online spare using rdp ∼

[parthapt]

hi all,

i was wondering if any one has tried to install a online spare server using rdp & sim , what i mean is that i will configure a blade as online spare and if any blade fails the online spare will take over the failed blade.
it will install the os and applications and data automatically of the failed server.

thanks in advance

[Steven Clementi]

You can really have an "online" spare. It will be more like an "offline" or "nearline" spare where, if a blade fails, you can quickly image the spare with the last good backup image of the failed blade.

The process is somewhat intricate since you need to schedule regular imaging of your servers on an individual basis.

The likelyness of all the hardware failing in one blade is next to nil and it is more the case that you will end up swapping Hard Drives from the failed blade to the spare blade manually, if there failure is not hdd related. If it is, then your are looking at a quick rebuild of the server and restoration of the data from another network locations OR.. if your data is on a SAN... then just some quick changes to Switch Zoning and/or on your storage and your storage is now presented to the new blade. Optionally, swapping a good HBA from the fasiled server to the spare would eliveiate the need to make any SAN changes.


Supposedly, there is a way to allow a "spare" blade to take the identity of the failed blade... and automatically bring up the spare somehow though RDP/SIM... but i am no expert and I think it needs to be a "Boot from SAN" setup.


Steven

[parthapt]

hi steven ,

thanks for the reply , yesterday i too went through some docs and the process of taking images is realy irritating when you have to take image of larege no of servers.
more over some one has to be there at the server side if the server is using the San to swap the servers .

i am looking for unattended swap if you have any idea pls post it.
thanks
partha

[Albert Austin]

Hello Steven,

I too am very interested in the below sugestions you made:

"Optionally, swapping a good HBA from the fasiled server to the spare would eliveiate the need to make any SAN changes."

Is there some way I could get this done via scripts? That is manually change card and then script pulls (know this can be done via RDP) WWN and boots to production.

ALSO

"Supposedly, there is a way to allow a "spare" blade to take the identity of the failed blade... and automatically bring up the spare somehow though RDP/SIM... but i am no expert and I think it needs to be a "Boot from SAN" setup."

A documentation on this too would be very helpfull!

Rgds,

Albert

[abcxyz]

The Common Procedure Guide available on below link outlines the procedure.

http://docs.hp.com/en/351360-001/351360-001.pdf?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Chapter 2 describes setting up a server blade recovery operation using Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP) and Insight Manager 7. In the event a server blade fails, a designated spare server blade takes on the role of the failed server blade.