COBRAS is a set of object-oriented import/export tools for Unity and Unity Connection. They allow you to selectively export (i.e., backup) specific application objects (e.g., Subscribers, Call Handlers, etc.) and then import them to another version of Unity or Unity Connection. COBRAS is much different than DiRT which provides backup and restore capabilities to the exact same version of Unity. COBRAS is geared more towards migrating data between different versions of Unity or even between applications (Unity to Unity Connection). In total, there are 3 separate tools:
- COBRAS Export is used for selective backups of system data.
- COBRAS Import is used to selectively import data onto a new Unity or Unity Connection system.
- COBRAS Data Viewer is used to view backup databases created by the Export tool. The Data Viewer can also be used to alter the data in the backup file. I’ll touch on this in a moment.
Export Process
The export process is straightforward and fairly uneventful. You just need to select which data (i.e., objects) to backup and let the process run. All backups are written as Microsoft Access database (.mdb) files. The name of the primary backup file is always prefixed as “UnityDBData_Backup”.
- You can use COBRAS to backup voice messages. To do this, you have to run COBRAS Export as a user with rights to bind to the message store. Specifically, you should use the user associated with the AvCsMgr service. Usually, this is the UnityMsgStoreSvc account.
- If you are backing up messages, there will be multiple Access DB files written based on how many messages are being backed up. If you need to backup a large amount of messages, make sure you have enough disk space for the backup.
Import Process
The import process is also relatively straightforward; however, I would definitely recommend that you familiarize yourself with COBRAS Import in a test environment before running it in a production environment. The import process is a multi-step wizard that essentially runs in 3 high-level phases:
- First, choose the objects you want to import.
- Next, you have to resolve any and all conflicts for each type of object to be imported. As the wizard progresses, you must complete each step in the series before you can proceed to the import.
- Once you have resolved all conflicts, the last phase is the actual import of data into the new system.
Other notes about COBRAS Import:
- If you decide to import messages, the send/receive and read/unread status is not preserved between systems. All imported messages are stamped with the time/date of the import and will be seen as new messages in the user’s inbox.
- When Subscriber data is imported, the Subscriber’s PIN (for telephone access) is preserved.
Data Viewer
If subscriber aliases are not the same between systems, you can use the Data Viewer to remap the aliases in the backup to aliases on the new system. The Data Viewer lets you open up any of the DB files created by the export process and view the data. There is a simple “export to CSV” functionality that is used to map old Subscriber aliases to new Subscriber aliases. You should make a copy of your primary backup DB and use the copy to run the alias mapping because this function permanently rewrites the contents of the DB that is used.
Exchange 2007 Integration
If the Unity system you’ll be importing data into is integrated with Exchange 2007, you will need to ensure that any subscriber accounts that need to be migrated have AD user objects and Exchange mailboxes created in advance. In addition, you will also need to create the Subscribers on the new Unity system in advance of the import as well. Unity cannot create users/mailboxes in an Exchange 2007 integration so, if any Subscribers are dropped during the import process (i.e., they are not mapped to one of the new Subscriber accounts) and those users are owners of other objects on the system (e.g., Call Handlers) then you’ll have to manually resolve all the conflicts that result. So, this is a perfect example of when to use the Data Viewer.
Final Thoughts
In lab testing, I found that the COBRAS tools work as advertised and, depending on the scenario, are quite useful. There are still some things you’ll need to manually configure and/or tweak in order to complete any given migration but COBRAS can get a lot of data and speed things up. There is an in-depth help guide and a series of videos that walk thru the COBRAS tools available online. Be sure to check out Cisco Unity Tools Depot for more information.