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Hi,
Ok. So I have some questions and have had problems relating to the =
restore of OSes. I have heard alot of input and wanted to summarize so =
that I can get further suggestions and also make some comments.
We have just had our first restore need for an entire OS, and have found =
a number of methods either are not workable or are just plain a pain. =
Or, perhaps we are not approaching this correctly. Commentary welcome. =
;)
While it would be nice to purchase Bare Metal Recovery, it costs $1000 =
per system and is not sold except with a $10k consultancy fee. While =
that might be complete boot-able recovery, just installing the OS and =
running some bootblocks writing utility (installboot/lilo) should =
suffice for the majority of desktop users. Perhaps the backup software =
(Netbackup Datacenter) will do this already. The Bare Metal does sound =
like something worth doing for servers that need to be back up in =
minutes, if possible. But the idea of spending $1k per system out in the =
lab community here (~5000 poeple), when each person gets their own =
funding and funding is tight, is simply a non-starter. Yet the community =
is definately asking about how to do this.=20
Anyway, $1k is way too steep a price for us to ask our customers to pay, =
since many are really there only temporarily. I think the idea is that =
while alot of folks will purchase this solution for their servers and =
true DR needs, desktop users just won't pay that much.=20
For example, there is a UNIX group here, which we are affiliated with =
internally. They have customers that are looking for some type of =
solution. One just had a very frustrating time with Veritas Netbackup =
(he was the first to even try that here) to try to restore an OS to a =
Linux box. I actually takes some interesting comments from his emails =
and have highlighted them below.
So, as far as I can see there are the following alternatives for OS =
installs:
1) Backup up the OS disk in raw partition mode by adding the raw device =
name to the includes_list. The question becomes, is the 'unmounted' part =
necessary? (I mean, with ufsdump, and just plain dump in UNIX, it is =
highly recommended that you do not alter your system or have anything =
runnign when backups are being done. Yet, ufsdump does work quite well =
for a restore of the OS even then, but does truncate some files.) Simply =
put, if backups in raw partition mode happen when folk are not using =
their systems will it just truncate some files (like /var/adm/messages)? =
Can the raw partition backup function like this?
2) Do a ufsdump/dump of a system disk to a file on a large system and =
then back up that file.
3) Restore the OS from a CD or other media, install the bp client stuff, =
and then restore on top of this everything captured. Now the question =
is, what about ld.so? When that file is overwritten the system _will_ =
crash, since almost everything uses ld.so. And, since there is no =
networking by default in single user mode, this method seems fraught =
with potential problems.
Here is a UNIX gruy trying to recover that Linux box:
Friday late afternoon:
I'm quite perplexed by the errors from the restore tool. You can have a
look at bplog.rest.* in /root.
.001 is from the 5/31 incremental -- ignore
.002 is from the true image restore -- most things "were not in the true
image" and were ignored.
Starting at .003, you'll see a bunch of "xyz was not restored";
basically somewhere there was a "Write interrupted by SIGPIPE" and
that's all she wrote.
I ran it again, same problem (.004).
The errors were with /usr (some parts of /usr made it, some didn't). So
I ran only /usr restore (.005). Still about 20000 files failed.
Finally, I broke down the subdirectories that failed (about 9 of them)
and ran those again (.006). I didn't get any SIGPIPE or "was not
restored" messages, but the final message says:
18:04:39 (71047.xxx) INF - Status =3D the restore failed to recover the
requested files.
So I'm not sure what happened here.
=20
4) Restore to another area and copy the restored files back to the =
original system. So, potentially have a restore machine with a huge =
amount of disk space that you restore everything to. Then you copy that =
to the disk that is mounted somewhere after first being booted with an =
OS with theVeritas Netbackup client.
Monday:
The restore to tortoise does not work. There are apparently still some =
files
missing in usr as X fails to start up (it does really weird things and =
hangs).
Is it possible to have you restore /usr from the XX restore somewhere =
else and
see (a) if it has errors restoring like I did (See email sunday) and if =
it
does not, (b) I can then copy it to tortoise /usr and try that?
This method appeared to get most everything, but here is what he says =
last:
I'm trying to make the restored system work but have the following =
problems
with links and devices:
1) absolute symlinks are relative to the path on servback =
(/opt/logs/Restored)
- this is easy enough to fix with a find/perl script. However, for =
future
reference, the answer to the symlink question should be no (when =
initiating
the restore).
2) all hard links are missing. I'm not sure if I can recover from this. =
There
is a question when initiating the restore about hard links that I'm not =
sure
how to answer. I left it the default yes. The hard links are missing =
from my
restored /sbin as well as the stuff on servback. I should be able to =
recover
hard links that are made by rpms by simply reinstalling the rpm. =
However, for
apps not installed with rpm that may use hard links, we could be =
hosed...
3) devices seem to have the wrong group membership. don't know why that =
is the
case.
I'll keep you posted. This is something, however, that we need to =
figure out;
especially #2.
=20
So, is this the method that are recommeded for an OS install after all? =
And, is using the 'bp' and 'bpadm' utilities enough to assure that the =
symlinks are correct? He was using the 'bp' utility on the UNIX client, =
so I am just not sure. One is not correct.
> >did anyone successfully restore OS? I had hard time restore hard =
links. I
> >want to restore to an alternative client. but, no matter whether =
'rename
> >hard links'is checked or not, hard links were not restored properly. =
So I
> >was not able to boot from restored OS. Did I miss something?
>=20
> Although it's a bit late, here goes.
>=20
> The "not restauration" of hard linked files is actually caused by a =
bug in the java
> gui. It is not passing the ticked option about hardlinks to bprestore. =
>=20
> There is a patch for this from veritas. Don't know the number of the =
patch, but search=20
> for java, gui and hardlink. Workaround is to use Motif GUI or =
commandline.=20
So, is this the recommended way?
Also, why the changed ownerships and permissions this guy had?
Thoughts?
Thanks!
Chris
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Hi,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Ok. So I have some questions and have =
had problems=20
relating to the restore of OSes. I have heard alot of input and wanted =
to=20
summarize so that I can get further suggestions and also make some=20
comments.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>We have just had our first restore need =
for an=20
entire OS, and have found a number of methods either are not workable or =
are=20
just plain a pain. Or, perhaps we are not approaching this correctly. =
Commentary=20
welcome. ;)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>While it would be nice to purchase Bare =
Metal=20
Recovery, it costs $1000 per system and is not sold except with a $10k=20
consultancy fee. While that might be complete boot-able recovery, just=20
installing the OS and running some bootblocks writing utility =
(installboot/lilo)=20
should suffice for the majority of desktop users. Perhaps the =
backup=20
software (Netbackup Datacenter) will do this already. The Bare Metal =
does sound=20
like something worth doing for servers that need to be back up in =
minutes, if=20
possible. But the idea of spending $1k per system out in the lab =
community here=20
(~5000 poeple), when each person gets their own funding and funding is =
tight, is=20
simply a non-starter. Yet the community is definately asking about how =
to do=20
this. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Anyway, $1k is way too steep a price =
for us to ask=20
our customers to pay, since many are really there only =
temporarily. I think=20
the idea is that while alot of folks will purchase this solution for =
their=20
servers and true DR needs, desktop users just won't pay that much. =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>For example, there is a UNIX group =
here, which we=20
are affiliated with internally. They have customers that are looking for =
some=20
type of solution. One just had a very frustrating time with Veritas =
Netbackup=20
(he was the first to even try that here) to try to restore an OS to a =
Linux box.=20
I actually takes some interesting comments from his emails and have =
highlighted=20
them below.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>So, as far as I can see there are the =
following=20
alternatives for OS installs:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>1) Backup up the OS disk in raw =
partition mode=20
by adding the raw device name to the includes_list. The question =
becomes, is the=20
'unmounted' part necessary? (I mean, with ufsdump, and just plain dump =
in UNIX,=20
it is highly recommended that you do not alter your system or have =
anything=20
runnign when backups are being done. Yet, ufsdump does work quite well =
for a=20
restore of the OS even then, but does truncate some files.) Simply put, =
if=20
backups in raw partition mode happen when folk are not using their =
systems will=20
it just truncate some files (like /var/adm/messages)? Can =
the raw=20
partition backup function like this?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>2) Do a ufsdump/dump of a system disk =
to a file on=20
a large system and then back up that file.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>3) Restore the OS from a CD or other =
media, install=20
the bp client stuff, and then restore on top of this everything =
captured. Now=20
the question is, what about ld.so? When that file is overwritten the =
system=20
_will_ crash, since almost everything uses ld.so. And, since there is no =
networking by default in single user mode, this method seems fraught =
with=20
potential problems.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Here is a UNIX gruy trying to recover =
that Linux=20
box:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><EM>Friday late =
afternoon:</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG>I'm quite perplexed by the =
errors from the=20
restore tool. You can have a<BR>look at bplog.rest.* in =
/root.<BR><BR>.001=20
is from the 5/31 incremental -- ignore<BR>.002 is from the true image =
restore --=20
most things "were not in the true<BR>image" and were =
ignored.<BR><BR>Starting at=20
.003, you'll see a bunch of "xyz was not restored";<BR>basically =
somewhere there=20
was a "Write interrupted by SIGPIPE" and<BR>that's all she =
wrote.<BR><BR>I ran=20
it again, same problem (.004).<BR><BR>The errors were with /usr (some =
parts of=20
/usr made it, some didn't). So<BR>I ran only /usr restore =
(.005). =20
Still about 20000 files failed.<BR><BR>Finally, I broke down the =
subdirectories=20
that failed (about 9 of them)<BR>and ran those again (.006). I =
didn't get=20
any SIGPIPE or "was not<BR>restored" messages, but the final message=20
says:<BR><BR>18:04:39 (71047.xxx) INF - Status =3D the restore failed to =
recover=20
the<BR>requested files.<BR><BR>So I'm not sure what happened=20
here.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2><STRONG><BR></STRONG> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>4) Restore to another area and copy the =
restored=20
files back to the original system. So, potentially have a restore =
machine with a=20
huge amount of disk space that you restore everything to. Then you =
copy=20
that to the disk that is mounted somewhere after first being booted with =
an OS=20
with theVeritas Netbackup client.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV><EM><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Monday:</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>The restore to tortoise does not work. There are =
apparently=20
still some files<BR>missing in usr as X fails to start up (it does =
really weird=20
things and hangs).<BR><BR>Is it possible to have you restore /usr from =
the XX=20
restore somewhere else and<BR>see (a) if it has errors restoring like I =
did (See=20
email sunday) and if it<BR>does not, (b) I can then copy it to tortoise =
/usr and=20
try that?<BR></STRONG><BR><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><EM>This method =
appeared to=20
get most everything, but here is what he says last:</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>I'm trying to make the restored system work but have the =
following=20
problems<BR>with links and devices:<BR><BR>1) absolute symlinks are =
relative to=20
the path on servback (/opt/logs/Restored)<BR>- this is easy enough to =
fix with a=20
find/perl script. However, for future<BR>reference, the answer to =
the=20
symlink question should be no (when initiating<BR>the =
restore).<BR><BR>2) all=20
hard links are missing. I'm not sure if I can recover from this.=20
There<BR>is a question when initiating the restore about hard links that =
I'm not=20
sure<BR>how to answer. I left it the default yes. The hard =
links are=20
missing from my<BR>restored /sbin as well as the stuff on =
servback. I=20
should be able to recover<BR>hard links that are made by rpms by simply=20
reinstalling the rpm. However, for<BR>apps not installed with rpm =
that may=20
use hard links, we could be hosed...<BR>3) devices seem to have the =
wrong group=20
membership. don't know why that is the<BR>case.<BR>I'll keep you =
posted. =20
This is something, however, that we need to figure out;<BR>especially=20
#2.</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><BR> </DIV></STRONG>
<DIV><EM>So, is this the method that are recommeded for an OS install =
after all?=20
And, is using the 'bp' and 'bpadm' utilities enough to assure that the =
symlinks=20
are correct? He was using the 'bp' utility on the UNIX client, so I am =
just not=20
sure. One is not correct.</EM></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>> >did anyone successfully =
restore OS? =20
I had hard time restore hard links. I<BR>> >want to restore =
to an=20
alternative client. but, no matter whether 'rename<BR>> =
>hard=20
links'is checked or not, hard links were not restored properly. So =
I<BR>> >was not able to boot from restored OS. Did I miss=20
something?<BR>> <BR>> Although it's a bit late, here goes.<BR>> =
<BR>> The "not restauration" of hard linked files is actually caused =
by a bug=20
in the java<BR>> gui. It is not passing the ticked option about =
hardlinks to=20
bprestore. <BR>> <BR>> There is a patch for this from veritas. =
Don't know=20
the number of the patch, but search <BR>> for java, gui and hardlink. =
Workaround is to use Motif GUI or commandline. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>So, is this the recommended=20
way?</DIV></FONT></FONT></DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Also, why the changed ownerships and =
permissions=20
this guy had?</FONT></DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Thoughts?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Thanks!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Chris</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
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