NetVault Bare Metal Recovery 12.4 - User Guide for Plug-ins

Prerequisites for booting the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux

Ensure the following have taken place before attempting to boot the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client:

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Bootable CD created: A Plug-in Live Client Boot CD must have been previously created for the target Linux Client, using the procedures outlined in Creating the required bootable CD for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

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CD drive set as primary boot source on target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client: The Linux machine serving as the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client must have its CD drive — if connected through a USB port, it must use USB 3.0 protocol or earlier — set up as the primary boot source to have the machine boot from CD, for example, by accessing the system’s BIOS application and setting the Drive as the primary boot source.

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NetVault Backup Server and Client information gathered: After booting the target Linux Client with the created boot CD, configure the machine using various information, including the following:

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NetVault Backup Server IP Address

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Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client IP Address

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Gateway Address, if applicable

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Subnet Mask

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Communication port free for use: Verify that the communication port is available and accessible to the Plug-in Live Client for Linux. If the default port 10666 is not available, reconfigure the communication port before proceeding. For details on reconfiguring the port, see Reconfiguring the communication port for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux (optional). If default port 10666 is available, skip to Boot procedure for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.


	NOTE: In most circumstances, the 10666 port is available for use. Circumstances under which it is not available include if a system administrator had assigned it for use to a different application or if you have a firewall set up on a different port.

Reconfiguring the communication port for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux (optional)

The Plug-in Live Client for Linux listens on port 10666 by default. If you have a firewall configured, you may need to change the communication port to perform a recovery; for example, you want use port 12345 instead. Perform the following steps:

Open the firewall for port 12345.

This step allows communication between the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client and the NetVault Backup Server to be restored.

In the Navigation pane of the NetVault Backup WebUI on the Plug-in Server, click Create Restore Job.

On the Create Restore Job — Choose Saveset page, select the applicable saveset, and click Next.

On the Create Selection Set page, click

In the Restore Server Port field, enter 12345.

After setting the port number on the Plug-in Server, update it on the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client as well.

To save the settings, click Ok.

Boot from the CD; described in Boot procedure for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

After the System Installation for Linux application starts and the SYSTEM INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE menu is displayed, select System Recovery Utility, and press Enter.

To open a maintenance shell prompt, select Start a Maintenance Shell, and press Enter.

From the maintenance shell, run the following commands:

maint> echo "ServerPort=12345" > /tmp/nvdrx.cfg

maint> exit

Proceed with the boot procedure described in Boot procedure for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

Boot procedure for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux

To boot the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, perform the following steps.


	IMPORTANT: If the target Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client includes any Raw format disks, a specific boot procedure must be followed to preserve any data that currently exists on those disks. You must use this procedure because the Plug-in Live Client for Linux does not support the backup and restore of Raw format disks. For more information, see Accommodating for Raw disks for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

Insert the created CD into the CD drive — if connected through a USB port, the port must use the 3.0 protocol or earlier — on the target Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, and reboot the machine.

The boot routine begins as the necessary files are loaded from the CD to system memory. This procedure can take several minutes, depending on the hardware configuration of the target Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client.

On successful boot off the CD, the System Installation for Linux application starts and the initial screen is displayed.


	NOTE: The System Installation for Linux application offers several utilities that can be used to customize a DR recovery. However, the use of all these utilities is not covered in this guide. Only the tools required to perform a standard recovery operation are covered here.


	IMPORTANT: While Quest strongly recommends that only the utilities required to perform a standard DR recovery be used with this plug-in, the System Installation for Linux application contains a built-in help system that offers brief instructions on its use. This help system can be accessed on a per screen basis by using the F1 key.

If necessary, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Select Install Device/Backup option, default selection, and press Enter to select it.

When the Set Install Device or Server dialog box is displayed, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Set or Change Network Configuration option located following the Install from Remote Device heading, and press Enter to select it.

When the Set or Change Network Install Configuration dialog box is displayed, enter the following information under the TCP/IP Configuration heading, using the arrow keys to navigate between the four fields:

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Server IP Address: Enter the IP address assigned to the NetVault Backup Server that was used to start the job in the previous section.

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Client IP Address: Enter the IP address assigned to the machine serving as the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client.

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Gateway Address: Enter the gateway address in use by the network, if applicable.


	IMPORTANT: Use of the Gateway field is optional. If Plug-in Server and Plug-in Live Client are in the same network segment, ensure that this field remains blank. Only include a gateway value if Server and Client exist in a different segment.

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Subnet Mask: Enter the Subnet Mask value in use by the network.

With the previous four values entered, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Network Device field, following the Adapter Configuration heading.

When the available commands listed in the bar at the bottom of the dialog box are updated to reveal the “F4=List” option, press F4 to display a list of NICs available in the Linux Client.

In the sub-window that starts, use the arrow keys to navigate to the NIC to be used, and press Enter to select it.

When Network Device field is updated to reveal the selected NIC, press either F3 or Esc to confirm all settings, exit the dialog box, and return to the Set Install Device or Server dialog box.

Because no additional settings are required, press either F3 or Esc to the dialog box and return to the System Installation and Maintenance dialog box.

The informational fields in the lower-left corner are updated to reveal the values entered; that is, the Service field is updated to reveal the IP address entered for the NetVault Backup Server.

Use the arrow keys to navigate to the Install the System with Current Settings option, and press Enter to initiate the job.

If all settings were correctly entered, the process continues; otherwise, a red dialog box is displayed stating that the job could not be initiated.


	IMPORTANT: For this process to start successfully, the applicable recovery job must have already been set up and started from the NetVault Backup Server, as outlined in Restoring data using a DR image with Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

When the frame in this dialog box is updated with a message stating that the selected disks are erased and overwritten on the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client if the operation is continued, press the Y key to confirm and start the recovery.

The Boot CD ejects automatically before rebuilding the system.


	IMPORTANT: If you are using Storix, restoring to the same client or a different client of the same disk size — either of which is configured as part of a logical group and volume — causes the following message to appear: “The following non-fatal errors must be corrected before continuing: Disk sdb: This disk is not large enough for the partitions as they are currently defined. You must reduce the space requirements on this disk by at least 7MB by removing the partitions or reducing their sizes.” To work around this issue, use the View/Change Installation Settings feature in Storix to adjust the partition sizes. To allow the recovery process to re-create a striped logical volume across multiple disks, manually change the stripe size. From the Main Menu in Storix, select View/Change Installation Settings > Logical Volume Management > Add or Change Logical Volume. Select the applicable volume, and press Enter. Change the Stripe Size from 0 to the size that was originally configured.

Accommodating for Raw disks for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux

Multiple topics have noted that the Plug-in Live Client for Linux does not support the backup and restore of Raw format disks. However, after the standard boot routine discussed in the previous topic is fully followed, any Raw format disks are automatically initialized, and the restore of data starts. As a result, any data that exists on these raw format disks is lost. To boot a target Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client that contains any Raw format disks to omit them from the restore, perform the following steps:


	CAUTION: This procedure must be followed to ensure that data items on any existing raw formatted disks are preserved. Quest cannot be held liable if this procedure is not followed to boot a machine containing raw disks and data is lost.


	IMPORTANT: The process described in Restoring data using a DR image with Plug-in Live Client for Linux must be followed before attempting this configuration. If the DR backup job has not been initially queued up to run, it is not possible to complete this process; that is, this configuration must be performed after the job has been started in the NetVault Backup WebUI.

Perform Step 1 through Step 9 outlined in Boot procedure for the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client for use with Plug-in Live Client for Linux; do not complete the process, that is, do not perform Step 10 and Step 11.

After returning to the System Installation and Maintenance dialog box, use the arrow keys to navigate to the View/Change Installation Settings option, and press Enter.

Various dialog boxes appear as the backup job information is read from the NetVault Backup Server. This process may take several minutes to complete.

If a frame is displayed in this dialog box stating that the disks on the system match the current configuration, press Enter.

When the Change Installation Settings Menu dialog box is displayed, press Enter to select the default option, Select Disks to Use for Installation.

After the dialog box updates with a frame containing a list of disks that are currently available on the target system, use the Arrow keys to select the disk to leave out of the restore, that is, the Raw partition formatted disk, and press Enter to select it.

After the frame updates to display a list of available options for the selected disk, use the Arrow keys to select the DO NOT RESTORE the Disk Backup Data option, and press Enter to select it.


	IMPORTANT: Before selecting the DO NOT RESTORE This Disk Backup Data option for a drive, ensure that the selected drive is the one to omit. After the drive has been omitted from the restore, it cannot be added back in; that is, the only way to change the configuration is to reboot the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, and restart this entire process.

After the frame updates with a message indicating that selecting this disk omits it from recovery, press the Y key to confirm.

With the omit command confirmed, the frame in the dialog box reveals the list of disks on the target system, and the disk that is to be omitted from the recovery is labeled as “---------AVAILABLE---------”.

To omit additional disks, repeat Step 5 through Step 7.

With the applicable disks omitted from the recovery, press Esc or F3 twice to return to the System Installation and Maintenance dialog box.