Data that needs to be transferred:
individual companies
license file
user passwords
Two methods for transferring everything:
by transferring the complete data storage
by restoring from a backup
Transferring the Complete Data Storage
This method is the fastest, but can only be used if you are moving to another server running the same operating system with the same architecture (note: moving from 32-bit to 64-bit is a different architecture) and the same version of PostgreSQL.
Install the Flexi system on the new server and stop it (Starting a stopped server); on Linux, you also need to stop the PostgreSQL database engine (e.g. as /etc/init.d/postgresql-8.4 stop),
move the database storage (usually c:\winstrom-data\ or /var/lib/flexi, more information at Directory Locations),
you now need to set the permissions correctly — on Linux, do this manually based on the original data source directory (the one you overwrote); on MS Windows, we recommend a fresh installation, which will fix the access rights settings,
start the Flexi service and the database server will start automatically at the same time.
Manual Restore from Backup
This method is the most reliable, but also the most labor-intensive. It can be used either for emergency recovery or when migrating to a different operating system (e.g. from MS Windows to Linux).
install the Flexi system and connect to it,
upload the license file,
restore individual companies from backup via the application; users will be created automatically and their access rights to the companies will be configured,
set user passwords again — passwords are not included in the backup.
If you also restore the centralServer database from backup (this must be done manually, as it cannot be done through the application), passwords and the license will be preserved.
Alternatively, you can also use the pg_dumpall tool for the migration. If you use pg_dumpall, please read Migrating from PostgreSQL 8.x to 9.x using pg_dumpall.
License File
The license file authorizes the operation of the Flexi system on a single server. The system includes automatic license activation. Therefore, if you are moving everything to a new server, no special steps are required (other than transferring the license file).
Note:
Please make sure that the original installation is no longer started after the migration, as doing so could cause issues with automatic activation.
Upgrading to a New Version of PostgreSQL
In general, you can use the manual restore from backup procedure. For Debian/Ubuntu, a simple tool is available: pg_upgradecluster 8.4 flexibee
After upgrading the cluster, a reindex of the indexes must be performed.
Documentation can be found here.