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Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

 
brian_31
Super Advisor

Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

I have a rp7410 running 11.11 and we are going to update to 11.23. But here is what i want. I want the primary disk (c0t6d0) to be updated and the current mirror and alt disk c0t5d0 to stay on 11.11 incase we have to reboot thru that disk. How do i acheive this? i hope just a plain lvreducing the mirror will not do the job. Could anyone guide me with the steps please?

Thanks

Brian
10 REPLIES 10
Patrick Wallek
Honored Contributor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

Pull disk c0t5d0 out of the system. Set it aside.

Now install 11.23 on c0t6d0. If all is OK, insert c0t5d0 again and mirror your drives.

You do NOT want to lvreduce c0t5d0 out of the mirror as that will wipe out your LVs and render the disk useless for your purposes.

brian_31
Super Advisor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

so you mean like a pvchange -a N the c0t5d0?

Brian
Patrick Wallek
Honored Contributor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

That could work. I really mean completely remove the drive from the server. By doing that you will be absolutely sure that the 11.23 installation process will NOT do anything to the drive and will not accidentally overwrite something.
brian_31
Super Advisor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

I was under the impression that someone must have tried this1

Brain.
Michal Kapalka (mikap)
Honored Contributor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

hi brian,

you should follow the procedure / advice from Patrick.

mikap
Nath_3
Frequent Advisor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

Hi Patrick,

One QQ by just making lvsplit the vols and separating the vgoo. can't we install the OS on disk one and if every thing is good we can mirror it later ? Instead of bringing the second hard disk down.

since "vgsplit" is only available for HP-UX 11iv3 (11.31), isn't it.

thanks
Ravi

Patrick Wallek
Honored Contributor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

I would not do an lvsplit. The reason is that your LV names on one of the disks will now have a 'b' appended to the end. As a result if you try to boot from that disk, it will likely fail.

If you truly want to make sure all your 11.11 data, or whatever OS version on an old disk, is safe, then the best way is to buy a couple of new disks and use those for the new operating system (assuming you aren't actually upgrading via update-ux). Then, if you need to go back to the old version, you can just pop the new disks out, put the old ones in, and boot.

Nath_3
Frequent Advisor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

Hi Patrick,

I think we can still be able to bring up the b vols from by going on to the init mode and changing the lvs and booting up with the second disk? I remember doing this scenario while i was doing hp patching. (i don't remember the procedure now).

Will this work?

Also,

there are various other ways to backup the OS.
1. Ignite backup
2. You method of splitting it an pulling the drive.

thanks
Ravi
Patrick Wallek
Honored Contributor

Re: Need to have 2 boot disks on different version.

Sure, that would work. But it is more than I would like to have to think about if I just had an upgrade/new install that didn't work.

Yes, an Ignite/UX backup is certainly a viable option as well.