Upgrade from 8.6 to 10.0

[NickCorlett]

I have introduced a new backup network with version 10 of BackupExec for Windows Servers, a dedicated backup server, tape device and network.

Previously we were backing up multiple servers locally to their own tape drives using version 8.6.

During the upgrade process I have encountered a compatibility issue between version 8.6 and 10.0 of the backup software.

When attempting to install the remote agent from the dedicated server to one of the remote servers it tells me that the server has an previous version, (8.6), of the software installed and it must be removed before the installation can proceed.

Whilst it is not essential, I was hoping that we would be able to keep the original software on the individual servers giving another level of contingency in the event of a failure in the backup network.

I am thinking of de-installing 8.6, installing the remote agent, then re-installing 8.6 again.

Is anyone aware of any issues around the compatibility of BackupExec version 8.6 and the Remote Agent version 10.0?

Cheers

 

[steveot]

The are not compatible and Veritas no longer supports 8.6. Backup Exec 10 will not see servers running 8.6 remote agents or a full copy of 8.6, You are correct you must remove the 8.6 media server software in order to install a 10.0 remote agent. At this point you have two option - remove 8.6 and put the 10.0 remote agent on or upgrade all the media server to 10. This will allow you to back them up remotely - since all 9.x and 10.x have a remote agent service even on a media server. Then if something happens to you new server you could still back them up locally.

 

[NickCorlett]

Thanks Steve,

My manager doesn't like the idea of upgrading all the individual machines to version 10 as this would obviously incur the additional cost of a licence for each machine.

I have de-installed BackupExec 8.6, installed the remote 10.0 agent, then re-installed the 8.6 on to the remote machine and it appears to work, so I will do some more testing.

Cheers