Ignite backup?

[Andy Cole_1]

May I know what is ignite backup and what does it do? I only knows that it lets you make a bootable backup of your system. If the root file system really gets hosed, you still have a prayer if you have a recent Ignite backup tape. So does it means that it also backup the whole system like normal backup does, only thing difference is that it make a bootable backup?

p.S. This thread has been moved from HP-UX > Databases to HP-UX > ignite. - Hp forum Moderator

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Andy

An ignite backup by default backs up your system files and is bootable.

You can use it to either rebuild the system completly, clone another system or recover particular files.

Paula

[Pete Randall]

Andy,

You can backup other Volume Groups besides VG00 with Ignite. However, the better strategy is to rely on a standard backup package like fbackup or OmniBack for your data VG's and just use Ignite for your root volume. The recovery process is then to ignite the system by booting the tape, recovering VG00, and then either using vgimport to restablish your other VG's, or restoring the data on the other VG's, if necessary.

Pete

[Marco Santerre]

Ignite backup as you said is exactly that, it allows you to recover your system if your system gets hosed. It is a copy of your most important files to get a system up and running. You can extend that backup to actually take a whole backup of vg00, but that's about it. So , no you cannot take a backup of your whole system. You could, however, if your database, or application data happens to be on vg00, recover that information from an Ignite tape. But in this case, don't forget that Ignite can run while everything is up and running therefore, unless you put your database in "hot backup" mode before the Ignite starts, your base will be tougher to recover.

[T G Manikandan]

Yes,you are right!

Using a ignite backup you can re-build as system as
when during the time when the tape was re-createdi.e the system recovery time is very less and the OS and the configuration files are recovered as such.

[eran maor]

Hi

the meaning of ignite backup is to do backup all the system file system and not for backing all the info that you have in the system .

you command is : make_tape_recovery
#make_tape_recovery -A -x inc_entire=vg00 -I -v -a

you can incluse other vgs but it is not recommend .

backup your system and backup the rest the info with omniback or fbackup

[Leif Halvarsson_2]

Hi,
The real advantage with Ignite you get when using an Ignite server. Whith this you can backup and recover uour system from the network whitout any tapes. And if your systems has a service processor you can do all this from remote.

[Pete Randall]

Marco,

You need to check into the newer versions of Ignite. Their are options to include any VG you want.

Pete

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Andy:

Yes, Ignite is designed to make a bootable backup tape which can be used to recreate or to clone a system.

Ignite is *not* intended as a backup mechanism for a server at large. Confine your 'make_tape_recovery' to vg00:

# make_tape_recovery -x inc_entire=vg00 -x inc_entire=vg01 -I -v -a /dev/rmt/0mn

By limiting your Ignite contents to vg00, you have the ability to use the tape to recover your OS environment and then 'vgimport' your (otherwise intact) non-vg00 volumes. You can also use the recovery tape to clone your system. Limiting your recovery image to just vg00 provides the utmost flexability.

Another reason not to use Ignite as a general backup utility is that to recover a file from an Ignite tape requires the entire tape to be slowly traversed. 'pax' is used to actually write data to the tape, and unlike 'fbackup'/'frecover' there are no means to rapidly position the tape and extract selected data.

Should you ever need to recover a file or directory from an Ignite recovery tape, however, do:

# mt -t /dev/rmt/0mn fsf 1
# tar -xvf /dev/rmt/0m filename

Note the no-rewind device for the 'mt' command.

Regards!

...JRF...

[Marco Santerre]

Really? I knew about some of the new functionnality like booting onto more than one disk and such, but I wasn't aware of other Vg than vg00. Cool!

[Pete Randall]

Yes - very cool, Marco!

[Jean-Luc Oudart]

and don't forget to have 2 or 3 copies (per server) with one (or 2) offsite.

We always keep one copy on site and 2 copies off-site.
We keep current version and previous version.

We create extra tape before we install patches.

JL

[John Bolene]

And this ignite image is most important for those with many look-alike servers or in an educational environment.

You can make or restore any similar hardware machine with this image.

We use it to clone servers and to restore the educational machines after the students have wrecked havoc on them.