Running Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2, SEPM 11.6a and later using SQL Database... 3 SEPM Servers, 1 DB
Upgrading from 11.6a to 11.7, then from 11.7 to 11.7 MR3
This has to be a 2 step upgrade. 11.6a CANNOT go directly to 11.7 MR3
I brought all servers to 11.7 first and let run for a while (1 month really), then upgraded to 11.7 MR 3
On both occasions upgrading main SEPM with DB on same server - Upgrade went flawlessly.
Upgrading second and third servers fails.
When going thru the install, everything looks fine until it tries to access DB.
Fails to access DB, and gives a fail message but overall success
SEMSRV service does not start indicating problem.
Problem may lie in Wizard not recognizing/re-connecting to SQL server on other machine. I don't know. I just worked around this.
Making sure SEMSRV service stopped on other consoles, re-ran SEPM install.
SEPM recognizes it was already run, and goes into REPAIR/UnInstall Mode.
Chose Repair, let it finish, and then your are prompted for a server reconfiguration wizard where you have to specify DB server and credentials again.
After re-installing on both servers, and restarting for good measure everything came back fine.
Total time to upgrade, < 3 hours.
Hope this helps anyone else who might be stumbling.
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Always a good idea to backup DB and follow Symantec Best Practices regarding diaster recovery
An hour spent in preparation is always preferable to a day spent in recovery!