New in NIM 4.0

NIM 4.0 migrates the NIM VM operating system to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. This provides multiple changes under the hood to improve performance and enable the groundwork for future NIM feature updates. Although the NIM 3.x operating system has reached its end of life, it will continue to operate exactly as it has in the past. Please note, there will be no further security updates available to support prior versions of the NIM VM operating system.

Note

All future NIM updates will be released for versions 4.x and be incompatible with prior versions of NIM.

As in previous versions, the NIM VM will be made available in two formats:

To find out which VM host software will fit your needs, please visit their respective sites.

NIM VM Changes

A couple of changes have been made to the default NIM VM. These include:

  • Default IP address is configured to use DHCP

  • VM hard drive is now set to be expandable to 16G (up from 8G)

Migrating to NIM 4.0

The transition to NIM 4.0 will be a migration to a new VM instead of the typical software update. We have provided tools to help simplify this process and copy your current NIM database to NIM 4.0. After following the below steps you should be able to login to NIM 4.0 and continue working right where you left off.

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

Step 1: Download NIM 4.0

Download the appropriate NIM 4.0 OVA, VirtualBox or VMware, from the downloads section of the NIM Client Portal at https://client.nim-labs.com.

Note

The OVA for each host application comes pre-installed with the corresponding host tools.

Step 2: Import NIM 4.0

Import the downloaded OVA into the corresponding host application. For help on installing an OVA, please refer to the Virtual Appliance section of the documentation.

_images/ova_menu.png

Step 3: Start the NIM 4.0 VM and login with the default user credentials

  • username: nim

  • password: password

_images/nim_4_cli.png

For help logging into the VM command line, please refer to the Login Credentials section of the documentation.

Step 4: Configure a temporary IP address

To make sure everything is up and running before switching over to NIM 4.0, you should configure a temporary IP address. This address will be used to access NIM 4.0 during setup, but can be updated at completion to your existing NIM 3.x IP address so all users and connectors will continue to access NIM as normal.

Set the NIM 4.0 IP address by using the following command on the VM command line:

sudo ~/nim-setup-network

You will be asked to provide the following information:

  • IP Address - This should be a unique IP address on your network

  • Subnet Mask - Enter the subnet mask used for your network

  • Gateway - Enter the gateway IP address

  • DNS - Enter the IP address of the DNS used for your network

For additional information on configuring the VM network interface, please refer to the Networking section of the documentation.

Step 5: Connect Shared Folder & Mounted Servers

If you used Shared Folders or mounted servers on your original NIM VM, you will need to re-establish those connections on this new VM.

For Shared Folders, simply select the same folder paths used in the existing NIM installation.

_images/ova_folders.png

If there were servers mounted directly on the existing NIM installation using the /etc/fstab file, please copy those settings to the NIM 4.0 /etc/fstab file.

For more information on using Shared Folders or Mount Points, please see the Mounting Servers section of the documentation.

Step 6: Setup NIM Media Path

The NIM Media Path for the NIM 4.0 installation needs to point to the same location as the existing NIM installation. Use the nim-media-path script to set the path:

sudo ~/nim-media-path "/path/to/media"

To find the current path used for NIM media, enter the following command on the NIM VM command line:

ls -la /n/media

Example Result:

_images/media_path_ls.png

The path returned after the –> is the path that is currently used. Use this value from your NIM 3.0 VM to set the NIM 4.0 media path.

Step 7: Custom Changes

Now is a good time to copy over any custom changes you may have made to the NIM 3.0 VM including:

  • SSL certificates

  • Security settings ( nim-ssl )

  • Custom VM user/group accounts

  • Apache Custom User

  • Event Hooks

  • Reports

  • Create Folder Scripts

Step 8: Install NIM license files

In a web browser enter the temporary IP address you defined for NIM 4.0. This should bring you to the licensing page. You can use your existing license files (nim.lic and portal.nim) for NIM 4.0.

_images/nim_license_start.png

For more information on licensing NIM please refer to the Licensing section of the documentation.

Note

If you need new license files sent to you please contact support@nim-labs.com

Step 9: Log in to NIM 4.0

Log in with the default user credentials to verify NIM 4.0 is active and accessible.

  • username: nim

  • password: password

_images/nim_login.png

Once logged in, goto the HELP/Licensing menu and verify the version is 4.0.x

After verifying the version, logout of NIM.

Step 10: Update existing NIM to 3.0.27

If your existing NIM VM is not current, please update to version 3.0.27. This will ensure that your database is up to date and will provide the export tools needed to migrate your data.

For information on updating NIM please see the Updates section of the documentation or watch the NIM Updates video located here: https://nim-labs.com/videos

Step 11: Export the NIM 3.0.27 database from NIM 3.0

Login to your existing NIM 3.0.27 VM command line and enter the following command:

sudo ~/nim-db-export "/home/nim/database-backups"

This will create a file in “/home/nim/database-backups” of your existing NIM 3.0.27 database. If you wish, you can change the export path to a more convenient location.

The created file will be named nim_db_export.date.sql where date will be the current date in YYMMDD format.

Step 12: Copy the exported .sql file to the NIM 4.0 VM

There are several options on how to copy this file over to the new NIM 4.0 VM. Use the method that works best for you.

  • SFTP - Use an SFTP application such as Transmit on OSX or FileZilla on Windows to connect to the NIM 3.0.27 VM and download the nim_db_export.date.sql file to your local computer. Then use the SFTP application to connect to the NIM 4.0 VM and upload the file.

  • Shared Server - Now that your project servers are accessible on both VMs, you can copy the export directly from it’s location to a shared location on the server using the command:

    cp "/path/to/nim_db_export.date.sql" "/target/path/on/server"
    

    Replace the “/target/path/on/server” with a destination on the shared server that is accessible by the NIM 4.0 VM.

    Now you can either copy the export local to the 4.0 VM or use this shared location to import the database in the next step.

Step 13: Import the NIM 3.0.27 database on NIM 4.0

Login to the new NIM 4.0 VM command line and enter the following command replacing the path with the actual path to the exported sql file:

sudo ~/nim-db-import "/path/to/nim_db_export.date.sql"

Note

This may take a while depending on the size of your database. In testing, a large database of around 150MB took approximately 10 minutes to import. Your results may vary.

Step 14: Log in to NIM 4.0

At this point NIM has been updated with your existing database and you should be able to login with your normal user credentials.

Login and verify the following:

  • All data looks correct

  • Icons and review media are accessible

  • You are able to upload review media and/or icons

  • You are able to bring a job online

If any of these items are not functioning as expected, please review your steps and confirm that all folder permissions are correct.

Step 15: Update IP Address

Now that everything is copied over and working properly, set the NIM 4.0 IP address to that of your current NIM VM.

Note

Be sure to power down the NIM 3.0 VM or change the NIM 3.0 IP address prior to updating the NIM 4.0 IP as you will receive a network conflict if two VMs are on with the same address.

As in Step 4, set the NIM 4.0 IP address by using the following command on the VM command line:

sudo ~/nim-setup-network

Complete

Your NIM 4.0 VM is ready for production!

Access the new VM at the address you would normally login.

Note

Please be sure to update your NIM connectors to the latest version!

If you have questions regarding the VM migration, please do not hesitate to contact support@nim-labs.com.