Upgrading a single mobilEcho server with Client Management enabled

Scenario 2 - Upgrading a single mobilEcho server with Client Management enabled

In this scenario, you have a single Windows server that is running mobilEcho 4.5 or earlier. This server has both the required mobilEcho File Access Server service running and the optional mobilEcho Client Management Server service enabled.

When upgrading to Acronis Access, your mobilEcho File Access Server is upgraded to an Acronis Access Gateway Server. This service will continue to accept connections from mobilEcho clients and to act as the gateway to any file server, NAS or SharePoint data sources your users are accessing.

Your mobilEcho Client Management Administrator web console will be upgrade to an Acronis Access Server web console. This new web console allows you to administer your mobilEcho servers and clients from one unified web interface.

To perform an upgrade of Acronis Access:

1. Backup all of the necessary files following these guides: mobilEcho 4.5 Backup and/or activEcho 2.7 backup.
2. Disable any anti-virus software you have or it may interrupt the installation procedure resulting in a failed installation.
3. Download the Acronis Access Server installer to your mobilEcho server and run the installer.
   1. To access the latest installer, please visit: http://support.grouplogic.com/?page_id=3598
   2. You will need to enter your product serial number for verification before downloading the installer.
   3. The installer file is named: AcronisAccessSetup.exe
4. Click Next on the Welcome Screen.
   
5. Please accept the license agreement.
   
6. Click the Upgrade option to automatically upgrade your mobilEcho File Access Server service to an Acronis Access Gateway Server. In the upgrade process, the Acronis Access Server and its required services will also be installed.

   Note: Do not choose Custom and install only the Acronis Access Gateway Server. The Acronis Access Server is the new web console that replaces the mobilEcho Administrator Windows program. It is required to administer your mobilEcho server. If you do not install it, you will have no means to change your mobilEcho settings or to give access to new file shares.

   

7. Select an installation location for the Acronis Access components being installed. If you are upgrading an existing mobilEcho server, these paths will default to your existing installation location. We recommend you do not change these installation paths.

   

8. The Acronis Access Server uses a PostgreSQL database to store its settings. This database is required and is installed automatically.

   Note: Please enter and confirm a Super-User password for the “postgres” administrative account. Be sure to record this password in a safe place.

   Note: It is not recommended that you alter the PostgresSQL install location or port.

   

9. Please review the services being installed and upgraded. Then click Install to begin the upgrade.

   

   Note: All required components will be automatically installed in sequence. This may take 5 to 15 minutes depending on your server. Future upgrade installs will be quicker.
   

10. Once installation has completed, a summary of the components installed is shown. Click Exit to continue.

    

11. At this point in the upgrade process, all necessary software has been installed, but you must now configure the network interfaces, ports, and certificates that will be used.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do not proceed with this configuration step, your mobilEcho server will not be functional. This step is mandatory.

    When exiting the installer, you will be prompted to run the Acronis Access Configuration Utility. Click OK to continue.

    

    If you accidently skip this step or need to change your network interfaces, ports, or certificates in the future. You can manually run the configuration utility at any time.

    On upgraded mobilEcho servers, the utility’s default location is:

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Group Logic\Configuration Utility\AcronisAccessConfiguration.exe

12. Within the Configuration Utility, the Gateway Server tab is used to configure your Acronis Access Gateway Server’s network address, port, and certificate. The Acronis Access Gateway Server is the core mobilEcho service that your mobilEcho clients connect to and that gives access to your file servers, NAS, and SharePoint servers. This service was called the mobilEcho File Access Server prior to Acronis Access.

    Note: You existing settings are retained. Please confirm that these settings match your existing mobilEcho File Access Server settings. This service typically runs on all available network addresses on port 443. If you have an existing SSL server identity certificate, it will be automatically selected. If you do not, a self-signed certificate will be generated.

    

13. The Access Server tab is used to configure your Acronis Access Server’s network address, port, and certificate. The Acronis Access Server is the web console that takes the place of your mobilEcho Client Management Server web console.

    Note: Please confirm the settings match your existing mobilEcho Client Management Server settings. This web console typically runs on all available network addresses on port 3000. If you have an existing SSL server identity certificate, it will be automatically selected. If you do not, a self-signed certificate will be generated.

    

14. Acronis Access Server requires that a File Repository location be selected. If you are using mobilEcho only, this File Repository will not be used to store anything, but setting a location is still required.

    This repository is used by Acronis’ activEcho file sync and share features. These features will not be enabled if you are upgrading a server that does not already have them installed, but you can chose to enable them at a later time, if desired.

    The default location for the File Repository is:

    C:\ProgramData\Acronis\Access\FileStore

    If you would like to try out activEcho in the future, you may want to select a location on a data drive instead of the C: drive. This location can be modified post-install, too.

    

15. Click OK to exit the Configuration Utility and apply these settings.
16. You will now log into the Acronis Access Server web console for the first time to complete your configuration. You will be prompted to click OK to launch a web browser and complete this configuration.
    

Required initial configuration of Acronis Access:

1. The Acronis Access Server web console should open automatically after completing the steps above. It may take 30 seconds or so for the services to start up and the web page to load for the first time.
2. If the web page does not load automatically, open a web browser and navigate to the Access Server HTTPS address and port you selected in the Configuration Utility.
   1. For example: https://mobilecho.mycompany.com:3000 or https://localhost:3000

      Note: Most of the settings in the SMTP, General Settings and LDAP pages should already be present from your mobilEcho installation.

3. Acronis Access Server requires that a local administrator account be created. Please enter and confirm a password for this local administrator account.
   
   1. The username for this local administrator account is: administrator
   2. Keep this local administrator password in a safe place. It will be needed to log in as an administrator, until you configure additional administrative users.
   3. Once your server is configured, you will be able to designate additional Active Directory users or groups to act as administrators of the server.
4. You will now be presented with a setup wizard that will guide you though the remainder of the configuration process.
5. Licensing

1. You will be prompted to enter the new type of license or continue using your old mobilEcho license.

1. SMTP settings
   
   1. You will be prompted to configure the SMTP settings used by the Access Server to send email alerts and client enrollment invitations.
   2. There is an option to send a test email to confirm these settings.
2. LDAP settings
   
   1. The Acronis Access Server needs an LDAP connection to search your Active Directory for the users and groups you would like to assign policies and data sources to.
   2. Please enter the LDAP information for an Active Directory server on your network. If you have a multi domain network this will need to be a Global Catalog Server on port 3268 or 3269 (for SSL connections). Tool tips are provided for each field for more detail.
   3. You are required to configure an LDAP username and password to be used when the server makes request to LDAP.
   4. The LDAP settings you enter will be tested when you save them.
3. Your initial configuration is now complete.
   1. Click Finish Configuration to continue.

Registering your mobilEcho Gateway Server(s)

When upgrading an existing mobilEcho 4.5 or earlier server, where the mobilEcho Client Management service was configured, all the Servers that were configured on the Servers & Folders page are imported into the Acronis Access Gateway Servers list.

These Gateway Servers are initially imported as Legacy gateway servers. This means they have not yet been registered to be controlled and administered by the Acronis Access web console. This registration is required to manage these Gateway servers once they have been upgraded to Acronis Access.

In order to be registered for administration, these servers must first be upgraded to Acronis Access. Until they are upgraded, you will continue to use the mobilEcho Administrator Windows program to administer those servers.

As shown in the example below, the two servers in the Servers & Folder page in mobilEcho 4.5 now appear on the Gateway Servers page.

All the existing Folders configured in the mobilEcho 4.5 Client Management Administrator are first migrated into the Legacy Data Sources tab on the Data Sources page. You can continue to add and modify the folders on this page until you upgrade their associated Gateway Server to Acronis Access. Once a Gateway Server is upgraded to Acronis Access and registered to be administered by this Acronis Access server, the folders associated with that Gateway Server will be moved to the main Folders tab on the Data Sources page.

Note: Each mobilEcho Gateway Server can only be administered by one Acronis Access console. If your organization maintains multiple mobilEcho Client Management Servers (now called Acronis Access Servers), you will need to deploy unique Gateway Servers for each Acronis Access Server.

In this scenario, you should only have one Windows Server running the Acronis Access console and the Gateway Server, so you will have just one server listed on the Gateway Servers page. This server needs to be registered so that you can administer it.

1. Click the menu button for the Gateway Server on your Acronis Access server and select Register.
   
2. You will be asked if the existing network address for the server you are registering can be used to directly access the server. The existing address is typically the network address that your mobile device users must use to access the Gateway Server, so it’s possible this address points to a proxy server or load balancer.

   Note: If this is the case, you need to select “No” at this dialog and enter an alternate network address that will be used by the Acronis Access server to gain direct network access to this Gateway Server
   

3. You will then be presented with the registration dialog.
   

   Note: If your Gateway Server is using a self-signed SSL certificate, you will need to enable “Allow connections from Acronis Access servers using self-signed certificates”.

   Note: You will also need to enter an Administration Key, to enable the pairing with this remote server. This is done to validate and secure the administrative relationship.

4. To obtain an Administration Key from your Gateway Server, open a new browser window or tab and navigate to the Gateway Server’s HTTPS address. This should be the same address that is listed in the “Address for administration and client connections” field.
   

   Note: For security purposes, this must be done from a web browser running on the actual Windows Server that the Gateway Server is running on. You will not be able to view your Administration Key from a remote web browser.

5. Enter the 12 digit Administration Key (including dashes) into the registration form and click Save.

   Note: Once the server has been registered it will appear in the Gateway Servers list as registered and you can adjust its settings and view its details and status.

   

When registered, the Volumes that existed on the mobilEcho Gateway Server prior to being upgraded to Acronis Access are imported into the Data Sources – Folders list.

There are no longer “Volumes” in mobilEcho 5.0. Instead of using Volumes to share data sources, you will now create Folders. These Folders have an optional “Show when browsing server” property. When this option is enabled, the Folder will appear when a user browses the root of the Gateway Server in their mobilEcho app, just as Volumes were displayed in mobilEcho 4.5 or earlier.

All the Volumes from your mobilEcho 4.5 or earlier server were imported into to the Acronis Access console as Folders with the “Show when browsing server” property enabled. So, they will continue to appear when your users browse the root of a mobilEcho Gateway Server. Any Folders added later can be configured to act like Volumes be enabling this setting. You can also begin using advanced client management features, such as the ability to add Folders that automatically appear in the mobilEcho client app for the list of Active Directory user or groups you assign them to.

As shown below, the 4 existing Volumes from this mobilEcho 4.5 server were imported into the Folders list after Gateway Server registration, and they continue to appear when browsing the server from the mobilEcho app.

Upgrading Acronis Access 6.0 to 7.x or newer:

Once you have confirmed that the upgrade is successful, you can continue the upgrade to the latest version by following the steps below.The upgrade procedure from a previous version of Acronis Access is a simplified process and requires almost no configuration.

Backup the vital components:

The Apache Tomcat folder

On upgrade the Apache Tomcat may be upgraded and all of the current Tomcat configuration files and log files will be removed. We recommend you make a copy of the Apache Tomcat folder, which by default is found here: C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\Access\Common\.

The PostgreSQL database

The following method creates an *.sql file containing a text representation of the source database.

1. Open a Command Prompt window and navigate to the 9.2\bin folder located in the PostgreSQL installation directory.
   e.g. cd "C:\PostgreSQL\9.2\bin"
2. Once your current Command Prompt directory is the bin folder, enter the following line:
   
   pg_dump -U postgres -f mybackup.sql acronisaccess_production
   where mybackup.sql is the desired file name for the produced backup file. It can include a full path to the location where you want the backup file to be created, for instance: D:\Backups\mybackup.sql

   Note: acronisaccess_production must be entered exactly as shown as it is the name of the Acronis Access database

3. A "Password: " line appears. Enter the postgres password that you set during the Acronis Access installation process.

   Note: Typing the password will not result in any visual changes in the Command Prompt window.

4. Your backup file will appear in the bin folder by default unless the output file specification contains a full path to a different directory.

Note: If you want to backup the entire PostgreSQL database set you can use the following command:

pg_dumpall -U postgres > alldbs.sql

Where alldbs.sql will be the generated backup file. It can include a full path specification, for instance D:\Backups\alldbs.sql

For full syntax on this command see: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.2/static/app-pg-dumpall.html

Info: For more information on PostgreSQL backup procedures and command syntax please read this: http://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.2/static/backup.html

The Gateway Server(s) database(s)

1. Go to the server on which you have your Acronis Access Gateway Server installed.
2. Navigate to the folder containing the database.

   Note: The default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\Access\Gateway Server\database

3. Copy the mobilEcho.sqlite3 file and paste it in a safe location.

The Acronis Access configuration file

1. Navigate to the Acronis Access installation folder containing the configuration file.

   Note: The default location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\Access\Access Server

2. Copy the acronisaccess.cfg file and paste it in a safe location.

Upgrade

1. Disable any anti-virus software you have or it may interrupt the installation procedure resulting in a failed installation.
2. Double-click on the installer executable.
   
3. Press Next to begin.
4. Read and accept the license agreement.
5. Press Upgrade.

6. Review the components which will be installed and press Install.

7. Review the installed components and close the installer.

8. You will be prompted to open the Configuration Utility, press OK.

   

Verify that none of the settings in the Configuration Utility have changed. After you have verified all of your settings are as expected, press OK to close the Configuration Utility and start the Acronis Access services.