Clean install of latest version

tmcelhaney

I am running a version prior to the Christmas release and 153 which started as the community version.
I have tried updating the software with both the community and now have a supported version and every time I try to upgrade things stop working and I just revert back instead of wasting time trying to troubleshoot all the issues.

My question is it possible to spin up another V-M with a clean working install of the latest's version and simply transfer over the domain, users, settings and mailboxes to the new install?

Thanks,
Trent

WalterH

How you switched from community to supported version, please describe the steps - with exact commands?

tmcelhaney

I tried the upgrade by simply choosing the upgrade software from the menu. I tried first upgrading with the community version but had issues. So reverted back and tired adding my username password to change repository to support and tried the updates again from the menu no luck. Should I have tried the update from the terminal instead of the option provided?

tmcelhaney

But I am still curious is it possible install a clean lastest version of the software and simply migrate the mailboxes and user over with out trying to patch/fix/ update the software?

jengelh

tmcelhaney Sure, if you carry over all the important files, e.g. /var/lib/grom, /var/lib/mysql, /etc/grom, and maybe other things you need from /etc.

WalterH

I always use a ssh connection to update the system.
About how to switch repositories:
Modify the repository file: /etc/zypp/repos.d/grommunio.repo

[grommunio]
enabled=1
autorefresh=0
# supported:
baseurl=https://<Username-Lizenz>:<Password-Lizenz>@download.grommunio.com/supported/openSUSE_Leap_15.4/?ssl_verify=no
# community:
# baseurl=https://download.grommunio.com/community/packages/openSUSE_Leap_15.4/?ssl_verify=no
type=rpm-md

You see two lines containing baseurl, one for the supported repo and the second one (remarked) for the community repo. Also note the OS version, in this example openSUSE_Leap_15.4.
Populate <Username-Lizenz>:<Password-Lizenz> to use the supported repository.

Refresh the zypper packet cache
zypper ref
To switch repositories, run a distribution update
zypper dup
if you see an error about php-fpm, simply uninstall php-fpm zypper -e php-fpm
and reboot the system
init 6
This worked for me without issues. Switching from community to supported and back.

About how to migrate mailboxes the short story:

setup the new system with exactly the same parameters as you setup the old system. This is the most challenging step
stop the services on the old and on the new system
export the MariaDB database and import the database on the new system
copy /var/lib/gromox over to the new system
start the services on the new system

This migrates the core functionality (mail) to the new system. I did this a few days ago to migrate from an physical system to a Hyper-V system with a total downtime of 30 minutes for the final copy.

Andy

For point 2. I think there are the services in the AdminGUI

For point 3. is there a cli and usage for export and import?

WalterH

Andy Admin-UI can be used, but I prefer the cli.

is there a cli and usage for export and import?

This is a standard MariaDB/Mysql export and import. Some knowledge is needed by the admin ob an mail system.

Andy

All commands for the Service namens acc. Suse standard?

crpb

grommunio-2022121-ova:~ # systemctl list-units --type=service --output json-pretty |jq -s -r '.[][]|select(.unit | test("^grom*|redis@|postfix|nginx|php"))|.unit'
grommunio-admin-api.service
grommunio-antispam.service
grommunio-archive-smtp.service
grommunio-archive.service
grommunio-cui@tty1.service
gromox-delivery-queue.service
gromox-delivery.service
gromox-event.service
gromox-http.service
gromox-imap.service
gromox-midb.service
gromox-pop3.service
gromox-timer.service
gromox-zcore.service
nginx.service
php-fpm.service
postfix.service
redis@grommunio.service

Andy

To backup all databases I understood is

mysqldump --all-databases > /root/old/bck/dump_grommunio.sql

and Restore it seems to be (?)

mysqlimport --all-databases < /root/new/bck/dump_grommunio.sql

Whats about if the table structure changes from Release to Release, e.g. name is changed or some new tables are added?

crpb

https://docs.grommunio.com/admin/operations.html#database-backup

Andy

I am sorry, this is just confusing. With the MariaDB I just made a total backup with mysqldump --all-databases > /root/old/bck/dump_grommunio.sql as sequence @WalterH told in another thread, only the restore is unclear to me.

With the listing of the services I can now make up a script in which first all are stopped and then started systemctl stop xxx-yyy.service and later systemctl start xxx-yyy.service (or if necessary with restart).

If there is a new release and I can set up a new VM with the ISO, which works and is clean, can't I simply transfer all user data from one installation to the other with commands like gromox-pff2mt and gromox-mt2exm or a combination of them?

The way 1-5 shown above is a ray of hope that even admins with less knowledge can do without fear of losing any data. The path is manageable and seems safe. But clear should be this one. Frankly, if the next release is available and there is no clear and safe procedure, the base is laid for a bunch of time to be spent here in the forum to clarify individual cases.

Grummel

Andy Yes and no. gromox-pff2mt in combination with gromox-mt2exm is just to import an Outlook PST or OST file. Without configuration Grommunio itself and setup the user etc. in the admin-gui an import of the PST makes no sense.
By the way: I didn't stop any service when I made the update from 15.3 to 15.4. The update went straight forward w/o great hassle, just MariaDB needed more time for the upgrade on the restart so I ran into a timeout. This was easy to fix at the end.

Andy

What is your way to Upgrade from Release to Release?

I know that the two commands gromox-pff2mt and gromox-mt2exm are more related to others as for a transfer between two installations. My question was more about to have a command for such transfers.

Grummel

I used the procedure which crbp published here:
https://community.grommunio.com/d/548-upgrade-appliance-to-opensuse-154/60
But I think the procedure from WalterH, which wasn't published at that time, might be more safe as you make several backups before the upgrade. The rest is more or less similar.
https://community.grommunio.com/d/792-update-form-open-suse-153-to-154

By the way: A restore of the Mariadb database is not required when you perform the upgrade. The dump is only a backup.

tmcelhaney

@WalterH I am newer to Linux and still learning what command would I use to restore the database to the new updated system?

Also I have both installation on Hyper-V and have been moving the files around via sftp which is fine for the database and smaller files. But the /var/lib/grom is over 30GB because of all the mail and will take an eternity to move via sftp

Can you recommend a program that I could backup the files from the hyper -v grommunio to my windows server and restore on the new installation?

Thanks,
Trent

WalterH

tar is a good choice. Like:
tar -czvf /backup/grommunio.tgz /var/lib/gromox/
than move the /backup/grommunio.tgz to the destination server or to the windows server.

An other option is rsync to copy the files directly to the destination server. Like:
rsync -aH -essh --delete --numeric-ids -P --stats --inplace /var/lib/gromox/ root@<DEST_SERVER>:/var/lib/gromox/