Upgrading to NBU 6.x

[Randy_Samora]

I am running NBU 5.1 MP6 in a Windows environment.  I have a single Master and 9 Media servers and 2 SAN Media servers and one tape library.  The database is right at 1/2 TB right now.  Instead of upgrading to NBU 6, I was thinking about bringing up a new Master with 6.x and starting out all over with a new database.  The old Master would be left on line in case I needed something restored.  Does anyone see any flaws in this plan?  I have maybe 2000 tapes that have an Infinity retention.  How difficult is it going to be to import those tapes?  Is there an easier process than importing each piece of media one at a time?  I was thinking of assigning all of the media servers except one to the new Master and leaving one media server assigned to the old Master in case I need to restore something.  I want the luxury of starting out with a brand new SMALL database but I know I'm going to have to import all of those old images into the new database at some point.  Is there any recommendations in the upgrade process?  Is 6.x ready for prime time?  Should I simply just upgrade the existing install and forget about the idea of a second Master?  Any and all suggestions are welcomed?

Thanks,
Randy

[Alex_Vasquez]

Hey Randy,
I've been mulling this question myself.  I inherited a backup environment with two master backup servers.  Two seperate backup domains, effectively.  I, too, am wondering if I should start clean in a new environment. It really depends on how much work you want to do.  My recommendation is to upgrade to 6.x mp4.  It's a stable release.  Or so I'm told by other SEs from Symantec that I've spoken with.  So go with that and upgrade your existing catalog as well.  I think it would save you a lot of headache in importing tapes down the road.  Just my two pennies.

Alex

[Randy_Samora]

I haven't heard any recent horror stories about upgrading so I'm thinking maybe MP4 is stable enough to handle an upgrade of my existing installation.  I will more than likely make a copy of my existing install just in case I need to roll back.  If anyone else has any upgrade recommendations, good or bad, please let me know.

Thanks,
Randy