General ignite usage question

[Michael T Sperl]

Hello all,

I'm looking to get some experience with Ignite using my test system (it's a test system right?).

What I wanted to do was back up the current OS configuration using Ignite onto tape. Patch it with the newest bundle. Then re-apply the Ignite backup to see if I can get it to pre-patch version. If so then re-patch with the bundle and create a new Ignite tape backup of the patched OS for future recovery.

I wanted to to this so I could get experience with both the creation of Ignite tapes and the use of Ignite tapes in recovery. Side benefit is I get to go through the patch procedure a couple of times further familiarizing myself with it.

Now reading through the documentation it seems like it may not be such a good idea to do this. I'm still digging through and trying to familiarize myself with it but I thought I'd see what others thought of this.

Also my Oracle DB admin is worried about having to re-install oracle on the test machine if I do the Ignite recovery but it's on a seperate Volume Group (vg01 vs the OS on vg00). As I read it correctly it should not be touched as long as I don't backup anything on the vg01 group.

Any thoughts?

Michael

[Pete Randall · Accepted solution]

Michael,

It shouldn't be any problem. Just make sure that you capture the entirety of vg00 when you back up:

make_tape_recovery -a /dev/rmt/_mn -I -v -x inc_entire=vg00

Then, after you reload, if the device files for vg01 are not there (they should be), recreate them, then use vgimport to reconnect vg01. Simple.


Pete

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom Michael,

Some thoughts.

Ignite can't back up open/hot oracle data.

You use make_tape_recovery to create an Ignite backup to tape prior to and after patching. Include any volume groups that include oracle binaries. Though oracle will tell you its not supported, I've replicated entire systems with complex oracle/oracle app server configurations with no trouble at all.

When you restore, you boot off the Ignite tape and if its only vg00, it will only restore vg00. So long as vg00 included volume group information on oracle which seems to be installed in vg01, you should be fine.

I've done that restore at least a dozen times in test, and twice in production. vg01 and other volume groups were not touched.

Note, if you keep oracle binaries and data in different volume groups it might be useful to make special backups of the oracle binaries. They are quite useful when oracle patches mess things up.

I used special ignite and fbackup to handle that prior to every oracle upgrade.

You dba need not worry. Properly used, ignite is like magic to them.

SEP

[Gary L. Paveza, Jr.]

Michael,

I've used ignite several times to move my vg00 to new disks. Piece of cake.

I would recommend making two tapes and using separate tape drives if at all possible (just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't after me).

I use the command: make_tape_recovery -A -I -v

Then it's a quick boot from tape and lay the bits down again. All volume groups other than vg00 remain exactly as is.

You can also take the time to resize any filesystems within vg00. You don't get many opportunities for that.

[Michael T Sperl]

Thanks all for the helpful advice.

I think the documentation for Ignite makes it seem a little more imposing than it really is.

I've modified the proccess a little after talking with the person responsible for the DB backups (same person as the DBA).

What we're planning on doing now is to:

1) Back up to tape via Ignite vg00 (basic OS files) only.

2) Back up to tape via Ignite vg00 and the logical volume/file system that the Oracle binaries are. Databases are in seperate Logical Volume but same Volume Group

3) Patch System

4) Recover from Tape the intial backup (just vg00/OS). Verify that the Oracle and assorted programs installed to vg01 still work. If not reconnect the OS to vg01 (assuming thats the problem).

5) Recover from tape (second tape made consiting of vg00 and program binaries on vg01). I'm assuming at this point I will lose my databases as they are part of vg01 but were not backed up.

6) Recover the databases from the full backups created by an external backup program (Galaxy) and verify that we can hook Oracle backup to them.

7) If everything goes well I will repatch the system and then create a new Ignite backup of the patched system.

Again thanks for all the help (moral support) and I look forward to attempting this. It seems overly complicated and most likely is but all of us here could really use the practice with the system. If anything did happen we would be lost as what to do.

I will close this topic after we're done and I post how it all went.

Michael

[Michael T Sperl]

Okay all thank you for your help. I got the back up done and was going to do all the steps as I listed but discretion got the better part of valor.

While our test machine is that a test machine it is also the only box our developers do their main development work on and If I were to blow it then It would be a day or two of lost work for them.

I did the Ignite back up of just the vg00 system but never did a recovery from tape. We'll have to wait till we have a real world chance I guess.

Again thanks for the help and moral support I'm going to close this question now.

Thanks,
Michael Sperl

[Michael T Sperl]

Actin done lots of help from the forum members