ZCS 4.5.11 on unsupported CentOS to 6.0 with support

[Tagishltd]

We are running Zimbra (ZCS) 4.5.11 on CentOS 4.3 (RHEL 4.3). We'd ultimately like to end up on version 6.0. We pay for support, but understand that we can't use it as CentOS isn't a supported platform. Since loosing our Linux Sys Admin, we feel support is a safety net we can no longer be without.

What would the forum members recommend as the most painless path to end up on a supported version 6?

[uxbod]

Welcome to the forums

If you do not have a sys admin and have a support contract already with Zimbra then I would recommend asking them how much it would cost for one of their engineers to upgrade the system for you. Alternatively dependant on the number of users you have you could look at using a HSP ?

[Tagishltd]

Thanks for the reply. We want to keep the service in house so we aren't considering HSP.

We already have the support contract, but we're not looking to spend any more on the project, we're happy to undertake the migration work ourselves.

[LMStone]

Sounds like you need to be on a supported platform then, or am I missing something?

BTW, SLES11 only costs about $260 per year for maintenance (version updates, patches and installation support from Novell).

All the best,
Mark

[Tagishltd]

Hi Mark,

You're right, that's the goal, but I just wondered if someone might have suggested the virtualised appliance as an alternative.

In terms of moving to a supported platform (SLES11 for example), is it a case of procuring a new server, installing SLES11, Zimbra 6 then migrating the accounts?

[LMStone]

Frankly, I'm not seeing any painless way to get you to ZCS6 on SLES11...

Zimbra-to-Zimbra migrations require that both servers be running the same version of Zimbra. I don't believe ZCS6 runs on CentOS 4.3, but if ZCS 5 runs on CentOS 4.3 (I don't recall), you could build up the new server with SLES10-SP3 and ZCS 5, upgrade your existing box to ZCS 5, and then do the migration -- as a first step.

Next, you'd wipe the old box, install SLES10-SP3 and ZCS5, then upgrade to ZCS6.

Lastly, you'd wipe the new box, install SLES11 and ZCS6, and migrate one more time.

Alternatively, you could build the new box with SLES11 and ZCS6 and duplicate the accounts with a temporary, differing domain name. The users could use Outlook or any IMAP client to add the ZCS server to their client and drag 'n drop their emails over. They would use the ZCS web client to export their calendars and contacts from the old server and then you could import them into the new server.

Perhaps someone else can see a third, less painless way here, but since you've lost your Linux sysadmin, I'm leaving out things like impasync.

Hope that helps,
Mark