Moving/Upgrading CreateForm from server 2008 to 2019

[jde1user]

Need to upgrade my print server from 2008. Talking to bottomline about upgrading createform and they are less than helpful on how best to do it overall.

Do I setup a new server, move my createform projects, then try to repoint all the iseries printers to the new server or do I upgrade the server inplace and just test my forms before letting users in.

Hope this question makes sense. We've engaged BT to help but they only really seem to want to help with setting the app up on a new server. Their tech said he can't tell me the common/best way to migrate everything to a newer environment. Once he installs the app on a new server he's done.

Thanks!

 

[MFreitag]

I can't decide for you which way is better either, but i can tell you that our OMS team would always go for new servers instead of inplace upgrades, let alone just for the easier testing purpose. From a personal feeling for that big step from 2008 to 2019 i'd go for a clean install, too.

 

[KSwaeby]

I also agree. Go with new server instead of inplace upgrade. For 2019 server Cform v8.0 needs 32 GB RAM and 8 processors in order to be able to run effectively. The amount of HD can vary but going with 150 GB is usually safe. I prefer to leave the C:\ drive for Windows and add another partition for 3rd party apps. The minimum server requirements given in Cf8 documentation NOT enough for the CfServer/CemailServer apps to run on Windows 2019. The Cfserver app is going to need 6 of the 8 processors.

I have done a bunch of these upgrades and they are not that bad. Really depends on what you have on the 2008 server. One big thing might be migrating Windows printers from the old server to the new server. I prefer to add Windows printers to Win 2019 rather than try to export printers from Win 2008 and import them on Win 2019. I tried that once and it made a mess. The other thing is what Cform version are you running on Win 2008 server? If it's an older version then you will likely have to upgrade to Cform v8.0 in order to move to Win 2019 server.

 

[jde1user]

Thanks, I agree that a new server makes sense for a cleaner Windows environment. But I have limited experience with printers on iseries. Not sure if I can repoint each printer independently from the old createforms to the new. At least the only thing running on the 2008 is createforms and windows printing. So if we setup the new server, let BT move all of our packages over to it and test. It sounds like we could/should go 1 printer at a time recreating it in 2019 and pointing the iseries printer to the 2019 server?

 

[Wandrews]

Thanks, I agree that a new server makes sense for a cleaner Windows environment. But I have limited experience with printers on iseries. Not sure if I can repoint each printer independently from the old createforms to the new. At least the only thing running on the 2008 is createforms and windows printing. So if we setup the new server, let BT move all of our packages over to it and test. It sounds like we could/should go 1 printer at a time recreating it in 2019 and pointing the iseries printer to the 2019 server?

Do you mind sharing the required createform version for server 2019?

Thanks