Migrating TrueConf Server from Linux to Linux

7/10/23About 10 minServer AdministrationDeployment

Sometimes, it may be necessary to migrate TrueConf Server to a different virtual machine or computer. This also includes the cases when a Linux-based OS is used. You will be able to save the following types of data:

You will be able to save the following types of data:

Database export:
- server settings;
- User and group settings
- Conferences and templates
- Reports.
Save the certificate files (if you use HTTPS connection).
It is also possible to export such additional data as:
- video conference recordings
- files shared in chats
- Server logs
- User avatars.

This guide can also be used for migrating TrueConf Server from one Linux-based system to another, e.g., from Debian to Red Hat Enterprise.

Important! Please take into account that chat history can be saved only if the public server name remains unchanged because the sender of messages is determined by the full TrueConf ID.

To execute commands, use the sudo program to run them with administrative privileges. Ensure that the current OS user is part of the sudo group; refer to the relevant online instructions for your operating system. Note that sudo may not be installed by default on your OS. To check if it’s installed, run the command: sudo -V.

Step 1. TrueConf Server update

To migrate successfully, you need to make sure that the new server installed on Linux and the current server are of the same version. Our Linux repository always includes only the latest version of the distro. We do not provide earlier versions of the server due to security reasons. So, we suggest updating the current server to the latest version. Read this article to learn how it can be done.

Step 2. Server data export

To migrate TrueConf Server, you will need the registration key of your TrueConf Server instance and the backup copies listed below.

Please note that you will not be able to move your TrueConf Server from your current PC to a different one without taking these steps.

Registration key

The registration key cannot be found directly in the control panel due to security reasons. This key was sent to you in the email confirming the registration of your TrueConf Server instance. To find this email, search by content and specify Server ID which can be found in the Summary → License info section.

Main data

Database

The database stores all TrueConf Server settings, including chat history and reports.

How to check the current port number

To export the database, you will need to specify the port needed for connecting to the database. The 5444 port is used by default.

Since the port could be changed at some point in the past (e.g., the port could be set to 5433 after updating TrueConf Server from versions earlier than 5.2.9), run this command in the terminal to check the current port number:

grep port /opt/trueconf/server/etc/database/postgresql.conf

Export

Then, complete the following steps to export the database:

Open the terminal (if it was previously closed).
Sign in as the postgres user:
```
sudo su postgres
```
Go to the database directory:
```
cd /opt/trueconf/server/bin/database
```
Run the following command and specify the current port:
```
./pg_dump -p 5444 -c -C -d tcs -f /tmp/tcs.dump
```
This will initiate the process of saving the dump in the current directory. You can specify your own path, but the file should not be saved in /opt/ to avoid access errors.
Data export may take much time if a large number of chats is stored on the server.
Sign out of the postgres user account by running this command:
```
exit
```
Move the file to the home directory or to a portable drive:
```
sudo mv /tmp/tcs.dump /home/$USER/server_backup
```

Later, we will refer to this folder as an example. To access it, run this command after copying all the data:

sudo chmod -R 777 /home/$USER/server_backup

HTTPS Settings

/opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/ssl

Save the backup copy of this directory:

sudo cp -R /opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/ssl /home/$USER/server_backup

Additional data

Conference and call recordings

If conferences or calls are automatically recorded on the server side, the files will be saved in the Recordings folder by default (this folder can be found in the TrueConf Server working directory). To find the location of video files, check the Path field in the Recordings section of the TrueConf Server control panel.

If you need to move them to a new server, just copy necessary recordings.

sudo cp -R /opt/trueconf/server/var/lib/recordings /home/$USER/server_backup

Chat files

All chat files shared by the users of your server are saved in the files folder in the TrueConf Server working directory by default. To find their exact location, check the Path field in the File Storage section of the TrueConf Server control panel.

If it is necessary to move them to the new server, save the backup of this directory. For example, to copy the chat files to the home directory of the current OS user, execute this command:

sudo cp -R /opt/trueconf/server/var/lib/files /home/$USER/server_backup

Log files

Log files may be needed when submitting a ticket to technical support (e.g., to analyze the issues you had when using the previous instance of TrueConf Server).

Log files may be needed when submitting a ticket to technical support (e.g., to analyze the issues you had when using the previous instance of TrueConf Server). The log files are located in the TrueConf installation folder at the path /opt/trueconf/server/var/log. To export them, create a backup copy of all directories and files with the cp command that we have already mentioned:

sudo cp -R /opt/trueconf/server/var/log /home/$USER/server_backup

User avatars

Avatars the users registered on your TrueConf Server instance are stored in the avatars directory in the TrueConf Server working directory. Copy this directory to a convenient location on your server.

By default, it is located at the path /opt/trueconf/server/var/lib; however, you can check the location in the Control panel → Settings section (Working path block).

Copy the directory with this command:

sudo cp -R /opt/trueconf/server/var/lib/avatars /home/$USER/server_backup

Step 3. Install TrueConf Server

How to install TrueConf Server on Linux from a file and repositories is described in the respective articles: Debian, CentOS Stream.

Do not register TrueConf Server after installation.

Step 4. Data import

Database

How to check the current port number

To ensure successful data import, you will need to specify the port used for connecting to the database. The 5444 port is used by default.

grep port /opt/trueconf/server/etc/database/postgresql.conf

Import

Disable TrueConf services and restart the database service to close all active connections:

sudo systemctl stop trueconf-web
sudo systemctl stop trueconf-manager
sudo systemctl restart trueconf-db

Later, to import the database, you will need to complete the following steps:

Open the terminal (if it was previously closed).

Copy the exported file to the directory with the database:

sudo cp /home/$USER/server_backup/tcs.dump /opt/trueconf/server/bin/database

Sign in as the postgres user:
```
sudo su postgres
```
Go to the database directory:
```
cd /opt/trueconf/server/bin/database
```
Run the import command and specify the current port:
```
./psql -p 5444 -f tcs.dump
```
The data import may take much time, if a large number of chats is stored on the server.
Sign out of the postgres user account by running this command:
```
exit
```

When all the data is imported, restart the following TrueConf Server services by running these commands consecutively:

sudo systemctl restart trueconf-db
sudo systemctl start trueconf-manager
sudo systemctl start trueconf-web

HTTPS Settings

Copy the folder with the ssl key and certificate to this directory /opt/trueconf/server/etc/webmanager/ssl.
Go to the TrueConf Server control panel.
In the Web → HTTPS section, apply the same key and certificate settings that were used on the previous instance of TrueConf Server.

Additional data

Copy other data saved in Step 2 to the corresponding directories of the new server:

Calls and conference recordings — to the recordings directory of the working directory (set by default)
Chat files – to the files directory in the working directory (by default)
Logs — to the /opt/trueconf/server/var/log directory
Avatars – to the avatars directory in the working directory.

When all the settings are transferred, restart TrueConf Server:

sudo systemctl restart trueconf-manager
sudo systemctl restart trueconf-web

Step 5. Testing data migration

Go to the control panel and check if all the data (avatars, reports, chat messages, users, conferences and other types of information) were correctly imported. If some errors occurred , for example, you mistyped a command and some of the data was not exported, uninstall the server completely and repeat steps 2 and 3.

If all the data was successfully imported, please contact the technical support to reset the hardware key (HW key) to which your license is bound. TrueConf technical support will reset the hardware key for free. You will need to submit a ticket and specify the ID of your server. When the technical support resets the hardware key, please register the server again.

Important! Do not change the public server name when registering the server; this name should remain unchanged for the correct display of chat messages. If you change it, chat messages will not be displayed in client applications.

We wish you successful conferencing!