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Migrate a Site to a Different OEM

Nx Support
Updated

This guide is intended for anyone who have made a strategic decision to transition their current architecture from one OEM to another and want to ensure continuity of their existing video archives and system configurations.

Prerequisites

Before beginning the migration, ensure you meet the following requirements:

  • Access: You must have physical or remote access to every server on the Site.

  • Version Compatibility: The source and target OEM installations must use the exact same server version. You can update the system to the latest version after a successful migration.

  • Hardware and OS Stability: Ensure the servers have no underlying hardware or operating system issues.

    • Note: If you need to upgrade the OS or change hardware, complete those tasks first by following the How to Back Up and Restore Data from Your Server guide.

  • Important Notice Regarding Licenses: Licenses are strictly proprietary and specific to the issuing OEM. Licenses cannot be transferred, migrated, or converted between different OEM products. Before beginning your migration, you must obtain a new set of license keys that match your target OEM to ensure your cameras and devices remain active after the transition.

Understand the Instructions

This guide uses a migration from Network Optix Nx Witness to Network Optix Nx Go as an example.

Path Variables

File paths use variables to accommodate different OEM products and storage locations. Pay close attention to case sensitivity and spacing.

Variable Description Example
<OLD_COMPANY> Full name of the original OEM provider Network Optix
<NEW_COMPANY> Full name of the target OEM provider Network Optix
<old_company_short> Lowercase short name of the original provider networkoptix
<new_company_short> Lowercase short name of the target provider networkoptix
<OLD_VMS> Product name of the original VMS Nx Witness
<NEW_VMS> Product name of the target VMS Nx Go
<DISK> Drive letter (Windows) C:\, D:\
<MOUNT_POINT> Mount point (Ubuntu) /media, /mnt
<Server_UUID> Unique identifier of the server f58b14ff-e46f-a79f-a2eb-fa255e0d25df

For example, in an Nx Witness to Nx Go migration, paths resolve as follows:

  • Windows: C:\Program Files\<NEW_COMPANY>\<NEW_VMS> becomes C:\Program Files\Network Optix\Nx Go

  • Ubuntu: /opt/<old_company_short>/mediaserver becomes /opt/networkoptix/mediaserver

Step 1: Prepare for Migration

Complete these steps on your existing system:

  1. Record the product version: Open the desktop client, connect to the server, and go to Main Menu > About (or press F1). Record the exact version number (for example, 6.1.1.42624).

  2. Verify OS support: If any server runs an unsupported operating system, install a supported 64-bit OS before continuing.

  3. Download the target installer: Download the target OEM product software using the exact version number recorded in step 1.

Step 2: Back Up the Site

  1. Disconnect from Cloud: In the desktop client, go to Main Menu > System Administration (Ctrl+Alt+A). Select the Cloud tab, and click Disconnect from Cloud.

  2. Record storage paths: If you use external storage, go to Server Settings > Storage Management and note all storage paths.

  3. Stop the servers and back up data: Stop the server application on all servers in the Site, then back up the following data (as detailed in How to Back Up and Restore Data from Your Server):

    • Site database (*.sqlite files)

    • SSL certificates

    • Server motion data, archives, and analytics data

    • Server settings (serverGuid, storedMac, authKey)

Step 3: Install the New OEM Product

Perform these steps on every server within the Site:

  1. Detach the server from the Site:

    • Go to Server Settings > General and click Server Web Page.

    • Log in to the Web Admin interface using the admin account and your owner password.

    • Navigate to Settings > Servers.

    • Click Detach from the Site.
       

  2. Stop the original server application: Ensure all servers are completely stopped before proceeding.

    • Windows: Open the Tray Tool and click Stop Server.

    • Ubuntu: Open a terminal and run:
      sudo systemctl stop <old_company_short>-mediaserver.service
       

  3. Install the new OEM product: Run the installer you downloaded during the preparation phase. Ensure the version matches your original installation.

Step 4: Move Data to the New OEM Product

Perform these steps on every server within the Site:

  1. Stop the new server application: Ensure the new service is not running before moving files.

    • Windows: Open the Tray Tool and click Stop Server.

    • Ubuntu: Open a terminal and run:
      sudo systemctl stop <new_company_short>-mediaserver.service
       

  2. Migrate the core directories: Copy or move data from the old OEM directories to the new OEM directories based on the following table:

    Data Component Backup Method Restore Method Special Conditions
    *.sqlite Files

    Copy from 

    Windows:

    C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\<OLD COMPANY NAME>\<OLD COMPANY NAME> Media Server\

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<oldcompanyname>/mediaserver/var

    Copy to

    Windows:

    C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\<NEW COMPANY NAME>\<NEW COMPANY NAME> Media Server\

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<newcompanyname>/mediaserver/var

    See also “Server Database Files”.


     
    SSL Certificate

    Copy from 

    Windows:

    C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\<OLD COMPANY NAME>\<OLD COMPANY NAME> Media Server\ssl

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<company name>/mediaserver/var/ssl

    Copy to

    Windows:

    C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\AppData\Local\<NEW COMPANY NAME>\<NEW COMPANY NAME> Media Server\ssl

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<company name>/mediaserver/var/ssl

    		 If a custom certificate was added either self-signed or from a Certificate Authority.

    Server 

    Motion Data, Archive and Analytic Data

    Move from 

    Windows:
    <drive>:\<OLD PRODUCT NAME> Media\<Server UUID>

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<oldcompanyname>/mediaserver/var/data

    <MOUNT POINT>/ <OLD PRODUCT NAME> Media\<Server UUID>

    Move to

    Windows:
    <drive>:\<NEW PRODUCT NAME> Media\<Server UUID>

    Ubuntu:
    /opt/<newcompanyname>/mediaserver/var/data

    <MOUNT POINT>/ <NEW PRODUCT NAME> Media\<Server UUID>

    		 Data may be copied from different drives (C:, D:, E: etc) on Windows and mount points (/mnt/<uuid>, /media/ on Ubuntu).

  3. Migrate server settings (serverGuid, storedMac, authKey):

    • Locate original values:

      • Windows: Open the Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to:
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\<OLD_COMPANY>\<OLD_COMPANY> Media Server

      • Ubuntu: Run the following command to view the configuration file:
        cat /opt/<old_company_short>/mediaserver/etc/mediaserver.conf

    • Apply values to the new product: Copy the serverGuid, storedMac, and authKey values from the source configuration and add them to the target location:

      • Windows: Paste the values into:
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\<NEW_COMPANY>\<NEW_COMPANY> Media Server

      • Ubuntu: Edit the configuration file using nano and update the keys:
        sudo nano /opt/<new_company_short>/mediaserver/etc/mediaserver.conf
         

  4. Run the database patch: Copy your patch script (patch.bat for Windows or patch.sh for Linux) to the folder containing your new *.sqlite files and execute it.
     

  5. Start the new server application:

    • Windows: Open the Tray Tool and click Start Server.

    • Ubuntu: Open a terminal and run:
      sudo systemctl start <new_company_short>-mediaserver.service

Step 5: Finalize the Migration

  1. Log in: Open your new OEM desktop client and log in using your original administrator credentials (admin).

  2. Verify server mapping: Ensure all servers from the original Site appear in the new interface. If a server is missing:

    • Open the missing server's Web Admin page.

    • Log in as admin.

    • Manually merge the server back into the Site.

  3. Validate SSL certificates: Go to Server Settings > General. If a certificate shows as invalid, click on the certificate entry and pin the correct certificate.

  4. Restore the Site database: * Go to Main Menu > System Administration (Ctrl+Alt+A).

    • Click Restore from Backup... and select the database backup file (*.db) you created in Step 2.

  5. Clean up storage paths: Go to Server Settings > Storage Management. Remove any legacy storage paths marked as "inaccessible."

  6. Reindex archives: Click Reindex Archive and wait for the database reindexing process to finish.

  7. Reconnect to Cloud: Go to Main Menu > System Administration > Cloud. Click Connect Site to Cloud and log in using your existing cloud account credentials.

  8. Update the system: Go to Main Menu > System Administration > Updates to perform an in-client upgrade to the latest stable version of your new OEM software.

  9. License your system: Enter and activate your newly obtained OEM license keys.

Download Migration Scripts

To complete Step 4.4 of the migration process, use the automated SQLITE patch scripts below to update your database schema to the new OEM definitions.

Prerequisites for Ubuntu Linux

Before running the Linux script, ensure the SQLITE3 command-line interface is installed on your system. Open a terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install sqlite3 -y

NOTE: After downloading, remember to copy the script directly into the directory containing your newly migrated *.sqlite files before execution. On Ubuntu, you may also need to grant execution permissions using chmod +x patch.sh.

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