Migration Tool considerations and prerequisites

This topic describes various considerations and prerequisites before and during data migration.

Hardware and system configuration requirements

This section describes hardware and system configuration requirements:

OS requirements

We recommend the following operating systems for the Migration Tool:

• Windows Server 2019
• Windows Server 2016
• Windows Server 2012
• Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit
• Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit

.NET Framework 4.7.2

Make sure that .NET Framework 4.7.2 is installed on the Track-It! 11.4 server. If this version of .NET Framework is not installed, you need to download and install it from the Microsoft website.

TCP/IP settings

The Migration Tool uses the TCP/IP connection to connect and transfer data between the source and the target databases. You must enable the TCP/IP protocol on both databases. By default, the SQL Express TCP/IP protocol is disabled. For more information, see related Microsoft documentation.

Active ports

During the migration process, both source (Track-It! 11.4) and target (Track-It! 2022) SQL Servers must operate on their default ports (port number 1433). If you are migrating assets from Track-It! 11.4, then ports 1610 and 1611 must be open on the Track-It! 20.xx server.

SSL encryption settings

During the migration process, SSL encryption on both source (Track-It! 11.4) and target (Track-It! 2022) SQL Servers must be off.

Disk space and available memory

We recommend the following disk space and free memory for the Migration Tool:

If the total size of attachments to be migrated is large, make sure that sufficient space is available in the Target database.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.2

The Migration Tool supports TLS 1.2 connections for:

• The source server (Track-It! 11.4) and target server (Track-It! 2022)
• BMC Client Management (BCM) for migrating Assets and Tracked Items

General prerequisites

The following prerequisites apply:

• We recommend that you stop all services running for Track-It! 11.4 and Track-It! 2022, including IIS. If the services are not stopped, the Migration Tool might detect a change in the data and continue to migrate the changes. This might cause the Migration Tool to run in an infinite loop.
• You must run the Migration Tool on your Track-It 11.4 application server. Track-It! 11.4 keeps all configurations and attachments for tickets in a file system and the Migration Tool requires local access to these files and folders. For more information about the System Requirements for Track-It! 11.4, see Track-It! 11.4 Service Pack 02 System Requirements.

• You must not import technicians and requestors by using Active Directory synchronization or by other methods before data migration. If you import technicians and requestors before migration, it might cause creation of conflicting or duplicate user IDs or the migration process might fail.

  Best practice

  We recommend that you first perform migration and then use the Active Directory to import technicians and requestors.

• Do not delete the group named HelpDesk before migration. Tickets that do not have any assigned technicians are assigned to the HelpDesk group by default. This avoids orphan tickets in the Track-It! 2022 database.

Asset migration prerequisites

The following prerequisites for asset migration apply:

• You must configure BCM in Track-It!. For more information, see Setting up BMC Client Management. While configuring BCM, make sure that you provide the server name instead of the localhost.
• After you configure Asset Management in Track-It! 2022, you must log in at least once as technician to allow the asset types to synchronize. For more information, see Logging in to and logging out of Track-It!.
• Make sure that the Track-It! 11.4 database does not contain duplicate assets, that is assets having the same name. The Migration Tool migrates the first asset but skips migrating the duplicate asset. To avoid this, you can rename the duplicate asset and run the Migration Tool again. To get a list of duplicate assets in Track-It! 11.4 database, run the following SQL query:
  SELECT count(*) as AssetCount, ISNULL(NAME, AWS_NUM) as ASSETNAME from WORKSTAT group by ISNULL(NAME, AWS_NUM) having Count(*) > 1
• If the Asset Name contains double quotes ("), the Migration Tool removes the double quotes (") and migrates the asset successfully.

• The migration of Assets might take considerable time depending on the number of assets, asset relationships, and the performance of all the systems involved in the migration process. This is especially true if there are thousands of assets in Track-It! 11.4.

• Also, due to the default setting in the BCM configuration, the BCM Server service automatically restarts, which causes migration issues. To avoid the automatic restart of the BCM Server service, change the default setting by performing the following steps:

1. Navigate to the location C:\Program Files\BMC Software\Client Management\Master\config.

2. Open the file mtxagent.config. Locate the tag [RebootManagement] and set the parameter NonIntrusiveMode to 1.

   Note

   After the migration process is completed, you must revert this setting back to the default value.

Key considerations

The following considerations apply:

• To migrate data from a version earlier than Track-It! 11.4, you must first upgrade to Track-It! 11.4 and then migrate the data to Track-It! 2022.
• The Migration Tool does not migrate some settings and data. For more information, see Data that is not migrated.

• Decide whether to migrate data from Track-It! 11.4 or to start afresh with Track-It! 2022. Consider starting afresh and using the opportunity to refine settings and processes based on your earlier experience. For more information, see Starting afresh.
  You can migrate Lookup data only. To learn about the data that you can and cannot migrate, see Data that you can migrate and Data that is not migrated.

• System requirements have significantly changed from Track-It! 11.4. For the latest information about Track-It! 2022, see System requirements. Consider whether to use the Microsoft SQL Express database included with Track-It! 2022 or to use your own Microsoft SQL Server.
• Determine your strategy for migrating data. You can use the Migration Tool to import all data (Module and Lookup) and Lookup data only. If you plan to configure Track-It! 2022 to define Service Level Agreements (SLA), Rules, and other configurations, the import options help you to perform a multi-step migration:
  1. Migrate the Lookup data.
  2. Perform additional configuration changes.
  3. Import all data from Track-It! 11.4.
  For details about the data import options, see Data import options.
• If you have a large database (in gigabytes), we recommend that you perform the migration during the non-peak hours.
• The following considerations apply before starting the migration process:
  • (2020 Release 02) The Migration Tool backs up the target database before you start data migration. After migration is completed, you can use the backup to restore your target database to a previous state. The backup is stored at the default backup location of SQL Server on the target server. The name of the backup file is Track-It!-dbName.bak. Each time you run a migration, the Migration Tool:
    • Automatically backs up the target database
    • Replaces the previous backup
  • The Migration Tool copies data into a new database and does not move or remove the data from Track-It! 11.4 database. You can only migrate data into the Track-It! 2022 database.
  • The default administrator technician from Track-It! 11.4 is not migrated with the user attributes. Instead, a new account is created in Track-It! 2022 with same name as the default administrator technician of Track-It! 11.4. After migration, you must configure the user attributes, such as first name, last name, email address, and so on.
  • The Migration Tool does not duplicate data when it runs, but can migrate new data from Track-It! 11.4 that was created after the last migration.
  • If you plan to migrate module data again, make sure that you do not make changes to the configuration in Track-It! 11.4 and Track-It! 2022.
  • (2020 Release 02) All database users of non out-of-the-box technicians are deleted, but not their login details.
  • (2020 Release 02) If you make changes to any of the following configuration modules in Track-It! 11.4 after migration, the Migration Tool detects the changes:
    • Activity
    • Asset Type
    • Category
    • Department
    • Location
    • Lookups
    • Master Item
    • Network Lookups
    • Priority
    • Product Type
    • Requestor
    • Status
    • Technician
    • Template
    • Topic
    • Vendor
    If there are changes in these modules, a warning message is displayed asking whether you want to continue the migration.
    • Select Yes to continue the migration.
      When you select Yes, the linkages of the new data are not migrated.
    • Select No to discontinue the migration.
      When you select No, the migration process does not start. You must delete or update the new data and then rerun the migration.

  • (2020 Release 02) Data is purged from Track-It! 2020 Release 02 and later database each time you run the Migration Tool. In the Migration Tool options, you can select the modules and fields from which to purge data.

    Tip

    Restart IIS on the Track-It! application server to make sure that the IIS cache data is refreshed.

    • The Migration Tool always purges the following data:
      • Tickets and their notes
      • Assignments and their notes
      • Attachments of all modules, except attachment of Assets
      • Purchase Orders
      • Change Requests
    • You can select to purge the following data:
      
      • Activity Code
      • Asset Type
      • Categories
      • Custom Business Rules
      • Custom Lookups
      • Department
      • Location
      • Master Item
      • Network Lookups
      • Priority
      • Quick views
      • Requestor
      • Solution
      • Status
      • Technician
      • Template
      • Topic
      • Vendor
    • The Migration Tool does not purge the following data:
      
      • Assets
      • Configured settings (for example, Active Directory settings, Email settings, Scheduler settings, and so on)
      • Out-of-the-box Business Rules
      • Out-of-the-box lookup data for Categories, Status, Activity Code, and so on
      • Tracked Items
• (2020 Release 03) Track-It! 2020 Release 03 and later does not create SQL login accounts for migrated technicians.
• (2020 Release 03) After migration:
  • The passwords of technicians who used Track-It! credentials to log in to Track-It! 11.4 are reset to default.

  • Technicians must reset their password when they log in to Track-It! 2020 Release 03 and later for the first time.

• (2020 Release 03) If technicians who used Windows Integrated Authentication (WIA) to log in to Track-It! 11.4 are migrated, then these technicians can log in to Track-It! 2020 Release 03 and later by using their Windows credentials only.

Starting afresh

After installing Track-It! 2022, you can start afresh instead of migrating your data using the Migration Tool.

We recommend that you consider starting afresh for the following reasons:

• The Migration Tool cannot migrate configuration settings and reports.
• Starting fresh enables you to:
  • Take the opportunity to redesign your processes.
  • Reconsider your priority and ticket categorization strategy.
  • Clean up your data and shed old tickets in the process.