How to Migrate a Printer Server to a Server Cluster (266058)

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The Print Migrator tool is available to help in migrating printers. The initial versions of this tool in the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit, Supplement Four, are not cluster-aware. With the release of the Print Migrator 3.1 tool, cluster support has been integrated into the tool. For more information about Print Migrator 3.1, visit the following Microsoft Web site: NOTE: The following steps were tested with version 2.x of the Print Migrator tool. Use the documentation that is included with version 3.0 if you use that version.

To help automate the migration of file and printer shares, follow these steps:

1. Configure each node for network printing by installing Microsoft TCP/IP Printing as a network service. Other port monitors and managers are not supported for clustered printing.
   
   For additional information about installing TCP/IP printing service, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   195643 How to Configure Windows NT for LPR Printing

   
   NOTE: You must ensure that after you install any service from the original Windows NT media, and before restart any such service, you reapply the latest service pack.
2. Create a backup of the source print server using the Printmig.exe program. The program can be run remotely or on one of the nodes. The program supports Windows NT 4.0 to Windows NT 4.0 migrations, and you must have administrator access to the target server.
   
   For additional information about using the Printmig.exe utility, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   214795 How to Back Up and Restore a Print Server Configuration

   1. Start the PrintMig.exe program.
   2. On the Actions menu, click Backup.
   3. In the target server field, type the server name:
      
      \\Servername
   4. Point the Cab storage directory to a location available to both nodes.
   5. Click OK to complete.
      
      A final status message that says "Backup Complete" is displayed.
3. Restore the backup to each node.
   
   NOTE: You may need to reapply the current service pack and any hot fixes if the source server is a different version.
   
   1. Start the PrintMig.exe program.
   2. On the Actions menu, click Restore.
   3. In the target server field type the server name of one node, for example:
      
      \\NodeA
      
      NOTE: You must have administrator access to the target server.
   4. Specify the location of the backup saved in the earlier steps.
   5. If you did not double-click the Cab storage directory earlier, click Open. A final status message is displayed: "Restore complete, Registry restored, Starting Spooler... , Spooler Running."
   6. Repeat this process for each node.
4. Remove shared printers on each node.
   
   Each node has the migrated printers shared out. These printers must be deleted so they can be added as cluster resources. If not, the ClusTool utility fails with the error message "Cannot create resource!" in the Migrate.log file. This happens when you attempt to create a duplicate printer share.
   
   1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers.
   2. Delete the printers that were created as a result of the Print Migrator. As part of a cluster, individual nodes rarely have any printers shared.
5. Make the migrated printers available by means of the cluster.
   
   The ClusTool.exe program works with a Windows 2000 or Windows 4.0 cluster, and is installed from the Windows 2000 Resource Kit compact disc in the Apps\ClusTool directory.
   
   If you install the utility on a Windows NT 4.0 computer you may receive the following error message:
   Warning File(s) failed to self-register: %Systemroot%\Msclus.dll
   
   If you run the Regsvr32 Msclus.dll file from the %Systemroot% directory it can complete the installation process. If this file is not registered, the ClusTool utility is unable to connect to a Windows NT 4.0 target cluster and your attempts to browse for a cluster fail.
   
   NOTE: The ClusTool.exe program expects the cluster to have a group with the Print Spooler resource and associated resources, or at least to contain the following resources: network name, Internet Protocol (IP) address and physical disk. Additional information is available from the utility's Help file.
   
   1. Run ClusTool from its program group, typically Administrator Tools.
   2. Click Next.
   3. Select Migrate resources from a stand-alone server to a Cluster and click Next.
   4. Specify the source server. This is the original server that Print Migrator backed up (for example, \\Prtserver). Click Next.
   5. Specify the target cluster. This is the cluster name displayed in Cluster Administrator. Click Next.
   6. You are given the choice to prefix resource names with the source server name. Your choice does not impact a successful printer migration. Click Next.
   7. Confirm the resources to migrate, and then click Next.
      
      The Graphical User Interface (GUI) provides the option to clear (that is, not select) resources from migration and has a drop-down list of groups that have appropriate resources for the migrated item(s). If the group you want is not on the list, you must ensure it has the appropriate resources installed by referencing the ClusTool Help file.
      
   8. On the "Finished gathering information" screen, click Next.
   9. On the "Ready to Migrate!" screen, click Next.
   10. The screen displays the message "Cluster Tool is performing the following steps." When the operation is complete, click Next. The message "Migration Complete" displays on the screen.
   11. The View Log option provides a list of actions and their status. Use the results displayed here if you need to troubleshoot. A common failure occurs when the resource or share already exists. If you select "prefix resource names with source server name" as mentioned earlier, you may resolve the issue of duplicate file shares without impacting the printers.
       
       If problems occur that need to be backed out, click Undo.
       
       If there are no problems, click Finish to complete the migration process.