Re: Backing up and restoring system HELP - not a SCO user

From: Bill Vermillion (bv_at_wjv.comREMOVE)
Date: 10/24/03 

Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 22:25:22 GMT

In article <246e8112.0310231350.3462d113@posting.google.com>,
C. Geier <ckgeier@nwc.edu> wrote:

...

>The problem is this: They have a failover setup, of which one server
>of two is now dead. They have no tape backups at all. When I go to
>make a backup of the one still good machine to the tape drive in their
>system, it tells me the device rStp0 is offline. This system
>supposedly is not to be shutdown for more than 30 seconds a pop, so
>getting another tape drive to replace this one is like a last resort.

Somewhere along the line something is going to have to be shut
down.

...

>I have thought I can backup to a tape drive remotely on another Unix
>server we have here, but then the problem comes in - how to restore
>from that tape drive when all I have is a SCO root floppy and boot
>floppy I was able to create. Will they work to reconnect the
>server-being-rebuilt to the remote device to do a complete system
>restore? If not, I suppose I could try to reinstall 5.0.5 from their
>media, but I am not sure they even know where that is.

The SuperTar programs - BackupEdge or LoneTar will do what you
want.

I've used one of them to backup a machine that was a headless
server with no floppies and no tape drives.

The recovery disks the SuperTars make should let you build from the
ground up on a new machine - but I've never tried one where the
entire backup as made to a remote. I can't see why it wont work.

Tom at MicroLite or Jeff at Cactus could probably comment on that.

>I have also thought about backing up to a remote filesystem on another
>server, with the same problems as the remote tape drive.

I think you'd be better off backing up to a tape on the remote
system and then rebuild. If the hardware is identical you'll have
no problems.

>Do you have any ideas, please? I don't know what to do now. Why O Why
>didn't they do backups before?????

It's like thining you'll never have fire/earthquake/flood until
it's too late.

I only got one client to get backups off site after a huge
transformer about 20 feet from their front door took most of the
building it was in up in flames and the 3" metal conduit the
cables were in melted.

The building he was in was filled with smoke but the SCO system
survived that one.

Bill
building it was 

-- 
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com

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