Migrating Online Storage Using poolIt

This article is a sample scenario that will guide you through the basic steps of migrating online data from one volume to another.

The information in this scenario applies to:

  • poolIt Pro/Server 1.1
  • Microsoft Windows® Server® 2003/Server® 2008/Server® 2008 R2 (32-bit and 64-bit)

In this scenario:

Introduction

The architecture with a File Server exporting a volume as a share to clients on the LAN is probably the most commonly deployed setup. LAN clients can access the shared storage through the File Server, on which the volume is directly attached. Problems with this type of setup arise when the shared volume reaches its capacity. In the process of migrating to a new device (with larger capacity) LAN clients face the following problems:

  • They are left with no connection to the storage.
  • They cannot access their files until they are copied to the new device.

poolIt addresses this issues and allows you to migrate your online data using a smoother workflow. To achieve this you should simply install and activate poolIt on the File Server and create a volume pool that contains both the original volume and the one that will replace it. By setting up the pool to use as a mount point the same drive letter as the one of the original shared volume, the access of LAN clients is automatically redirected to the pool, which contains all their original data (on the original volume) and has free space (on the new volume). And, finally, using poolIt you can move all data from the original volume to the new one transparently to all LAN clients. When all data is moved to the new volume, you can remove the original volume (now empty) from the pool.

Objectives

Migrate data from one volume (original volume shared to LAN client on the network by a File Server) to another (with larger capacity) while providing constant access to all files and folders on the shared volume to LAN clients.

The Steps

For the purpose of this scenario we will use a File Server that has exported to LAN clients on the network volume A, that is mounted on the machine as the drive letter P:. Volume A should be replaced with volume B.

  1. On the File Server, start poolIt (click Start, choose All Programs and then go to Tiger Technology | poolIt).
  2. In the poolIt window, click New.
  3. Open the General tab of the dialog and in the Name field enter “New LAN Pool” as a name of the volume pool.
  4. Click Add.
  5. In the Add Volumes dialog, Select the check-boxes of volume A (the old LAN share) and of volume B (the new volume that will replace volume A).
  6. In the Mount location field, enter P:, to mount the pool under drive letter P.
  7. In the Edit Pool dialog, click OK.
  8. In the poolIt window, select “New LAN Pool” and click Mount.

Volume A is automatically unmounted and on its place (under drive letter P:) is mounted the volume pool that contains volume A and volume B. LAN clients are automatically redirected to access the volume pool that contains their data.

  1. In the poolIt window, select “New LAN Pool” and click Explore.
  2. In the Folders panel of Pool Explorer, select the root of the pool and click Release.
  3. Select the check-box of volume A and click OK.

poolIt starts moving all data from volume A to volume B. The migration is fully transparent to the LAN clients accessing the pool and while it goes on all original files and folders are available to them. 

Important:  Files that are currently in use cannot be moved and are skipped. You can move these files later. To view which files from volume A haven't been moved, in Pool Explorer clear the check box of volume B. This displays only the files and folders on volume A. if there are any files left on volume A, you can repeat the Release operation.

When all contents on volume A is moved to volume B, volume A is automatically removed from the pool and mounted in its original mount location.