Callisto Migration Scheduled for November 1, 2007
Greetings,
My name is Dan Young and I manage the Enterprise Database Management Team at Indiana University. You are receiving this notice because you are listed as an owner or contact person of an account on Callisto (mysql-test.iu.edu). I am writing you today to let you know of some forthcoming changes to the MySQL Database services which are utilized in conjunction with the Veritas and Champion Web Hosting Environment. I will briefly try to describe the changes and the rationale for these decisions below:
Goal of the Change
With as little impact as possible to both customers and business process,
migrate the MySQL Database environments to a virtualized Linux platform.
Systems Impacted by the Change
The MySQL database services hosted on 'mysql-test.iu.edu.' and
'mysql.iu.edu'. The changes for 'mysql-test.iu.edu' will take place
starting this Thursday on November 1, 2007 and are expected to be
completed on the same day. The changes for 'mysql.iu.edu' are currently
planned for November 18th.
Change Description
The current hardware used to host the MySQL database service, which is
part of the larger IU Web Hosting Environment, has effectively reached the
end of its lifecycle and is scheduled to be decommissioned. As part of the
IU initiative to standardize and consolidate our technical service
offerings, ownership of the MySQL database service has been assumed by my
team and we will be migrating the service to a Linux-based server
environment. We have been testing this migration for several weeks and we
are now ready to formally begin our testing phase with the user community,
starting on November 1st.
Change Strategy and Planned Steps
On November 1st, the existing 'mysql-test.iu.edu' server, commonly known
as Callisto, will be shut down. The test MySQL databases will then be
migrated to the new Linux platform and the 'mysql-test.iu.edu' server name
will be redirected to the new platform.
Once the 'mysql-test.iu.edu' name change has been propagated to the
appropriate servers, the test MySQL databases will be restarted on the new
Linux platform. Once the test database are ready, the Web servers should
be able to reconnect and resume business as usual.
Your Role in This Change
You should be aware of a couple of noteworthy items as a result of this
migration.
1) To log into the new 'mysql-test.iu.edu' server with tools such as SSH, you will use the same username as you have in the past. However, you will now be required to enter the network passphrase for the account to gain access to the server. For example, if your login name were 'purchasing', you would need to log in using the network passphrase for the 'purchasing' group account. If you have questions about the change to network passphrases, please contact the IU Webmaster
To reiterate, you will not be able to log into the new 'mysql-test.iu.edu' server without a network passphrase beginning on November 1, 2007.
2) Once you have been able to log into the new server, your MySQL services should be virtually the same as previously configured. You will log into MySQL in the same manner as before, and you will be able to stop and start your services, etc. We anticipate very little change to how the actual individual MySQL databases are operated on the new server. You can also expect that items such as automatic startup, shutdown, etc., will also be available.
3) If you used an IP address rather than the server name 'mysql-test.iu.edu' in code you have written to connect to the database, your application will NOT connect successfully. The IP address for the new server is different from the old server, and you will need to update program code accordingly. We highly recommend that you not hard-code the IP address in programs, but rather that you use server names when connecting to the database.
4) We would appreciate any and all testing and feedback you can provide us regarding this test migration. If you experience significant difficulty in utilizing the new server, please let us know by sending a message to dba-request @ indiana.edu and we will address your issue as soon as possible.
Planning for the Production Change Assuming that there are no significant hurdles with the migration of the test environment, the 'mysql.iu.edu' production service is scheduled to be migrated on Sunday, November 18th. Once this date is confirmed, additional details will be sent to all MySQL customers.
Future of the MySQL Database Service Once the server migrations to Linux have been completed, the Enterprise Database Team is very interested in implementing the following enhancements to the environments:
a) Facilitate a migration to MySQL 5.X.
b) Open the server to the IU network in such a manner that desktop tools
can be utilized to manage individual MySQL databases.
(Examples include:
MySQL Administrator, SQLyog, and Navicat.)
c) Further streamline the account creation and review process.
d) Formalize a MySQL backup policy, to assist customers in choosing an
appropriate backup strategy.
This is an exciting time to be a MySQL user at Indiana University. My team and I look forward to serving you and thank you for your understanding and patience as we position ourselves for future growth and advancement.
Regards,
Dan
Dan Young
Manager of Database Administration
Office of the VP for Research & Information Technology University
Information Technology Services
2711 East Tenth Street, Building E2
Bloomington, IN 47408
