Buddy List Migrator tool

Buddy List Migration

So last year I was at a customer who wanted to move their buddy lists from one Instant Messaging platform to another because they were migrating platforms. We devised an intricate way to move buddy lists but at that time I recognized a need for a tool that could simply move IM buddy lists from one platform to another.
Now, with the advent of the Cloud services, the requirement becomes even more important because if you move to the IBM Collaboration Cloud, there is no way to maintain your buddy list from your on-premise Sametime environment. At least, no way until now....

Introducing the IMCollaboration Buddy List Migrator tool: Buddy List Migrator

The tool can move buddy lists from both on-premise Sametime and Lync to the IBM Collaboration Cloud. Future versions will be able to move from and to other IM systems - please let me know if you have any additional requirements or if you want a demo....

Sametime V9 modification of STAVCONFIG.XML - be careful!!

I ran into an issue that wasted a lot of my time recently during a Sametime V9 Audio/Video install and I wanted to get it out there so others know about it and are not similarly affected.
As you may know, the config file for the Audio/Video is stored under the websphere STMedia server in a file called STAVCONFIG.XML. Most of the parameters in this file are displayed through the STMedia server screen on the ST Console but some are not... and that's where this get's interesting... you can change ALL the AV parameters by editing the correct copy of the STAVCONFIG.XML file, the correct copy being the one under the config path  below the DMGR profile i.e.



E:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\STSCDMgrProfile\config\cells\<Cellname>\nodes\<MediaServerNodename>\servers\STMediaServer

and NEVER here :

E:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\<MediaServerProfilename>\config\cells\<Cellname>\nodes\<MediaServerNodename>\servers\STMediaServer

The latter location is where it will be synchronized to - never from....

So you probably already knew this... but here is the big ST V9 caveat.... you can change the STAVCONFIG.XML file in the correct place, but if you go check the parameters through the console here:







you will actually see the old configuration pulled in from somewhere (not quite sure where it pulls from - certainly not the STAVCONFIG.XML file you modified) and the file you actually modified gets changed back to what it was before.....
Consequently, you lose all your changes... so DON'T REVIEW the Console settings for the Media server after changing it in the XML file... unless you restart the DMGR, which seems to solve the problem.

So if you're modifying the STAVCONFIG.XML file manually, you need to do the following:

1. Make changes in file under the dmgr profile
2. FULL synch the node
3. stay out of the SSC UI for the media manager until after restarting dmgr.

In retrospect, I wonder if this also applies to changes to the STPROXYCONFIG.XML file - I would imagine it does but I will check and post to this blog my findings.



 

Sametime 9 - a first glance

The View just published my latest article on Sametime
Sametime 9 - a first glance

Upgrading your Sametime DB2 databases for Sametime V9

Upgrading your Sametime DB2 databases for Sametime V9

In an "upgrade" from a Sametime V8.5 deployment to Sametime V9, probably the most important thing is to keep is the database information in the Sametime Console (just the policies), Sametime Meetings and Sametime Advanced  DB2 databases. Sametime V9 uses a newer version of DB2 (V9 moves to V10.1 because DB2 V9 went to “end of support” on April 30, 2012), so the databases will need to be upgraded and moved onto a DB2 V10.1 server. IBM’s technote covers this DB2 upgrade.

I haven't tried the upgrade procedure yet, so please feel free to post results on this blog post.

I did note on this technote that you can leave the older version of DB2 running and just update the actual databases, whereas if you upgrade to V10 DB2, you have to do that and then upgrade the actual DB2 databases...