Which tool helps you overcome the 7 biggest file migration challenges?

Want to eliminate platform migration headaches? Reduce costs, efforts and wasted time? You are in the right place. I want to share some tips to help you simplify your migration activities.

I’ve been doing file-based migrations for over 20 years, primarily using EMC technology. Most migrations have been based on SMB, including server-to-server, server-to-NAS, and NAS-to-NAS migrations.

Some of the tools I have taken advantage of over the years include:

• ROBOCOPY: Originally part of the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit, this utility from Microsoft has been around since 1997.
• EMCOPY – This EMC utility is primarily used for copying to a Celerra-based file system; however, the other tools in the suite consisting of EMCopy, Sharedup, and LGDUP have been used several times, including in conjunction with Robocopy.
• RSYNC – This UNIX utility is used for NFS migrations.

As technology advanced, storage vendors provided a way to perform these migrations using internal tools. Some of the tools were developed for disaster recovery, while others were developed explicitly for data migration. Two examples include:

• VNX Replicator – This tool can replicate from Celerra/VNX to another Celerra/VNX array.
• Isi_vol_copy – The Isilon isi_vol_copy utility uses NDMP streams to copy data from a NetApp array to the Isilon array. Eventually EMC added isi_vol_copy_vnx which allowed NDMP based copy from VNX to Isilon.

Considerations: One of the main considerations we face when doing file-based migrations is which tool is best for the job. The answer to this question is not easy because several tools may be needed to complete the job. Another consideration is the ability to streamline the data migration process.

Among the most popular file migration tools that can address these considerations: Datadobi DobiMiner. For the past five years, I have recognized Datadobi for its CAS to NAS migration methodologies and NAS to NAS migration tool, which is always evolving. DobiMiner helps streamline file-based data migrations, simplifies the entire end-to-end process, and addresses all of the following additional challenges:

Challenge 1: Bandwidth limitation

Customers may need to limit the bandwidth that the migration consumes. This may limit the number of concurrent sessions or the actual time required to stop the migration if necessary.

DobiMiner can schedule bandwidth based on hours of operation per file server. This feature limits bandwidth during normal business hours so that migrations continue to run with reduced bandwidth and then automatically increase bandwidth during the next window. Imagine the flexibility of changing schedules based on file server and managing multiple bandwidth schedules during the migration phase. It also includes file server analysis to update data.

Challenge 2: Detailed reports

Customers often request to see a concise daily status report on all migration jobs. This includes successes, failures, and the details surrounding both cases. Other tools have log files associated with them, but some tweaking will be required to get an accurate report. The ability to email a report, if supported, will typically require additional configuration effort.

DobiMiner generates reports on demand. In addition to the destination source and destination, the reports show the number of files, directories, symbolic links, and errors. In the event of an error, the reports allow you to drill down to analyze the cause. Migration reports can be emailed daily, weekly, or monthly.

Challenge 3: Job Scheduling

Scheduling the job must be done from the Windows scheduler on each server that is performing the migration job. Job schedules can overlap if multiple proxy servers are used for migrations.

DobiMiner can schedule incremental steady state backups. Each individual migration can be scheduled to run based on migration effort. For example, the migration can start with daily incremental copies and then change to hourly as the migration transition window arrives.

Challenge 4: Transition Time Estimation

This manual process includes reviewing the logs of each incremental run to estimate the time it takes to perform the incremental copy.

DobiMiner allows you to create migration windows based on transition time. DobiMiner determines if the final migration will fit within the specified time window. A rehearsal can also be performed to simulate the final copy.

Challenge 5: Creation of Migration Jobs

Job creation can be scheduled, but must be imported on each server that will perform the jobs and then scheduled per server. For Windows, a batch file must be created and then scheduled using the Windows scheduler.

DobiMiner can bulk import not only file servers, but also migration pairs from a template. After creating the template, there is an import function that will create the migration jobs at the DobiMiner software level.

Challenge 6: Incremental copies

All of the tools mentioned have a way to perform incremental copies. Some need to do a file compare and can take hours to find the file to copy. Others will not sync directories based on the NDMP based protocol.

DobiMiner performs a directory scan faster than the other tools mentioned. The scans are performed on a scheduled basis and the information is stored in DobiMiner.

Because it scans and performs incremental copies faster than the other tools mentioned in this article, it helps speed up the migration saving you precious time.

Challenge 7: Mix of SMB and NFS clients

If a client wants to copy NFS files in addition to SMB files, they will need two tools, such as RoboCopy and Rsync.

DobiMiner migrates NFS and SMB files in a single pane of glass. Supports migration of SMB, NFS and even mixed mode protocols.

Conclusion:

It’s no surprise that DobiMiner has been named the tool of choice for file-based migrations on EMC Unity and other platforms. In my experience, DobiMiner has been a welcome addition to the file migration process and continues to impress me. DobiMiner addresses all of the current challenges presented in this article and offers technological advantages over other legacy tools.