Expanding Your System

Preparing for System Expansion

System expansion requires the deployment of a new primary system, and the transfer of the system data and Host licenses from the original system to the expanded system.

A Multi-data Center (MDC) system cannot be expanded. It must be reduced to a Single Data Center system:

  • Remove secondary data centers. (See Removing a Data Center.) Typically this is the data center that is not running the license manager.

  • Expand the primary, single-data center system by following the instructions in this chapter.

  • Obtain MDC licenses for the expanded system and load the licenses on the primary system.

  • Create a new secondary data center of the same size as the primary data center.

  • Join the data centers. (See Joining a Data Center to a Multi-Data Center System.)

Considerations for an Expanded System

Consider the following:

  • When you expand a CWMS system that has NFS storage configured, ensure that the newly deployed virtual machines of the expanded system have the same access privileges to the NFS storage as did the original system. Otherwise expansion process will fail at the System Check phase.

  • Budgeting for any additional hardware.

  • Anticipating the number of concurrent meetings and their average size over the next few months.

  • When an original system is upgraded or expanded, a parallel system is created. If there is time left in the trial period of the original system, that time is transferred to the upgraded or expanded system. Valid Permanent Host licenses on the original system must be transferred to an upgraded or expanded system by rehosting the licenses. (See Re-hosting Licenses after a Major System Modification.)

Expanding the System Size

Before You Begin

Remove all VMware snapshots. Do not take any snapshots during the expansion process. To remove snapshots, see Removing a Snapshot.

Obtain the Open Virtualization Archive (OVA) file first used to install this system. For example, if you deployed a version 2.0 system, obtain the base version 2.0.1.2 OVA.

Table 1 Expansion Checklist
Field Name Current Value For Your System
WebEx Site URL  
Administration Site URL  
Private VIP Address  
Public VIP Address  

When expanding a Multi-data Center (MDC) system, it is necessary to remove any secondary data centers. (Typically the data center not running the License Manager See Removing a Data Center.)


Note

Upgrading from an unencrypted version to an encrypted version or upgrading from an encrypted version to an un-encrypted version is not supported. Obtain the OVA based on your existing system deployment.

    Step 1   Sign in to Site Administration.

    In a Multidata Center system, the DNS determines which data center Dashboard appears. Use this Dashboard to manage all the data centers in this system.

    Step 2   If you are expanding an MDC system, remove the all but the primary data center.

    See Removing a Data Center.

    Step 3   If you are expanding an MDC system, create a new data center running Cisco WebEx Meeting Server to be joined after the primary system is expanded.

    See Creating a Multi-data Center (MDC) System.

    Step 4   Create a backup of the original system. (See Creating a Backup by Using VMware vCenter.)
    Step 5   Turn on Maintenance Mode. See Turning Maintenance Mode On or Off.

    If the data center is part of a Multidata Center (MDC) system, in-progress meetings fail over to an active data center. The failover can cause a brief interruption in active meetings. See About Maintenance Mode for information. Turning on Maintenance Mode for all active data centers shuts down all conference functionality. No one can sign in to the WebEx site, schedule meetings, join meetings, or play meeting recordings.

    Step 6   Select Continue.
    Step 7   Select System > View More.
    Step 8   Select Expand System Size.
    Step 9   Select Continue.

    Your system checks connectivity to the virtual machines. If there are connectivity problems with one or more virtual machines, you must fix the problems before you can continue. If there are no connectivity problems, your system performs an automatic backup. When the backup is complete, you are notified that you can proceed with your expansion.

    Step 10   Using the VMware vSphere client, select Power > Shut Down Guest on the virtual machines for the original system.
    Step 11   Using the vSphere client, deploy the Admin virtual machine for the new system size.

    If you are performing an automatic expansion, we create the other virtual machines for your system. If you are performing a manual expansion, you can create the other virtual machines for your system. (See Deploying the OVA File From the VMware vSphere Client.)

    Step 12   Attach Hard disk 4 from the original system Admin virtual machine to the Admin virtual machine for the expanded system. (See Attaching an Existing VMDK File to a New Virtual Machine.)
    Step 13   Power on the Admin virtual machine for the expanded system and write down the deployment URL. If you are performing an automatic expansion, we power on the other virtual machines for your system. If you are performing a manual expansion, power on the other virtual machines for your system.
    Step 14   Enter the deployment URL into a web browser and continue the deployment of your expanded system.
    Step 15   Select your preferred language for the deployment of the expanded system. (See Selecting Your Language for Setup.)
    Step 16   Select Expand the capacity of existing system > Next.
    Step 17   Confirm the system size. (See Confirming the Size of Your System.)

    This system size must be larger than or equal to the original system.

    Step 18   Select Install a primary system.
    Step 19   Select automatic or manual deployment. (See Choosing the Type of Deployment.)

    If you chose manual deployment, continue to the next step. If you chose automatic deployment:

    1. Enter your vCenter credentials so that we can deploy the virtual machines for you. (See Providing VMware vCenter Credentials.)
    2. Select the ESXi host, data store, and virtual machine port group for the Media virtual machine. (See Choosing vCenter Settings for Your Media and Web Virtual Machines.)
    3. Enter the fully qualified domain name of the Media virtual machine.

      If you have already updated your DNS server with entries for the expanded system, then we look up the IP address for you. (See Entering Networking Information for the Media and Web Virtual Machines.)

    Use the same OVA file you first used to install the system. Deploy an Admin virtual machine for the new system size.

    Your system notifies you when the expansion is complete.

    Step 20   If you want public access for your expanded system, then verify that there is a check in the Create an Internet Reverse Proxy virtual machine check box. Otherwise, uncheck this check box. (See Adding Public Access to Your System by using IRP.)

    If you have chosen to add public access:

    1. Select the ESXi host, data store, and virtual machine port group for the Internet Reverse Proxy (IRP) virtual machine.
    2. Enter the hostname and networking information for the IRP virtual machine.
    Step 21   Enter the public VIP address for the WebEx site URL. (See Entering the Public VIP Address.)

    You can enter the same public VIP address that you use for your original system, or change it to a new IP address. If you change it, then make the necessary updates in the DNS server.

    Step 22   Enter the private VIP address for the WebEx site URL. (See Entering the Private VIP Address.)

    You can enter the same private VIP address that you use for your original system, or change it to a new IP address. If you change it, then make the necessary updates in the DNS server.

    Step 23   Enter the WebEx Common site URL. (See Entering the WebEx Common Site and Administration Site URLs.)

    Participants access this URL to host and attend meetings. This URL resolves to the private VIP address or the public VIP address, depending on whether or not you are using a split-horizon DNS.

    You can enter the same WebEx Common site URL that you used for your original system, or change to a new one. If you do change it, then make the necessary updates in the DNS server.

    Note   

    If users attempt to use the original URL, those users cannot: After this change is made, system traffic coming from hostnames, other than the ones currently configured, is dropped.

    • Host or join meetings

    • Log in from web pages, productivity tools, or mobile applications

    • Playback recordings

    Step 24   Enter the WebEx Administration site URL for administrators to access the Cisco WebEx Administration site. (See Entering the WebEx Common Site and Administration Site URLs.)

    This URL resolves to the private VIP address.

    You can enter the same WebEx Administration site URL that you use for the original system, or change to a new one. If you do change it, then make the necessary updates in the DNS server.

    Step 25   Verify that you have made all the networking, DNS server, and firewall configuration changes required for your system. (See Confirming that the Network is Configured Correctly.)
    Step 26   After your virtual machines have deployed successfully, select Next to continue to the system check. (See Deploying Virtual Machines Manually.) Along with the system check, we update the expanded system with any required maintenance release updates to match the software version of the original system. (These updates might take up to an hour.) When complete, the system restarts. (See Checking the System.)
    Step 27   Select Restart.
    Step 28   Sign in to Site Administration.

    In a Multidata Center system, the DNS determines which data center Dashboard appears. Use this Dashboard to manage all the data centers in this system.

    Step 29   If you are expanding an MDC system, join it to the MDC system. (See Joining a Data Center to a Multi-Data Center System.)
    Step 30   Turn off Maintenance Mode.

    When you turn off Maintenance Mode, the system determines whether a restart or a reboot is required, and displays the appropriate message. A restart takes approximated 3 to 5 minutes and a reboot takes approximately 30 minutes. If the data center is part of a Multidata Center (MDC) system, you are redirected to the global admin URL. The DNS resolution policy determines which data center you see. If Key Regeneration is enabled, taking one data center out of Maintenance Mode automatically takes all data centers in the system out of Maintenance Mode.

    See Turning Maintenance Mode On or Off.

    Meeting service on the data center is restored.
    Step 31   Select Continue. The system restarts. You can sign into the Administration site when the restart is completed.
    Note   

    If you originally created the virtual machines by using the Cisco WebEx Meetings Server 2.0 OVA file, then you might see a "Cannot access server" error message. If this happens, then use the VMware vSphere client and "Restart Guest" for all the virtual machines in the system.

    Step 32   Test the expanded system. (See About System Testing.)

    If the expansion is unsuccessful, then power off the expanded system and power on the original system. If necessary, contact Cisco TAC for further assistance.

    Step 33   Rehost the Host licenses or the MDC licenses as appropriate for the expanded system. (See Re-hosting Licenses after a Major System Modification.)
    What to Do Next

    Update the system to the desired MR.