Ignite image or iso on Windows

[Timothy P. Jackson]

I am wondering if it is possible to create an Ignite image or ISO that can reside on a windows server and be installed through the MP/ILO. This would be similar to installing a new HP-UX OS from the MP/ILO where the ISO's reside on the windows server that i am using to access the MP/ILO.

OS:  HP-UX 11.31

Server: rx2800

In the past I have created ignite tapes but now some of my servers do not have tape drives on them.

Thanks

Tim Jackson

[Bill Hassell]

Ignite can create small ISO images not to exceed 8 GB (double layer DVD). But each client will have to have a DVD player attached for a restore/recovery. And you'll need to create an Ignite network server with enough disk space to store twice the space used by the archive. For example, client 1 uses 7 GB of space in vg00. To create the ISO, you'll another 7 GB to hold the ISO. You run a special script to create the ISO image. Then you'll need to copy the ISO file to a PC to burn the DVD. (HP-UX has no built-in tools to burn a double layer DVD).

So if any of your clients use more than 8 GB in vg00, ISO images are not an option.

Yes, it is possible to store HP-UX Ignite archives on other systems like Linux or Windows. Here are the major steps:

IGNITE SERVER:

Pick one of your HP-UX servers to act as the Ignite server.
The average size for an 11.31 vg00 is about 8-10 GB but this must be verified for each client.
If you have 10 servers, this means 80-100 GB for a single backup.
But a single backup leaves no option to go back to an earlier backup or fallback for a bad file. So I would allocate at least 200 GB for archive directories.

ARCHIVE SERVER:

Ignite backup and recovery requires NFS (not a Windows share), so you'll need to add NFS to your Windows box. Then configure the storage that you need and use NFS to export the storage to each of the clients. You'll need to test the NFS export before proceeding. Ignite will create a directory for each client.

CLIENTS:

Each client must be able to mount the Windows directory, then you can run the make_net_recovery command using the -a option to specify the archive server (Windows) and exported mount point. 

Once all this is working, you can schedule Ignite backups regularly on each client. The default for make_net_recovery is to keep 2 backups for each client. This can be adjusted with the -n option.

This is a 3-way communication path and restoring a client will require a rehearsal. You don't want to test this when you must recover a system.

OR:

Add external storage to your Ignite server and perform all your backups with the Ignite server.

[Bill Hassell]

And here's an intriguing alternative which allows individual machines to perform a local Ignite backup and directing the archive files to any NFS server or even an ftp server:

http://wiki-ux.info/wiki/How_to_create_and_restore_network_Ignite-UX_backups_without_a_dedicated_server

 Recovery is started with a boot helper CD.