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 Doubts about migrating information between IBM i versions

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Miguel Peralta's profile image
Miguel Peralta posted Sun January 11, 2026 08:58 PM

Hello, I have several questions, summarized in one. I have a partition with IBM i 7.4 TR6 and I'm going to migrate to another partition with IBM i 7.5 TR6. Due to time constraints, I can't upgrade it in the traditional way. How do I migrate the user data without risking corrupting the IBM i 7.5 TR6 operating system? I know I should omit the Q* libraries when restoring, but what else do I need to be careful about? How do I restore the files to the IFS? Thanks.

Satid S's profile image
Satid S posted Mon January 12, 2026 01:32 AM  Best Answer

Assuming you have finished installing IBM i 7.5, Uuse instruction provided in this URL starting at step 28 onwards:  Restoring previous release user data to a new system at https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.5.0?topic=system-restoring-previous-release-user-data-new.

>>>>  How do I migrate the user data without risking corrupting the IBM i 7.5 TR6 operating system? I know I should omit the Q* libraries when restoring, but what else do I need to be careful about? <<<<

The key factor is that when you run RSTLIB command, ALWAYS specific OPTION(*NEW) which prevents old-relese Q objects on tape from replacing those of the new release in the target system.   

>>>> How do I restore the files to the IFS? <<<<

RST DEV('/QSYS.LIB/media-device-name.DEVD') OBJ(('/*') ('/QSYS.LIB' *OMIT) ('/QDLS' *OMIT)) ALWOBJDIF(*ALL) OPTION(*NEW) 

     

Robert Berendt's profile image
Robert Berendt IBM Champion posted Mon January 12, 2026 07:29 AM

I keep track of upgrade times.  After the save beforehand was done, all the way through the upgrade, PTFs applied and system brought back down to restricted to do an after save was between 1.5 to 2 hours.  And that was at a leisurely pace.

YMMV based on hardware.  This was a 7.5 to 7.6 upgrade on a Power 10 9105-41B using a FS7300 SAN with NVMe drives.

Upgrade image catalogs and the pre upgrade prepare, and the ptf image catalogs were all readied beforehand.

I keep very extensive notes.

Aaron Brown's profile image
Aaron Brown posted Tue January 13, 2026 08:50 AM

One note that I would ask - is the 7.5 partition fully installed, with all of the licensed products already installed?  I would point you to this IBM link for migrations between versions, but it might not be applicable to what you are really trying to perform.  So, read through this with caution and understanding that this is based on a release to release migration between systems/partitions that are on different OS levels.  However, if you do not need to restore the entire system - it might add confusion.  

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/i/7.5.0?topic=pm-preparing-migration-from-i-model-that-does-not-support-i-75

If you run using the method above, you should install the LPPs at the newer version again once you have completed.  If the new 7.5 TR6 partition is already a running and functioning partition - then you need to consider how to merge the two systems (which might be simper).

Along with what Satid has mentioned, I usually caution about these items as well (I am assuming you are performing a full system migration, and not just restoring specific libraries/folders/directories):

  • IBM Job Scheduler entries will not restore.  IBM states to input those again from scratch, but you can restore the QDFTJOBSCD object (while restricted).  Keep in mind, this clears all the job history when restored to another system.
  • Take care to make sure your audit journal receivers restore, especially if you leave them in QSYS normally on the source system.
  • Restore your output queues directly from the QUSRSYS library, as the typical RSTLIB *NONSYS will skip over those.
  • Capture a RTVSYSINF on the source system, and perform a PRTSYSINF as well on the source - for comparison afterward.  

I understand the time constraint concern, but I also try perform the upgrade on the source system first.  It just lets the RESTORE procedures work much easier.  (Or, if the new system supports 7.4 - I would restore that level, and then perform the OS upgrade.)  This is my preference in general, as I typically find it has fewer worries for my migration.

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