topic Re: Ignite for DR in Operating System - HP-UX

Ignite for DR

Sushil Srivastava — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:27:00 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Please help to setup Disaster Recovery for my production.

Server Model: Rx6600, Rx2620, Rx7640
Server are not having scsii card where I can attached the Tape Drives to take Ignite Backup.

The DR setup would be in different location and the Ignite Server will not be accessible to all the Servers (From Production and From DR). So we can not have Ignite Server.

All Serves are having DVD rw.

So please let me know how I can have the image (ignite Image) of my production server to my DR server? So that at any point of time I can activate my DR.

Please let me know if you required some more info….

If I take the Ignite on CD will it only the ISO image or it would be full vg00 backup and we will be the procedure to restore that.

Re: Ignite for DR

Tim Nelson — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:54:43 GMT

Chapter 12 of the Ignite admin guide.

http://www.docs.hp.com/en/5992-4731/ch12s03.html

Re: Ignite for DR

Doug O'Leary — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:17:01 GMT

Hey;

Just because the DR site won't have access to *your* ignite server doesn't mean you can't have one. It's a simple matter really:

1. Configure one system to be an ignite server
2. Restore the make_net_recovery images to that server.
3. Ignite/clone the systems using the DR ignite server.
4. Move the s/w and images to one of the systems you've already recovered.
5. Use the relocated images to ignite/clone the last HP system (the one that was the DR ignite server).

I've set up this process at my current client and it's worked through several iterations of DR exercises.

Doug O'Leary

Re: Ignite for DR

Suraj K Sankari — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:18:48 GMT

Hi Doug O'Leary,

If you don't mind can you please elaborate the things which you posted. actually I am not able to understand what you are trying to saying.
I think as per Mr. Sushil's question he wants to know is there any option to take CD or DVD image of Ignite.

Mr. Sushil I heard that there is a way to take Ignite image into DVD.

Suraj

Re: Ignite for DR

Sushil Srivastava — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 09:01:20 GMT

I help me to get the steps.

Re: Ignite for DR

Doug O'Leary — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:40:53 GMT

Hey;

My contention is with this statement:

>>The DR setup would be in different location and the Ignite Server will not be accessible to all the Servers

While true, it is simplicity itself to set up a DR ignite server, restore make_net_recovery images to that, then use the DR ignite server to clone the systems that you need to rebuild.

Using this process is much faster, much easier, and much more repeatable than is the process for creating DVDs of the recovery images - a process that doesn't seem to be well documented.

The process I outlined does assume you are running periodic make_net_recoveries and that those images will be on the tapes that are available at the DR site.

To reiterate, here is the production environment:

1. ~ 75 HP systems running monthly make_net_recoveries to our ignite server.

2. The ignite server is backed up daily.

Here is the DR process at a high level:

1. The client has a contract with sungard which includes an ignite server. While optimal, this is not a requirement.

2. Load the ignite s/w either from tape or download it from software.hp.com

3. Configure the s/w to include any local idiosyncracies. For instance, we use /ignite as our depot location instead of /var/opt/ignite.

4. Restore the make_net_recovery images to the DR ignite server.

5. Ignite/clone the DR systems as you normally would to recover systems.

It literally takes 45 minutes to clone a system once everything's set up. The process above uses all standard utilities and/or s/w. The process that I've seen for creating DVDs from the make_net_recovery image didn't seem very easy or reproducible to me. The process I outlined doesn't rely on anything that is likely to change or become unsupportable in future releases of the OS or the ignite s/w.

HTH;

Doug O'Leary