Change the server

[ario]

Dear experts,

We have to change ou backup server from serverA into serverB, currently legato server installed in serverA and will be move to serverB, what should we backup from serverA if we still want to restore the files that backed up with serverA and restore from serverB, Does anyody know the best practices for this case,

thanks

Ario

 

[joeunixadmin]

Hi,

You didn't mention which OS is running on ther servers or if you would be switching from one OS to another but I'll give you what I have for UNIX.

To move the NetWorker software from one UNIX server to another UNIX server,perform the following
tasks:

Task 1: Back up the NetWorker Servers
Task 2: Configure the Target Server
Task3: Move the NetWorker Software from One UNIX Server to Another
Task4: Change the Target Server's Host and Index PATH Name
Task5: Recover the Bootstrap Save Set to the Target Server
Task 6: Configure Target Server


Before you begin, have the following manuals available for reference:

NetWorker Administration Guide
NetWorker Release Notes
NetWorker Installation Guide
NetWorker Disaster Recovery Guide


All manuals are available on the Legato web site,

http://www.legato.com.

Task 1: Back up the NetWorker Servers

To back up the NetWorker servers:

1.Back up the Source Server and Target Server.

2.If the previous browse and retention policies for the Source Server's client setup is more than the
NetWorker software default of one month and one year, set the new Target Server's client setup
to what the Source Server's browse and retention policy was.

Note: If you do not set the Target Server's client setup, all of the server's index records will be
recovered. Any records that are more than one month old will be discarded and volumes with
retention policies of more than one year will be set to one year.

3.Retrieve the latest bootstrap information from the Source Server. The bootstrap notification
information is required to run the mmrecov command. For further details, refer to "Bootstrap
Notification" in the NetWorker Administration Guide.

4.Before removing the NetWorker software from the Source Server, save all indexes and bootstraps
as level full on a single tape for the default pool. If the Source Server was previously setup to use
a pool other than the default to save the indexes and bootstrap, temporarily disable that pool.

To save the indexes and bootstraps, enter the following command:

# savegrp -l full-O

Task 2: Configure the Target Server

To configure the Target Server:

1.Configure the Target Server as closely as possible to the Source Server.

2.Record information about the Source Server's /nsr directory structure. For example, enter the
following commands to display and save information about the NetWorker Server's index
directory structure:

# script/nsr/logs/index_list.txt
# cd /
# ls -ld /nsr
# cd /nsr/index
# pwd
# df .
# df -k
# ls - lR /nsr/index
# exit

This information is required for the mmrecov procedure.

4.Save the file called /nsr/logs/index_list.txt. You will need this file when setting up the Target
Server.

5.Obtain a new Authorization Code if the Target Server has a different hostname or hostid. New
Authorization Codes are required to run the NetWorker program on the Target Server after the
move. Contact Legato Customer Service if you need a new Authorization Code.

Task 3: Move the NetWorker Software from One UNIX Server to
Another

To move the NetWorker software from one UNIX server to another:

1.Shut down the Source Server and the Target Server.

2.Change the hardware devices from the Source Server to the Target Server. Make sure that you
configure the hardware devices for the operating system platform you are using.

3.Restart the Target Server.

4.Install the NetWorker software on the Target Server and apply all applicable NetWorker patches.
For detailed installation instructions, refer to theNetWorker Installation Guide, Patch Installation
Readme files and the NetWorker Administration Guide appropriate for your operating system and
the NetWorker software version.

5.Start the NetWorker software and then configure at least one tape device.The tape device will be
used when running the mmrecov procedure.

6.If the previous browse and retention policies for the Source Server's client setup is more than the
NetWorker software default of one month and one year, set the new Target Server's client setup
to what the Source Server's browse and retention policy was.

Note: If you do not set the Target Server's client setup, all of the server's index records will be
recovered. Any records that are more than one month old will be discarded and volumes with
retention policies of more than one year will be set to one year.

7.If the Source Server's bootstrap was backed up to a pool that is not specified in the pool
resource, create a new pool with the same name. If you do not create the pool, the bootstrap
tape might loop on loading and unloading the tape.

8.Load the bootstrap tape. You can either:

Manually insert the volume containing the bootstrap using the jukebox control panel.

-OR-

Run the jb_config command. This installs the appropriate jukebox drivers. To run a load
operation without a mount, run the following command:

# nsrjb -nlv -S slot -f device-name

Where slot represents the slot number location of the bootstrap tape.

Warning!: Do not use the nwadmin GUI to mount the bootstrap volume before the
media database is recovered from the bootstrap. The NetWorker program displays the
following error message:

dlt tape twister.legato.com.001 not in media index

Task 4: Change the Target Server's Host and Index PATH Name

To change the target Server's Host and Index Path name:

Note: If the Target Server has the same hostname and index PATH as the Source Server, skip to Task
5.

1.Edit the Index Path attribute in the server associated Client resource to the original path.

2.Review the index_list.txt file for information on the directory structure of the Source Server. Make
sure that the Source Server's index PATH for the Source Server and Target Server are the same.
If they are not the same, the following error message appears when running mmrecov:

nsrindexasm: Unable to translate /usr/nsr/index/source_server.legato.com
into a hostname.

Note: The /nsr directory can be a soft link (/nsr--/disk1/nsr), but the index directory cannot be a
link (/nsr/index--/disk1/nsr/index) for NetWorker versions 5.0 and above.

3.Restart the NetWorker daemons. This allows the NetWorker software to recognize the changed
index path.

4.Enter the following command to create an empty file index for the Target Server into which the
records can be recovered:

# nsrck -c

5.Add the Source Server's hostname (short and FQDN) to the aliases field of the Target Server's
Client setup. Only the NetWorker server that saved the media database and indexes is
authorized to recover them from tape.

Task 5: Recover the Bootstrap Save Set to the Target Server

To recover the bootstrap save set to the Target Server:

Note: Recovering a very large server index and media database can take several hours.

1.Shut down the NetWorker program.

2.Use the mmrecov command to recover the bootstrap save set to the Target Server. For
example:

# mmrecov

3.Replace the nsr/res directory with the recovered /nsr/res.R directory. The /nsr/res directory,
which contains the configuration files, cannot be reliably overwritten while NetWorker software is
running; therefore, mmrecov recovers the /nsr/res directory as /nsr/res.R.

4.Restart the NetWorker program.

The Target Server should now be using the Source Server's index, mmvolume (media database) and
configuration files (.res files).

Note: For instructions on running mmrecov, refer to the mmrecov man page, and the NetWorker
Disaster Recovery Guide.

Task 6: Configure Target Server

To configure the Target Server:

1.Use the nwadmin GUI to delete the old jukebox configuration and the old tape drive
configuration.

2.To preserve Label Templates stored in the nsrjb.res file, do not delete the old nsrjb.res file copied
over from the res.R directory.

3.Enter the jb_config command to reconfigure the tape drives and jukebox.

4.Reset and inventory the jukebox.

To reset and test the jukebox enter the nsrjb -HEv command.

To inventory the jukebox, use the NetWorker GUI's inventory function or from the
command line enter the nsrjb -IEv command.

5.Enter the new Authorization codes at the prompt.

6.Enter the nsrck -c command to create blank default indexes for the clients.

7.Recover all of the client indexes (except the Source Server's index which was recovered with
mmrecov) using the nwrecover GUI or recover command. For further details for recovering
client indexes refer to the NetWorker Administration Guide.

8.Make the Source Server a client of the Target Server.

9.Remove the Source Server hostname from the Target Server's Client setup. For further details,
refer to the NetWorker Installation Guide and the NetWorker Administration Guide.

10.Test backups and recoveries and other NetWorker operations to verify correct operation.

 

[wallace88]

Legato publishes a number of technical bulletins that are availble to the general public.

Technical Bulletin 121: Moving a UNIX NetWorker Server, may be of interest to you. This looks identical to the message that joeunixadmin posted. In both cases, this information is generally accurate, but has not been updated for version 6 or higher.

There are other bits of information that may help you. For example, if you are using NetWorker V6.x or higher, then you can move the client indexes by simply zipping the index and res directories, then copying them over to the new server. Then, on the new server, just stop NetWorker, unzip the index and res to the proper location, then restart NetWorker. However, offically, the media database can only be recovered with an mmrecov command, because the media database is in a WISS format that doesn't copy and preserve the structure properly.

The advantage of being able to copy the index is that this can save a lot of time, because recovering indexes can be very time consuming. Copying the res directory, which has the NetWorker server configuration information, saves you the time of having to reconfigure the jukebox, assuning that you are moving the jukebox to the new server.

Here's the link where you can find the technical bulletins:

http://portal1.legato.com/resources/bulletins/

Good luck!

 

[Mini4x]

Any input on moving from a Solais Server to a Windows 2000 server? I am not sure if you can copy the index files the same way as Solaris to Solaris servers.

 

[wallace88]

My guess is that you probably can't move the server from Solaris to Windows.

In this case, either maintain the Solaris backup server for
data recovery, or start scanning in the tapes onto your new backup server if you want to heep the client index information.