Follow these steps to create a MOVEit Transfer web farm.

Task 1: Install MOVEit Transfer on node 1 (primary application node)

  1. Setup/install the primary node. —This will be node 1 of the web farm, and the web farm will take its initial settings from this node.
    • If the MOVEit Transfer database has not been migrated to the web farm database server, do this now.
    • If you were running a local instance of MySQL and are moving to SQL Server, you can use the MOVEit Transfer SQL Server Conversion Assistant to help migrate a local MySQL database to a remote SQL Server database server. For more information, see knowledge base article on converting MOVEit Transfer to SQL Server.
      Note: A utilities file (in .zip format) contains the Web Farm Conversion Assistant utility (MOVEit-Transfer-AddToFarm.exe). For default installations, you can find this file in the install directory for MOVEit Transfer in a folder named Utilities. (For example: C:\Program Files\MOVEit\Utilities).
  2. Perform a full backup of the first MOVEit Transfer server to assist with recovery if necessary later.

Task 2: Install MOVEit Transfer on remaining application nodes

Install the MOVEit Transfer server software on the remaining application nodes. (You will include these in the Web Farm later)

  1. Copy and run the MOVEit Transfer installer on each remaining application node at this time.
  2. When you reach the Database Name prompt, put in a placeholder value you will replace later. For example, MyTempDb001.
    Note: During the installation, change the Database name. You will see this set as: moveittransfer. You must change the database name for each instance you create.
  3. Repeat this process on the other application nodes. Order does not matter.

Task 3: Run MOVEit Transfer Web Farm Conversion Assistant on node 1 (primary application node)

Figure 1. Web Farm Conversion Assistant (MOVEit-Transfer-AddToFarm.exe)
Note: It is best practice to include the server name when you enter the username associated with the shared folder, here is the expected syntax: <Server-name>\<username>. For example, FileNode01\webfarmuser. Otherwise, MOVEit Transfer services on the current node will be unable to mount the fileshare.
  1. On the primary MOVEit Transfer node, run the MOVEit DMZ Webfarm Conversion Assistant (MOVEit-Transfer-AddToFarm.exe).
  2. Select Create new web farm to have the utility create a new web farm based on this MOVEit Transfer server. Click Next.
  3. Enter (or confirm) database settings. The utility will attempt to populate the fields with the current database settings of the DMZ server. You must use a Microsoft SQL Server database. Click Next.
  4. Enter fileshare settings:
    • The full UNC path to the web farm file share.

      For example:

      \\myfileshare-host-name\transfershare001\

    • The user and password needed to access the web farm fileshare.

      For the user name string, use the syntax <Server-name>\<username>.

      For example:

      FileNode01\webfarmuser

    • If the MOVEit Transfer files directory content has not already been copied to the web farm fileshare, select the checkbox to copy the files. Click Next.
      Note: UNC-named fileshares are used for common files shared among nodes of the same web farm (for example, logs, certificates, licenses). They also include MOVEit Transfer root filesystem stores unless your root file store is contained in Azure Storage Blobs. For more information, see the topic titled System Internals.
  5. Select the Save web farm settings file checkbox and enter a path for the settings file. Click Next.
  6. Confirm the settings, or fix any displayed problems. Click Next.

    The conversion assistant does the following

    • Stops the MOVEit Transfer services
    • Creates and initializes the web farm settings
    • Copies the MOVEit Transfer server registry settings, custom logo, color scheme, and template files, and SSL certificates to the auditing mechanism
    • Copies the files directory contents to the files share if necessary
    • Configures the MOVEit Transfer High Availability server for web farm operation
    • Restarts the MOVEit Transfer services
      Tip: If errors occur, see the log file indicated on the final screen of the utility.

Note: If you chose to save the web farm settings to a file, copy that file to the other nodes that will be added and to a safe location internally for storage.

Task 4: Run MOVEit Transfer Web Farm Conversion Assistant on remaining application nodes

  1. Select Add to existing webfarm to have the utility add the node to the web farm created above. If the previously saved settings file is available, select Load settings from INI file and enter the location of the file. Click Next.
  2. Enter database and fileshare settings, if necessary. This step is skipped if a valid settings file was loaded in the previous Step.
  3. Confirm the displayed settings, or fix any displayed problems. If you used placeholder values for the DB when you installed the application nodes, change those now.
    Note: If you used placeholder database name values when you ran the MOVEit Transfer installer (MyTempDb001, for example), change those now to use the correct database name (moveittransfer, for example). If you forget, you can also do this later using the MOVEit Transfer Config Utility that runs on each server node.

Click Next to add the node to the existing web farm.

The conversion assistant does the following:

  • Stops the MOVEit Transfer services.
  • Configures the server to use the existing web farm settings.
  • Loads the registry settings, custom logo, color scheme, and template files, and SSL certificates stored during the web farm creation.
  • Configures the MOVEit Transfer High Availability server for web farm operation.
  • Restarts the MOVEit Transfer services.
Tip: If errors occur, see the log file indicated on the final screen of the utility.

Task 5: Test each application node

Run the MOVEit Transfer Check utility on each node. All nodes are now using the user accounts from the first node.