Promigra Server Migrator

Photo Credits:jurek d.

One of the most often used roles of Windows Server is the File Services role. It provides a secure and easy way for users to share files and data. Without precise rules from the beginning, shared folders can become chaotic and finding data can become difficult and time consuming. Manual folder makeovers can be done in very small environments, but can quickly become impossible as a company grows. Promigra Server Migrator has been designed especially for those situations. It makes it possible to improve the folder structure when manual adjustments are not efficient. This article describes the steps for file server migration using Promigra Server Migrator.

Install the Promigra Server Migrator on a server

Promigra Server Migrator (PSM) is a multi-layered solution. It consists of a database, an Promigra Server Migrator server and Promigra Server Migrator clients. First, you have to decide on a server that will host the server part. Promigra Server Migrator server runs as a Windows service and saves the data to a database. For user client deployment the Click Once technology is used. There are two possibilities to deploy the user client application.
Once you have a server ready that will host the Promigra Server Migrator service, and have decided on the client application deployment, then you can install the Promigra Server Migrator. The installation is fully automated with the installation program and can be done in a minute.

Create and configure a new project

When you first run the administration client it will create a new project for you. You can also create additional projects as needed. Each project should have a clear, descriptive name.
A very important decision that has to be made is how you are going to organize security on the new folder structure. Promigra Server Migrator enables very flexible folder security settings.
You can redesign as many shared folders as you wish. Before users can work with them in FSC you have to define them in the project as source locations.
Although you can leave it up to users to create the new folder structures as they like, it is recommended to define the initial structure before you start the project. You have probably decided to rearrange the old shared folders because they were not optimal. You don’t want to end up with a similar messy structure.
Together with the new location of their data users can decide also who has access to that data. To be able to do that FSC needs a list of all users who should have access to new folders. Administrators can manually add users one by one or import them from a text file. The input file can be prepared in Excel or any text editor.

Users define where the data should be migrated

This is organizationally the most difficult step. It is also the most time consuming. The ball is now in the end users’ hands. They have to start the user client application by clicking on the link that was sent to them by administrators.
The user client is very intuitive and easy to use. On the left side is the existing folder structure and on the right side is the new folder structure. Users move existing shared folders to the new structure and select their colleagues that should have read access and those that should also have a possibility to make changes.

Create and verify migration scripts

After the users have indicated where in the new folder structure they want to have their data you can create migration scripts. Promigra Server Migrator uses script templates to create the migration scripts. Make sure to review the scripts and also test them!

Backup data

It might happen that after the migration a user notices that he forgot to mark some of his data for migration, or he might change his mind and want to copy the data to a different location.
Before you run the migration scripts and migrate the data make sure that you have a valid backup. In case something goes wrong you might need it to recover to the previous state. This step is even more important if you are not copying, but moving the data to the new location.
It is not enough to only make the backup. It must also be tested!

Run the migration scripts

Finally, you can run the scripts and migrate the data. When you run the scripts make sure you run them in the right order.

Photo Credits:Jim Linwood

You can’t give some user groups permissions on a folder that hasn’t been created yet, or when the group doesn’t exist.

Scripts for data restructuring that Promigra Server Migrator generates have to be run in the following order:

1) Run the script that creates user groups in the Active Directory;
2) Execute the script that creates folders on the new file server;
3) Run the script that grants permissions on folders created in second step to user groups from the first step;
4) Run the script that will copy the data from old folders to the new ones.

Photo Credits:Marcin Wichary

When it comes to file copying you can choose from a wide variety of utilities. Rather than create another one we’ve decided that Promigra Server Migrator should use what already exists and has been proven to work. Promigra Server Migrator can work with most of the proven industry standard tools. It can be used with any tool that can be run from the command line and can accept appropriate parameters. Out of the box it generates scripts that make use of RoboCopy, ICACLS and PowerShell to migrate data.
Additionally, you can prepare templates that use some other utility to prepare scripts for Active Directory security group creation, creation of folders, and assignment of permissions and file copying.
To prepare a template for your favorite tool write a command that would execute the tool and perform some operation. Then replace parts of the command with place holders described below. During the script creation Promigra Server Migrator will pick the template and replace the placeholders with real values.
Example of a template:
icacls "[[TargetLocationPath]]" /grant "[[DomainName]]\[[SafeTargetLocationPath]]_R":(OI)(CI)(RX)
Placeholders that can be used with Promigra Server Migrator:
[[TargetLocationPath]]

This placeholder is used to mark the position where FSC should put the path to a folder in new folder structure. It is used in templates for creating new folders, copying data to new folders, etc.

[[SourceLocationPath]]

When Promigra Server Migrator creates scripts it replaces this placeholder with a path to a folder on an existing file share. It is used in templates for copying source data to new locations.

[[TargetLocationOwner]]

This place holder is used to mark where in the script FSC should put new folder owner’s user name.

[[ExcludedLocations]]

This term tells FSC where to put paths of source locations that must be excluded from the migration process.

[[ExcludedSublocation]]

This place holder will be replaced by one excluded sub location. It is used for creating a group of excluded source folders.

[[ParentContainer]]

With this place holder you can indicate where in the script FSC should put Active Directory container. It is used in templates for the creation of security groups in Active Directory.

[[DomainName]]

This term represents the target domain name.

[[SafeTargetLocationPath]]

Not all characters can be used to name Active Directory security groups. If you need a name of a target folder with the forbidden characters removed you can use this placeholder. FSC will take the target folder name and replace all forbidden characters with underscores. It is used in script templates for security group creation and in script templates for assigning permissions on target folders.

[[UserName]]

This placeholder is used in scripts that add individual users to Active Directory security groups. When creating a script FSC replaces this term with user’s user name.

Custom defined templates

In addition to the script templates provided with Promigra Server Migrator you can also use your own templates.
To replace a template that is included in FSC start a text editor and open the App.config file in the administration client. In this file you can find one line for each of the migration scripts. Find the template you would like to change and replace it with your version.
Whether you use the templates that are included with Promigra Server Migrator or your own, you have to test the resulting scripts in your own environment!

There are two FSC Client applications:

· User client: It allows end users to show where in the new folder structure they want to migrate their data. It is very simple to use. It gets deployed with ClickOnce technology. The Administrator sends users a link for starting the application.

· Administration client: This application is intended to be used by administrators. With this client administrators can create new projects, adjust project parameters and create migration scripts at the end of the project.

Promigra Server Migrator uses ClickOnce technology for user client deployment. This technology makes it possible to run a project without installing any additional software on client computers. Administrators can send users a link via e-mail, which they use to run the application.

Client deployment is possible from a shared folder or from a web server. Deployment from a shared folder is simpler, because there is no web server configuration necessary. One drawback is that ClickOnce does not allow adding parameters to a link for launching the client application. The result is that we can concurrently collect the data only for one project; however, this project can still contain multiple source servers and shared folders. This approach is more appropriate for various work group scenarios.

For larger projects it is better to use a web server to deploy user clients. The configuration is a little more complex, but allows us more options. With this approach the link for starting user client can contain parameters with project identification number and FSC server name. It makes it possible to concurrently reform many shared folders using the same FSC server. Like with the first approach we can also rebuild the structure of more than one file server.

Whether you use file shares or web servers to deploy the user client, all that a user needs to do is click on a link sent from a project leader.