Serviceguard/Oracle/Omniback Offsite DR Test

[Sylvia Welch]

I've read some of the messages dealing with offsite recovery. I just need a sanity check.

We currently have An N-class/L-class MC Serviceguard cluster. We have the Oracle application and the Omniback packages running under the same cluster. Both operate well when failed over to either machine. Our database and logs reside on a VA7400.

We plan to execute a DR test with Sungard in a few months. The machine will be an N-Class with enough local storage to handle our needs (no VA). Can I just create an ignite tape to include the Omniback file system (with Omniback down), and run an interactive restore on the target machine, leaving Serviceguard intact? My steps:

Ignite server/create Volume Groups
Start the omniback package
Restore Database/Logs
Start Database Package
Done.

We'll also have the same tape library we have here.

[Steven E. Protter]

I ran a very similar test, though we did not have service guard working at the time. It was in February.

We went to the hp performance center with an ignite make_tape_recovery tape and a cold database backup of our core applications.

Five hours after start, we had all apps running, oracle software ag and cyborg on different PA-RISC hardware.

Short answer.

Yes.

SEP

[A. Clay Stephenson · Accepted solution]

Typically the OB2/BP database in /var/opt/omni grows so large that it is no longer part of vg00 -- the only VG restored by Ignite by default. If /var/opt/omni is part of another VG then make sure that you make_tape_recovery includes it. Otherwise, as long as you have done an omnisv.sh -stop before the make_tape_recovery then it will work.

The one "gotcha" might be when you are restoring to a new box what was /dev/rmt/2mnb, for example, before might now be /dev/rmt/5mnb now. You will need to update your Device paths in OB2 accordingly after the Ignite.

I also strongly suggest that when you (presumably the author of the DR plan) do the test, that you be there only as a ghost so that someone else can follow your clear, concise written instructions.

[SS_6]

I would suggest to make seprate backup os OBII and make two copies of make_recovery and other database. You can tar the OBII database and copy to one tape.

[Duncan Edmonstone]

From the serviceguard perspective I very much doubt you'll be able to just start the packages after ignite/rebuild VGs. The system would essentially have to be identical to your existing one (LAN cards in the same slots etc.) for this to stand any chance of working. Given you have only one system i'd forget about attempting to start serviceguard, rather I'd just use ifconfig to bind the package IP addresses to a network card on the recovery system, and unpick the start/stop scripts I need from the package control file. That should be enough to allow you to recover and start the application.

So your process becomes:

1. Re-ignite system.
2. build all VGs
3. bind package IPs
4. start omniback
5. start recovery

HTH

Duncan