Recovering OpenServer 5.0.6 onto different hardware

[rockandrollmachine]

I'm sorting out the disaster recovery plan for a critical server. It's a Dell PowerEdge 2850 running Openserver 5.0.6.

We have a disaster recovery agreement with HP and they have just confirmed that in the event of a total disaster such as the server being totally wiped out, they would NOT bring an identical server for me to recover onto, but a "HP equivalent".

I'd rather recover with root/boot and back-up tapes as it's so much quicker than reinstalling etc, but I'm unsure what is involved to do this when the hardware is different.

I wondered if it would be possible to configure BTLD drivers for the RAID controller, tape controller and NIC at boot time, but I can't find much information on this. It looks like commercial products like BackupEdge can do this though.

Has anyone done this or have any advice for doing it?

 

[motoslide]

I believe that BackupEDGE and Lonetar are both designed to allow you to restore onto different hardware. The biggest issue you'll likely have is that you won't know ahead of time what kind of server HP might drop in your lap. SCO 5.0.6 is old. You will have a hard time finding drivers for that version designed to handle current hardware (such as SATA/SAS RAID, GB NIC cards, etc.) Check out SCO's HW Compatibility chart. There's nothing on there newer than the ML350/ML370 G3 models. Does your Disaster Recovery agreement promise OS Compatibility?

As for BTLD... I think the 5.0.6 version would only support these on Floppy media. Many newer servers don't have floppy drives any longer, and USB floppy aren't supported in 5.0.6.

"Proof that there is intelligent life in Oregon. Well, Life anyway.

 

[rockandrollmachine]

Hi motoslide,

Many thanks for your reply.

Yes, I agree about the problem of finding the drivers for 5.0.6. What I'm trying to do is agree with HP the specifications of the server they would send in the event of a disaster, so I can ensure it is SCO compliant. Over time, servers will be phased out in favour of newer ones, so I also need them to agree to inform me immediately if they change the specs.

We may be upgrading our business system and I'm expecting to move up to 5.0.7 for that (I've heard OpenServer 6 is ropey), but my main concern at the moment, assuming drivers are available, that we can get a tool that will restore to a different platform and by the sounds of it, BackupEdge will do the job.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[stanhubble]

the strategy that we are persuing is to set up older systems to be able to be loaded into a vmware image (vmware server 2 is free or you can buy the ). all you need to do is configure a kernel to use the blc driver for the disks (if scsi) or wd driver for ide.
vitual nic -> AMD PCNET (for the "flexible" or vlance).

although openserver 5.0.x is not officially supported by vmware it works.

so with a minimal linux install and vmware server you can "hide" the new hardware.

 

[edfair]

Have you attempted to create a restored system as a test? I've found that talking about and planning for a disaster has less to do with success than actually doing it several times with testbed equipment.
Although Edge has the recovery capability I prefer to do a reload of the OS, patches, and the recovery software and do a restore to a clean system. My experience is mostly 5.0.5 but I have migrated a couple to 5.0.6 as a test.
Testbed hardware doesn't need to be certified or expensive. Installing on other than cerified hardware will help you learn what is really required. Building one to the point where the applications work at the console will give you some assurance that you can get the system functional by adding the rest of the hardware.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[rockandrollmachine]

Hi stanhubble,

Vmware is something I don't know a great deal about, but I understand the concept and I was discussing it with some of my staff.

We are definitely going to look at it, as it may potentially solve all our problems and make life a lot easier.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[rockandrollmachine]

Hi edfair,

I've spent some time testing the restoration to a different server, a PowerEdge 6400. It's not been a success so far, but it's not been a total disaster either!

I can see the way forward at least and with each try I learn a bit more.

I do now have various options to try, from BackupEdge, Vmware and multiple kernel support, so I'm confident of devising a reliable solution now.

Thanks for your help.