This article describes how to migrate the PaperCut NG primary server to a new system, when using and external database (like Microsoft SQL Server or PostgreSQL) hosted on a different machine to PaperCut.

Important: If you are using the internal database, or are also moving the external database to a new machine then you should follow the standard migration process.

Install PaperCut NG on the new machine

1. Perform a backup of the PaperCut directory on the old server.
2. Perform a backup the external database, using the tools available for that database.
3. Download the latest available version available from the PaperCut NG download page. For information on what has changed in recent releases, see the release history page. NOTE: Make sure you are eligible to upgrade to this release by checking our upgrade policy. Past releases can be downloaded here
4. Run the PaperCut NG setup on the new machine.
5. Once the setup is complete, you will be requested to run the config wizard. After the installation has ran, complete the configuration wizard and import your users. Although importing the users again is not strictly required - as this data will be overridden later - it does confirm that your new server has the correct network connectivity and also saves your admin password as entered in the wizard.
   TIP: If you have a very large list of users, try importing a small group of users, hence cutting down the import time.
6. Stop the PaperCut Application Server by running the script [app-path]/server/bin/<platform>/stop-server
7. Copy the [app-dir]/server/server.properties file from the old server to the new server. This file contains your database connection settings, and admin password, etc. If your database connection settings have changed, update the file appropriately.
8. Start the application server again. PaperCut should connect to the database and start correctly. NOTE: If a database upgrade is required, this may take a while, but you can view the status of the upgrade at http://server:9191/admin. DO NOT STOP/RESTART THE APPLICATION WHEN AN UPGRADE IS IN PROGRESS..
9. One started check that all data has been migrated across correctly and the system works as expected. It is recommended that perform some testing as described in our post upgrade test plan.

Updating user client, release station and secondary server connection details

If the server's name and/or IP address is changing then it will be necessary to update these connection details for user clients, secondary servers, and release stations.

User clients

If user clients are being run from the share on the PaperCut server, you just need to ensure that the clients are run from the share on the new server.

If clients have been installed locally on workstations, then the connection details need to be edited in the "config.properties" file in the user client install directory.

Secondary Servers

If you have secondary print servers, then the "print-provider.conf" file on these servers need to be updated to point to the new machine's network address.

Release Stations

For all release stations, the "connection.properties" file located in the release station installation directory must be updated to reflect the machine's new network address.

Secondary Servers (Internet)

If you have secondary Internet servers, then the "connection.properties" file on these servers need to be updated to point to the new machine's network address.

Categories: PaperCutNG

Keywords: migrate, upgrade, move, moving to a new server, changing servers, transfer