Re: [foxboro] Upgrading Foxboro AW from P91, (Dell 2800), to P91,(Dell 2900), 2003 Server

  • From: "tjvandew@xxxxxxxxx" <tjvandew@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:01:09 -1000

To All,

    We were unsuccessful in cloning the hard drive from a running P91 
2800 Fox AW to a new P91 2900.  Although using Symantec Backup and 
Restore Ver.8.5 did allow us to restore to the new machine using the 
"Restore Anywhere" feature and we could boot up, in the end there were 
too many application and registry problems to understand and resolve to 
make the whole effort worthwhile.  (You were right Russ, Alex, and Ron)

This is our final procedure to get the box up and running:

1. Generate a Day 0 commit disk with all packages for the AW to be 
upgraded marked as "NOT YET" in System Definition.

2. Do a DAY0/DAY1 install on the new box.

3. Install all of the CD based applications such as IACC, AIM_AT, 
FOX_API, and anything else you need above the base DAY1 base load onto 
the new box.

NOTE: This will create any registry entries that are needed on the C: 
partition for these applications and also makes them visible in 
"Start:All_Programs" listings.  These applications need to be installed 
in the default directory dictated by the CD install to insure that 
everything lines up.  Recommendation: "Don't change any of the defaults!"

4. Use the Symantec Backup Utility to backup only drive D: (IA) 
partition on the old box.

NOTE: Applications such as CSA, AIM_AT historian, and IACC store the 
application, configuration, and data files entirely on the D: (IA) 
partition.  Also, all CP checkpoint, work files, .O files, sequence code 
and ladder logic files are stored on D: (IA) partition.  If you have 
done anything weird with sequence include files by placing them on the 
C: partition you need to make sure to save and restore them as needed.  
In general, there is an excellent argument to keep all IA related user 
generated files in D:/opt subdirectories.  Make sure that no new CSA 
entries, IACC modifications, or AIM Historian modifications take place 
on the old box after you do this backup or you might miss something 
critical!!!

5. Turn off the Foxboro Application in the Control Panel, (little red 
devil looking FOX), on the new box before rebooting the new box using 
the Symantec Restore CD in the CD Drive.

6. Once the Symantec Restore CD has booted, use the RESTORE utility to 
restore the D: (IA) partition on the new box with the backup image 
created in Step 4 from the old box.

   NOTE: The D: drive on the old box contains all of the needed files 
for CSA, IACC, AIM_AT Historian but needs to have the latest data.

7. In order for the IACC Client to find installed databases on the new 
box, that were backed up from the old box D:(IA) partition and restored 
to the new box, you need to do the following:
    a. Right click on "My Computer" icon on the desktop and select 
"Properties"
    b. Left Click on the "Advanced" tab
    c. Left Click on the "Environment Variables" button near the bottom 
of the window.
    d. Under the "System Variables" section locate and delete the 
IACC_DBNAME variable
       It defaults to IACC during initial installation of IACC
       Deleting it makes IACC clients look for the IACC_Settings.txt 
file that contains IACC database info.

8. Since IACC clients and potentially other applications use the 2nd 
Ethernet, (wired adapter), to pass data and access applications across 
the Engineering LAN you need to insure that you set up the TCP/IP 
address on the new box 2nd Ethernet adapter to the same IP address and 
subnet as the old box but don't physically connect it until the old box 
is disconnected from the Engineering LAN.

9. Set the little red FOX in the Control Panel to enable Foxboro and 
reboot the new box.

10. THIS PART REALLY SUCKS!!  Anytime a DAY0 installation is performed 
on a FOX AW a new HostID is generated for AIM_AT applications such as 
AIM historian, AIMODB, and anything you see in the API_Admin application 
window.  I thought it was generated based on the SERIAL # of the box or 
something hardware related and wouldn't change but I found out the hard 
way that it generates a new number with each DAY0 install. That wouldn't 
be so bad if it didn't also change an Authorization Code for each 
individual application under the AIM_AT hood.  This means that you have 
to fill out a manual form and FAX it to someone at FoxMass and wait for 
them to plug your new HostID into an application that generates a long 
confusing authorization string for each of your licensed application 
subsets.   When they mail that back to you you have to login to the 
AIM_AT API_ADMIN environment, locate the NOT AUTHORIZED text adjacent to 
the app you want to authorize, click once on NOT AUTHORIZED to highlight 
it in Blue, wait a few seconds and click again to make the text 
editable, type the exact string that was sent from Foxboro in, and hope 
you didn't make a mistake, hit enter and hope it says AUTHORIZED.  This 
may be the most asinine thing that Foxboro has done in recent history 
because you won't get the AIM apps running without it, you can't clone 
from one box and restore to a backup box if you have a failure, so you 
have no hope of getting these critical apps running until you go back 
and forth with FoxMass which is time consuming in Hawaii with the time 
difference at the very best.  This assumes that you even realize that 
you have to jump through all of these hoops to get an application that 
you paid good money for to restore to a new box that you also paid 
Foxboro good money for.

11. Once you have the authorizations completed you need to go to the 
AIM_AT icon in Control Panel and check the box that tells it to 
automatically start the AIM_AT application on bootup.  If you need 
FOXAPI to run all of the time for PI collection or some other app. do 
the same thing for its icon in Control Panel.

12. Shutdown the old box and disconnect the 2nd Ethernet cables, power, 
fiber to the MESH switches.

13. Put the new box in place of the old and connect all of the cables 
and reboot.

If your problem is a hard drive failure you should be able to put a new 
hard drive in the same box and restore C: and D: from a backup of the 
box if you have anything close to current.  If you have a mother board 
failure you probably have to follow the procedure outlined above to get 
the box back up and running on new hardware.

We were lucky that we didn't have a ton of other special applications 
like OPC Servers and other custom apps installed like Ron Schafer 
mentioned, because each of them would have their own associated 
considerations to address.  I hope we have thought of everything.  There 
isn't any good document I have found that tells you how to accomplish 
all of this and Foxboro folks seem to dread trying to tackle this as 
much as the end users.  It is definitely a pain.

We go live with this Monday morning so I will let you know if all goes well.

Regards,
Tom VandeWater
Control Conversions, Inc.
Kapolei, HI
 
 
 
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