Move a CentreStack installation to a New Server

There are times when CentreStack admins need to move the CentreStack installation to another server for one reason or another. It is crucial that proper procedure and steps are taken to move the installation to a new server.

CentreStack installation consists of persistent and non-persistent data. CentreStack database contains persistent/static information such as the username, email, storage configuration, files and folders sharing information and others. It is recommended to have daily backup of the database, since it contains configuration information for the service to run properly. The database is a critical component for the smooth operation of the CentreStack server farm. Local database with latency less than 10 milliseconds is recommended.

There are two pieces of persistent information:

1. Database
2. Storage

To move the Centrestack installation to a new server:

1. If your database is already on a separate server and you don't need to move it, skip the step.
2. If you need to move the database, and you are running SQL Express/SQL Server, please follow step 1 to 25 on the article here, to move the database to the new server.
3. If you are running MySQL on the new server, you can export the data on the old Centrestack server and import it on MySQL on the new server. Make sure to enable forces lowercase on table names on MySQL.
4. If your backend Storage is on cloud, or you don't need to change the backend storage, skip the step. If you need to move the backend storage, copy everything from old location to the new location. It is preferred to copy the data to the same drive\path on the new server. Make sure to copy the backend storage for all tenants, including Default Tenant.
5. Install Centrestack on the new server. When prompt for database, choose to use the existing MySQL/SQL Server. Type in the DB connection information. After the installation, reboot.
6. After reboot, login to cluster admin. It will prompt you to configure the new worker node. Make sure the external URL is defined correctly
7. In Cluster Admin, go to Cluster Server Farm/Cluster Worker Nodes, delete the old worker node
8. If you have copied the backend storage data and the new location is different from the old location (for example, the new folder is under a different drive/path, or on a different share, or access as a new windows id), go to Tenant Manager and edit existing default storage for all tenants affected. If the data is copied to exactly the same location (same drive/path) on the new server and access as the same windows user, skip the step. Make sure to check the storage config for Default Tenant, as it contains all the tenant branded files.
9. Change your DNS to point to the new server
10. If you need to change to a new access point, need to update the external URL on the new server. See the answer section of the article here.

Now Centrestack is moved to the new server. You can test web portal and native clients operations.