Reinstalling and Rebuilding N-able N-central from a backup securely or How to migrate to a new N-able N-central Server

 

Solution

1. DO NOT restore a snapshot.

Block access externally to N-central. Block ports 80, 443 and 10000.

2. Power off the Report Manager server.
3. Disable any Snapshots and enable a static MAC address (VMWare or Hyper-v only).
4. Run a fresh backup on your N-central server (not a snapshot). Note the timezone setting of your server. 
5. Download the installer ISO that matches your version of N-central.
6. Collect your N-central ActivationID from the N-able - N-central support team by logging in a request. This ID would also be provided by provisioning when your licenses are created.
7. Download the fresh backup, as well as the digest file. The links are side-by-side.
8. Verify the integrity of the backup. If you don't have a tool to do this, you can use Hashcalc on the .tar file and match the value returned to the value found by opening the .sha1 (digest file) in a text editor. 
9. Reinstall N-central. Our Install Guide will explain the steps for Azure, Amazon, VMWare, Hyper-v or Physical Hardware. The default Username/Password is:
   • Pre-2020.1:
     • Username: productadmin@n-able.com
   • Password: Password
   • 2020.1 and later
     • Username: productadmin@n-able.com
   • Password: Password

• Username: productadmin@n-able.com
• Password: ManageAllTheThings0!

1. Restore the fresh backup. For backup files of 2 GB or more, use the from FTP option and put the files onto your own FTP server. If you don't have one, you can install FileZilla FTP Server on any Windows machine.
2. Verify the DNS settings are correct (Administration > Mail Network > Network Setup).
3. Install the Patch. Upgrade to the latest version of N-central to ensure you have the latest security patches applied to your server. That is 11.1 SP1 Hotfix 2 or later. 
4. Open ports 80, 443 & 10000 externally, then open a new Emergency case with N-able Support for reactivation of your license and to check your server is clean. Please indicate to us if you had any other code drops on your server prior to this process (STRUTS code update is already applied above).
5. Setup IP Filtering on your network/firewall. Enable access to N-central from N-able. See the link, Permit our IP Addresses at the bottom of the page.  Open additional access from your Customers' Public IP Addresses.
6. Start Report Manager.

Detailed Steps

1. DO NOT restore a snapshot.

• Block access externally to N-central. Block ports 80, 443 and 10000.

2. Power off the Report Manager server. This is to avoid issues with continuity of your data, if N-central is exporting after your backup is taken. In N-central 11 + Report Manager 5, they should auto-correct after restore, but it is a good idea to do this anyway since it is a planned rebuild.
   • You can power this off or stop the Report Manager services. Example from command prompt as admin (copy and paste all below):

     ::stop and disable services sc config "Report Manager Maintenance Watchdog" start= disabled sc config "Report Manager Maintenance" start= disabled sc stop "Report Manager Maintenance Watchdog" sc stop "Report Manager Maintenance" net stop "Report Manager Maintenance" net stop "Report Manager Maintenance Watchdog"   ::verify the services are stopped. sc query "Report Manager Maintenance" sc query "Report Manager Maintenance Watchdog"

       
3. Disable snapshotting and enable a static MAC address (VMWare or Hyper-v only).
4. Run a fresh backup on your N-central server (not a snapshot). Note the timezone setting of your server (Administration > Mail Network Settings > Network Setup).
   1. Login as the ProductAdmin. By default this is productadmin@n-able.com.
   2. Administration > System Backup and Restore > Configure Backups.
   3. Click the checkbox to enable Include Historical Data.
   4. Ensure Upload copy of Backup to FTP is not selected. Enable this if you just want it on your FTP. You can optionally restore from FTP.
   5. Click to enable Notify On: > Success/Failure > and add your email address.
   6. Click Run Backup. 
• Note the version of your N-central by clicking Help > Version Information. You will need this version to reinstall.
5. Download the installer ISO that matches your version of N-central.
   1. Log in to N-ableMe and access the Software Downloads page (login required).
   2. Click on the version which matches your current N-central.
   3. Click the download link under ISO Download Link.
   4. Download the ISO file, not the NSP file. If installing into Azure, use the VHD file.
   5. Burn it to a disc or be prepared to mount it to the N-central system for installation.

6. Collect your N-central ActivationID from the support team by logging a request (login required). This ID would was provided by provisioning when your licenses were created.

7. Download the fresh backup, as well as the digest file. The links are side-by-side.
   1. Login as the ProductAdmin. By default this is productadmin@n-able.com.
   2. Click Administration > System Backup and Restore > Download Backups.
   3. Download the digest file and the backup. To do this, click Download Backup beside the name of the backup file that you would like to download. Also click Download Digest beside the name of the backup file. You can open this .sha1 file in a text editor and verify against the SHA1 sum of the backup file. Use a tool like Hashcalc for Windows or sha1sum on Linux to compute the SHA1 sum of your downloaded backup file.
8. Verify the integrity of the backup. If you don't have a tool to do this, you can use Hashcalc on the .tar file and match the value returned to the value found by opening the .sha1 (digest file) in a text editor.
9. Reinstall N-central. Our Install Guide in the release notes will explain the steps for Azure, Amazon, VMWare, Hyper-v or Physical Hardware. The default Username/Password is:
   • Username: productadmin@n-able.com
   • Password: ManageAllTheThings0!
10. Restore the fresh backup. For backup files of 2 GB or more, use the "from FTP" option and put the files onto your own FTP server. If you don't have one, you can install FileZilla FTP Server on any Windows machine.
    1. Login as the ProductAdmin. By default this is productadmin@n-able.com.
    2. Click Administration > System Backup and Restore > Restore Backup.
    3. Select: Restore Method: My Computer or from FTP if applicable.
    4. If the backup size is 2 GB or greater, you must use FTP.
    4. Click to enable Include Historical Data.
    5. Disable Asynchronous Restore. 
    6. Click to enable Include Software And Script Repository Data. In newer versions of N-central, this option does not appear and is enabled by default.
    7. Uncheck Include Network Information and verify the network information, including DNS, is correct. If the "Include Network Information" option is checked, the IP, MAC, and other network configurations of the old server will be automatically copied. This often results in the new server (VM/Azure) being inaccessible after a restore.

    8. Click the check box to select Disable All Outbound Communication. If this option is selected, it will prevent all PSA tickets, notifications, warranty requests, and other messages from being transmitted by the N-able N-central server.

    9. Click Save and Restore Backup.

11. Upgrade to the latest version of N-central to ensure you have the latest security patches applied to your server. Review our N-central downloads page to see the latest versions.
12. Open a new Emergency case with N-able Support for reactivation and to check your server is clean. Please indicate to us if you had any other code drops on your server prior to this process (STRUTS code update is already applied above).
13. Enable access to N-central from N-able. See Permit our IP Addresses. Open additional access from your Customers' Public IP Addresses.Start Report Manager.

Please raise a new EMERGENCY case or call if you need any assistance with this process.

Web: https://me.n-able.com/ (login required)

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