Migrating the Schemus Synchronisation tool to the new Windows server

Products

• Email Security.cloud

Issue/Introduction

The article describes how to migrate the Schemus Synchronization tool and its existing configurations from an old Windows server to a new server during decommissioning or hardware upgrades.

Environment

Email Security.cloud

Resolution

Migrating Schemus involves backing up the configuration data, installing the tool on the new host, and restoring the settings.
Follow these steps to ensure a successful migration:

Step 1: Backup Configuration on the Source Server
1. Open the Schemus GUI and navigate to 'Help > About Schemus' to identify the current version and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).
2. Locate the configuration directory. By default, this is located at: "C:\ProgramData\Schemus"
   *(Note: You may need to enable 'Show hidden files and folders' in Windows Explorer to see this path).* 
3. Copy the entire "Schemus" folder to a secure backup location or directly to the new server.
4. If synchronization is scheduled, go to "Configuration > Schedule" and take a screenshot or note the specific run times and recurrence settings.

Step 2: Install Schemus on the Target Server
1. Log in to the Email Security.cloud portal.
2. Navigate to "Tools > Downloads" and download the latest version of the Schemus Synchronization Tool. 
   *Recommendation: Download the version that includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).*
3. Run the installer on the new server.
4. It is recommended to use a dedicated service account with Global Administrator privileges for the installation to prevent synchronization failures caused by personal account changes or password expirations.
5. During the installation, when prompted for the 'Select Configuration Directory', you can point the installer to the location where you restored the backup, or complete the install and manually replace the 'C:\ProgramData\Schemus' folder with your backup.

Step 3: Post-Migration Configuration
1. Before running the tool for the first time, copy your backed-up Schemus folder into C:\ProgramData\ on the new server, replacing any default folders created during installation.
2. Open the Schemus tool on the new server and verify that your existing synchronization profiles are visible.
3. Click 'Refresh' or perform a 'Test Update' to ensure the tool can communicate with both your local directory and the Email Security.cloud service.
4. Recreate Schedules: If you used Windows Task Scheduler to automate syncs, you will need to manually re-create these tasks on the new server. You can also set a schedule within the tool under 'Configuration > Schedule'.

Additional Notes:
* If you are moving from a 32-bit architecture to a 64-bit architecture (or vice versa), you must recreate the scheduled tasks manually, as the file paths for the executable (`schemusc.exe`) will differ.
* Ensure that firewall rules on the new server allow outbound communication to the Email Security.cloud infrastructure.