SCOM R2 RC: Upgradepaths and -tasks

The Upgrade Guide - to be found in the 'OpsMgr2007R2-RCDocs.zip' file - contains valuable information about what kind of upgradepaths to SCOM R2 (RC) are supported.

SCOM SP1 or SCOM R2 Beta
When the SCOM environment is at SP1 level you can upgrade directly to R2. Is the SCOM enviroment at beta level of R2, the same upgradepath can be followed.

SCOM RTM
Sometimes I bump into SCOM environments which are still at RTM level. These environments can't be upgraded directly to R2. First SP1 needs to be applied before an upgrade to R2 is possible. See this upgradepaths diagram:


Tasks to be completed BEFORE the upgrade
- Backup databases (OpsMgr, DW & MasterDB, it contains entries for SCOM)
- Backup EncryptionKey (write down the password!)
- Export Unsealed MPs
- Remove Agents from Pending
- Increase available space for data and logfiles of SCOMDBs
- Remove Agents from systems with standalone consoles
- Disable notification subscriptions
- Disable Connectors (if applicable)

Speeding up the upgrade
Nice thing is to run a stored procedure on the SQL-server hosting the SCOM-databases, which will speed up the upgrade process. The document advises to do so with Management Servers thats hosts more than 800 Agents. The stored procedure can be found in the same document.

But even when a (R)MS is hosting a lower number of Agents, it will also work (to a lesser extend though but it will make a difference). The same stored procedure had also to be run when one applied QFE KB956240, found here.

Upgrade order
Eventhough the document writes about another order to perform the upgrade, below is the list which - based on my personal experiences - works best :

1 RMS and SCOM-database
2 Reportingserver and DW-database
3 SCOM Console on RMS
4 Management Servers
5 SCOM Consoles on Management Servers
6 Gateways
7 Agents
8 Standalone SCOM Consoles (like on the systems of the SCOM Operators)
9 WebConsole

And - if applicable - the ACS Collector with the ACS-database