There are many things to consider when migrating and updating an on premise Carousel 7 system. Overlooking something can be frustrating, time consuming, and incur unexpected cost. The list below aims to help you think through everything you’ll need to have an uneventful experience.
Firstly, ask yourself, “Do I need to migrate my old system, or should I start fresh?”
People tend to forget that they can just start over! Definitely consider this if your system only has a handful of users and channels and your content could use some freshening up. We offer a variety of dazzling pre-made channels and templates that are a snap to import, and user creation is a breeze. And heck, if you’re thinking of starting over and don’t feel like the hassle of managing a server, switch to Carousel Cloud! It’s as easy as can be to get set up with a Carousel Cloud account. Then you can just sit back, relax, and let us worry about the rest.
Can you buy help?
Yes! We (obviously) recommend purchasing assistance from our service department every time in order to make sure we’re with you every step of the way.
Here are all of the basic steps required for a system migration:
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You will need to procure a new server
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Current Carousel software will need to be installed on the new server. Paid assistance is available for this but it must be purchased and scheduled ahead of time.
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Legacy Carousel system will need to be migrated to the new server, and restored to the new version. Paid assistance is available for this but it must be purchased and scheduled ahead of time.
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Legacy system will need to be decommissioned
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Media players need to be connected to the new server
A complete listing of all of the paid services we provide can be found here on our website:
https://c7.carouselsignage.com/services/support-packages
What do you have today?
Take an inventory of all components of your Signage system:
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Evaluate your Carousel Server, specifications, and Windows Operating System to make sure that your server is capable of running the version of Carousel you plan on updating to. Info below:
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Evaluate your Carousel Media player type(s), model numbers, and operating systems to make sure your media players are compatible with the version of Carousel you will be updating to. If they are not, you will need to replace them as a part of the migration. Windows media players will need Carousel to be manually updated to the server version. Below are some articles on supported media player types
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Check with sales@carouselsignage.com for update eligibility.
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Check for any custom projects or integrations that could be installed on your Carousel server. Custom projects would likely have been purchased from our professional services department. Migration of custom projects is not within the scope of migration assistance requires the purchase of additional assistance.
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Check for any major feature differences between the Carousel version running now, and the version to which you are updating. We make software changes for a living and sometimes, features are depreciated or enhanced in a way that could impact your use case.
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Check your Server Configuration. Are you integrated with a separate SQL server or do you use Active Directory to log in?
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Check and note your installation path and media folder location, you’ll need it later.
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Check to see if you are using any service accounts on Carousel services or in IIS. If you are, make sure you have the credentials to re-set on the new server.
The following info must be provided to Carousel’s Service technicians before assistance can be scheduled
Carousel Update/Migration Pre-check item |
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What is your current Carousel version? |
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What operating System is running on the current server? |
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Are the Carousel and FrontDoor SQL databases local? |
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Do you use Active Directory for Carousel user management? |
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Do you use a service account to run Carousel services or IIS? |
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If yes, do you know the password? |
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What is your current installation directory? |
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Is your media folder in a location besides C:\TRMS\Web\Carousel\Media? |
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Are there any custom projects (interactive sites, data integrations) installed on the server? |
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Are you updating in place or Migrating to a new server? |
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If updating, are you able to log into the server using the built-in Windows Administrator Account? |
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Carousel uses teamviewer for remote access. Please indicate if this is allowed. If not, please provide an alternative |
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What type(s) of media players are in use? Include specific model numbers |
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If Migrating, does the new server exist? |
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Are you able to log into the new server using the built-in Windows Administrator Account? |
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