Relocating Enterprise HelpDesk Installations

About the Relocation Wizard

Enterprise HelpDesk includes a Relocation Wizard for moving Enterprise HelpDesk components (such as HelpDesk Server and HelpDesk Web Server), projects, and Web views from one computer to another.

With the Relocation Wizard, you can:

Move a standard installation to a different computer.

Convert a standard installation to a distributed installation on two different computers.

Move a distributed installation to two different computers.

Note that you must always relocate to different computers.

The Relocation Wizard backs up the HelpDeskServer and HelpDeskTools folders before relocating them. After the Relocation Wizard finishes relocating Enterprise HelpDesk, it regenerates all your Web views. The Web views are all regenerated in the default HelpDeskWeb/Views/CensusWebVD folder.

How to Relocate Enterprise HelpDesk

Log off all Web view users and close all copies of HelpDesk Admin, HelpDesk Web Admin, and the Web View Editor.

Clean install Enterprise HelpDesk components on the destination computers (the computers to which you want to relocate).

Run the Relocation Wizard on the destination computers. If you’re relocating to a distributed installation, you’ll have to run the Relocation Wizard twice, first on the new database server and then on the new Web server.

Update client copies of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor.

Test the relocated installation. Check that you can open the relocated projects and Web views, and that you can run HelpDesk Admin, HelpDesk Web Admin, and the Web View Editor.

The Relocation Wizard regenerates all Web views in the default HelpDeskWeb/Views/CensusWebVD folder.

Remove the old copies of Enterprise HelpDesk.

We strongly recommend that you perform a clean installation of the Enterprise HelpDesk components on the destination computer. Otherwise, you may have problems relocating to the destination computer.

For example, suppose you perform a clean install of HelpDesk Server, create a project, and migrate it to SQL Server. If you then try to relocate another HelpDesk Server to that computer, the relocation may fail because database files are locked on the destination computer.

SQL Server database files are locked while the SQL Server services (mssqlserver and sqlserveragent) are running. As a result, the Relocation Wizard may not be able to relocate project databases and other databases such as USERS_MDB.

Before You Relocate

Understand how to relocate your Enterprise HelpDesk installation

Read this overview of how to relocate.

Check Permissions

You must run the Relocation Wizard with a user account that has Full Control permission for the HelpDeskServer folders on all computers (current location and new location).

Close all copies of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor

This includes all copies of the programs, not just those installed on the Web server or the database server.

Relocate Projects

If you have any projects located outside of the HelpDeskServer folder, use HelpDesk Admin to move the projects into the HelpDeskServer folder. After you relocate Enterprise HelpDesk, you can use HelpDesk Admin to move the projects back outside of the HelpDeskServer folder.

Back Up

The Relocation Wizard backs up your HelpDeskServer and HelpDeskTools folders, but you may want to create your own backups.

Log Off Users

The Relocation Wizard logs off users, but you may want to inform users ahead of time that Enterprise HelpDesk will not be available.

Relocating a Standard Installation

In the standard (1-tier) configuration, all Enterprise HelpDesk components are installed on the same computer. You can use the Relocation Wizard to move a standard Enterprise HelpDesk installation to a new location on a different computer.

On the new computer, perform a clean install of Enterprise HelpDesk in the standard (1-tier) configuration.

On the new computer, run the Relocation Wizard program MqRelocateTool.exe. The program is located in the HelpDeskTools\Support\Relocation folder.

In the Logon Name and Password boxes, type the name and password of an Enterprise HelpDesk user. The user must be a member of the Admins group, or of a group with the same permissions.

Under Relocate From, enter the location of the current HelpDesk Server. Use a UNC path (for example, "\\NANP\HelpDeskServer").

If the Computer Name or Local Path boxes are not filled in automatically, type in the missing information.

Computer Name is the name of the computer where the current HelpDesk Server is located.

Local Path is the location of the current HelpDesk Server relative to a root directory (for example, “C:\Program Files\HelpDeskServer”).

Under Relocate To, HelpDesk Server is the location where you installed HelpDesk Server on the new computer. By default, HelpDesk Server is installed in the Program Files\HelpDeskServer folder.

HelpDesk Tools is the location of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor on the new computer. The default location is the Program Files\HelpDeskTools folder.

Select the Show Advanced Options check box to show the computer name of the new computer, which must be Web server (the computer with IIS installed). If for some reason the computer name is incorrect or missing, you can type in the name.

Click OK to start the relocation.

Moving a Standard Installation to a Distributed Installation

You can move a standard (1-tier) installation of Enterprise HelpDesk on computer A to a distributed installation on computers B and C.

Step 1: Set up a distributed (2-tier) installation

On the new database server, perform a clean install of HelpDesk Server and HelpDesk Admin.

On the new Web server, perform a clean install of the HelpDesk Web Server, HelpDesk Admin, and Web View Editor.

Step 2: Relocate Enterprise HelpDesk to the database server

On the new database server, run the Relocation Wizard program MqRelocateTool.exe. The program is located in the HelpDeskTools\Support\Relocation folder.

In the Logon Name and Password boxes, type the name and password of an Enterprise HelpDesk user. The user must be a member of the Admins group, or of a group with the same permissions.

Under Relocate From, enter the location of the current HelpDesk Server. Use a UNC path (for example, "\\NANP\HelpDeskServer").

If the Computer Name or Local Path boxes are not filled in automatically, type in the missing information.

Computer Name is the name of the computer where the current HelpDesk Server is located.

Local Path is the location of the current HelpDesk Server relative to a root directory (for example, “C:\Program Files\HelpDeskServer”).

Under Relocate To, HelpDesk Server is the location where you installed HelpDesk Server on the database server. By default, HelpDesk Server is installed in the Program Files\HelpDeskServer folder.

Click OK to start the relocation.

Step 3: Relocate Enterprise HelpDesk to the Web server

On the new Web server, run the Relocation Wizard program MqRelocateTool.exe. The program is located in the HelpDeskTools\Support\Relocation folder.

In the Logon Name and Password boxes, type the name and password of an Enterprise HelpDesk user. The user must be a member of the Admins group, or of a group with the same permissions.

In the Web Server Name box, type the name of the computer where Enterprise HelpDesk was originally installed.

Under Relocate To, HelpDesk Server is the location where you installed HelpDesk Server on the database server. By default, HelpDesk Server is installed in the Program Files\HelpDeskServer folder.

HelpDesk Tools is the location of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor on the new Web server. The default location is the Program Files\HelpDeskTools folder.

Select the Show Advanced Options check box to show the computer name of the new Web server. If the computer name is incorrect or missing, you can type in the name.

Click OK to start the relocation.

Moving a Distributed Installation

You can move a distributed installation of Enterprise HelpDesk on computers A and B to a distributed installation on computers C and D.

Step 1: Set up a distributed (2-tier) installation

On the new database server, perform a clean install of HelpDesk Server and HelpDesk Admin.

On the new Web server, perform a clean install of the HelpDesk Web Server, HelpDesk Admin, and Web View Editor.

Step 2: Relocate the Enterprise HelpDesk database server

On the new database server, run the Relocation Wizard program MqRelocateTool.exe. The program is located in the HelpDeskTools\Support\Relocation folder.

In the Logon Name and Password boxes, type the name and password of an Enterprise HelpDesk user. The user must be a member of the Admins group, or of a group with the same permissions.

Under Relocate From, enter the location of the current HelpDesk Server (the one you want to relocate). Use a UNC path (for example, "\\NANP\HelpDeskServer").

If the Computer Name or Local Path boxes are not filled in automatically, type in the missing information.

Computer Name is the name of the computer where the current HelpDesk Server is located.

Local Path is the location of the current HelpDesk Server relative to a root directory (for example, “C:\Program Files\HelpDeskServer”).

Under Relocate To, HelpDesk Server is the location where you installed HelpDesk Server on the new database server. By default, HelpDesk Server is installed in the Program Files\HelpDeskServer folder.

Step 3: Relocate the Enterprise HelpDesk Web server

On the new Web server, run the Relocation Wizard program MqRelocateTool.exe. The program is located in the HelpDeskTools\Support\Relocation folder.

In the Logon Name and Password boxes, type the name and password of an Enterprise HelpDesk user. The user must be a member of the Admins group, or of a group with the same permissions.

In the Web Server Name box, type the computer name of the current Web server (the one from which you want to relocate).

Under Relocate To, HelpDesk Server is the location where you installed HelpDesk Server on the new database server. By default, HelpDesk Server is installed in the Program Files\HelpDeskServer folder. The Relocation Wizard needs to know this location so it can properly configure the Enterprise HelpDesk components it relocates to the Web server.

HelpDesk Tools is the location of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor on the new Web server. The default location is the Program Files\HelpDeskTools folder.

Select the Show Advanced Options check box to show the computer name of the new Web server. If the computer name is incorrect or missing, you can type in the name.

If Something Goes Wrong

If something goes wrong when you relocate Enterprise HelpDesk:

Check the error log. The Relocation Wizard creates an error log in the HelpDeskServer\Relocation folder of the computer where you run the wizard.

The folder name includes the date and time, so the path to the error log looks something like this:

HelpDeskServer
	\Relocation_02-20-2003_10.44.50
		\RelocationErrorLog.txt

If you are trying to relocate HelpDesk Server, check that there is enough free disk space on the new server. Typically, the amount of disk space required is at least twice the size of the current HelpDeskServer folder.

If you are relocating SQL projects, you’ll have to reattach the databases to the SQL server before you can try again.

Updating Client Programs

After you relocate Enterprise HelpDesk, you must update any client programs. Client programs are copies of HelpDesk Admin and the Web View Editor installed on computers other than the Web server or the database server.

To update the client programs on a computer, you run the MqRelocateClients.exe program on that computer.

When the Relocation Wizard finishes, it puts a copy of the MqRelocateClients.exe program in the HelpDeskServer\Relocation_<timestamp> folder.

If you send the MqRelocateClients.exe program to users to run, you must also send the INI file located in the same folder as MqRelocateClients.exe.