not so long ago i developed a bmr solution for linux. I did the following
Dow loaded the superrescue cd ( a redhat 7.2 live cd). Then customized
this cd (deinstalled stuff you don't need and install stuff you do need)
In my case i installed the tsm client and webmin. Recompiled the kernel
to include some network drivers/scsi we have in our servers. Then
recompile the cd and burn it. (instructions do come with the cd)
We have already scripts running on the clients which collect system info
sand send this to a central email address. This includes partitioning
information.
When a machine dies (or for testing)
1 -  grab another piece of hardware, the more equal the better but it is
ok to have something different in most cases depending on your situation
2 - grab the system info from the to be restored machine
3 - boot the new hardware from the rescue cd
4 - recreate partitions etc
5 - restore your data from tsm (you have the client installed on the
rescue cd) you only have to change the nodename in the dsm.sys file .You
can use the data from the standard backup (no image backup needed)
6 - adjust some stuff in the config files if other hardware (like scsi
to ide )
7 - reinstall lilo or grub (using chroot)
8 - make some dirs (initrd and proc)
9 - reboot

i tested it and it works pretty good for redhat and suse.(on software
and hardware raid)  To rebuild a machine it takes approx 30 min human
intervention, the data restore time will vary ofcourse. You will  need
good understanding of the linux os. (esp. what it is doing when booting)

have fun
mvg

Otto Schakenbos
PC-Support

TEL: +49-7151/502 8468
FAX: +49-7151/502 8489
MOBILE: +49-172/7102715
E-MAIL: otto.schakenbos AT teleflex DOT com

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71332 Waiblingen
GERMANY




Bill Boyer wrote:

Anyone care to share any experiences on doing Linux BMR?

I've read through the redbook "Disaster Recovery Strategies using TSM" as
well as the Linux-Complete-Backup-and-Recovery-Howto. I have AIX background,
and trying to equate things...is the stage-1 backup where you tar the system
like doing the mksysb on AIX? Except it's not bootable. How often would you
need to do this stage-1 backup? If it's not as often as my incremental
backups with TSM, then the restore with TSM would then have to include the
system files to pick up any changes....right?

Bill Boyer
"Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield." - ??