Migrate old server to new

1st Official Post

    Hey. I want to move the entire OpenMediaVault server to a completely different bare metal machine and at the same time upgrade it to the latest version. I thought I would install OMV on the new server and configure it exactly the same as the current one, and then send the files via rsync. The problem arose when I tried to transfer users. I would like everyone to have exactly the same passwords as on the previous machine. I tried copying specific passwords from /etc/shadow. Access via ssh changed to the old passwords, but I still can't access the directories.

    Does OMV keep the passwords somewhere else?

    Can you not just clone the old drive to the new one with clonezilla then run your upgrade? Seems like the simplest option to me.


    My approach would be to boot to clonezilla with both drives plugged into the old system, do the clone, then move the new drive back to the new system, get it booted up properly, addressing any driver issues that may arise, then run the upgrade. This of course assumes you are on similar hardware architecture.

    I discovered that passwords are kept in the /var/lib/samba/private/passdb.tdb file. I copied this file from the old server to the new one.


    I can't clone the disk because this server is so old that I'm afraid to shut it down because it might not boot back up ;)

    Quote from PustyB

    I can't clone the disk because this server is so old that I'm afraid to shut it down because it might not boot back up ;)

    How old are you talking? I have a few systems out in the world that were built back in the mid 2000's that still run. Just working on one now actually that I originally built as a Core-Quad windows xp based video editing system in the mid 2000's and now after several years in it's original role, followed by a little off time for a few years and then almost 10 years in it's current role as a nextcloud server, has finally lost the OS hard drive, so it's time to pop in a new one and restore a backup to it. The data drives in this system are much newer than the OS drive. I have another client that has one of my video edit systems from the same era and he is still using it to do his work.


    Yes I used to custom build systems and was a dealer for some video editng hardware/software, so I did tend to "overbuild" the systems using good quality components, with the intention of them not struggling to edit video, but the added benefit was that they have some longevity and can be re-purposed for less demanding tasks as system requirements increase for desktop software.


    Now, to be honest, I don't recommend trying to milk old systems along like this normally, but this one I'm replacing the drive in is a freebie for a 78 year old retired photographer/videographer (old client from my days bulding systems) on a fixed income that uses it to give access to his photos and videos to people, and not have to woyry about paying for cloud sharing services on the fixed income. (Basically, I am helping him continue to do something he loves doing, but now it isn't done as a business for him)

    • Official Post
    Quote from PustyB

    I discovered that passwords are kept in the /var/lib/samba/private/passdb.tdb file. I copied this file from the old server to the new one.

    Only the samba passwords are stored there. The OS level password is still /etc/shadow.

    omv 7.4.9-2 sandworm | 64 bit | 6.8 proxmox kernel

    plugins :: omvextrasorg 7.0 | kvm 7.0.14 | compose 7.2.13 | k8s 7.3.1-1 | cputemp 7.0.2 | mergerfs 7.0.5 | scripts 7.0.9


    omv-extras.org plugins source code and issue tracker - github - changelogs


    Please try ctrl-shift-R and read this before posting a question.

    Please put your OMV system details in your signature.
    Please don't PM for support... Too many PMs!

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login