders is known to Ca/Support?

Hi Shocko

from MDBAC release notes Appendix A: Supported MDB Object Types

You must manually create the Query folder. The import operation does not create this folder.

so yes this is a known and documented limitation.

regards

Rich

Thanks Richard, to be precise though, are issue is not the folder creation persay, its that we have been told by CA that any queries within folders will not import. this is a huge problem for us with thousands of queries in various folders.

Shocko

The best course of action would be for you to open an idea for this functionality since we know its a known limitation so it will be considered for future releases of CA Client Automation. This is done on this here CA Community and I for one would up vote that as it would make it easier to upgrade,

Sorry we did not have a better way to achieve this.

Thanks

Joe

Thanks Richard, might you have a link to this document you reference?

Idea here. Please vote! : Ability to Import Query Folders