BlackBerry Enterprise Server Upgrade

If you have a plan to upgrade your BES from version 4.0 to version 4.1, read on...

There are 3 methods of upgrade options: in-place, cutover and phased. I am going to show you the cutover method which installs the new BES on the new computer and migrates database from the old BES to the new one.

Let's assume your existing server name is oldbes, the new server name is newbes. You have an AD service account called: besadmin and your MSDE configuration database is stored in BESMgmt

Step-by-step

• Install Windows 2003 + SP2 on the new server and name it newbes. Join to the domain where the oldbes server domain is located. Give a temporary static IP address
• Add besadmin as a local administrator and give right to 'Log on as a service' in the local security settings of the newbes computer
• Login to the oldbes computer as besadmin; we are going to backup the database (MSDE): Open the cmd prompt and run:

osql -E
1> backup database BESMgmt to disk="C:\BESMgmt.bak"
2> go
3> quit

• Login to the newbes computer as besadmin; install the MSDEA from microsoft with the following command, and start the MSSQLSERVER service and change the startup type to automatic:

setup.exe SAPWD="yoursapassword"

• Download the MAPI client and CDO from Microsoft, and install it on newbes computer
• Restore the database to the newbes computer (login as besadmin); copy the BESMgmt.bak file from the oldbes computer to C:\ drive of newbes computer. Open the command prompt:

osql –E
1> restore database BESMgmt from disk = “C:\BESMgmt.bak” with recovery, replace
2> go
3> quit

• Login to oldbes computer as besadmin, and stop all BES services and change all the services startup type to disabled. Change the IP address of oldbes to different IP address; Change the IP address of newbes to oldbes's old IP address - this to make sure the Firewall still allow port 3101 outbound to RIM from the newbes computer
• Now depending on your service pack level of BES installed on the oldbes computer, you need to install them again exactly to the same service pack level on the newbes computer. For example: if your oldbes is version 4.0.6, then you need to install the same version of BES to the newbes computer
• During the installation on the newbes, it will ask you for the "BlackBerry Server Name:" you need to give the oldbes computer name, NOT the newbes!
• Once you have got to the same service pack level installed on the newbes computer, start install the 4.1 version of BES; It will ask you to upgrade the database, and Click Yes to upgrade the database
• Follow the rest of the installation and you are done!