NetVault Bare Metal Recovery 11.1 - User Guide for Plug-ins

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 is comprised of 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-ROM 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 process 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 appears.


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


	IMPORTANT: While Dell 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 appears, use the arrow keys to navigate to the Set or Change Network Configuration option located below the Install from Remote Device heading, and press Enter to select it.

When the Set or Change Network Install Configuration dialog box appears, 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.

•

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, below 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 appears 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 process 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:


	WARNING: This procedure must be followed to ensure that data items on any existing raw formatted disks are preserved. Dell 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 appears 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 appears, 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.

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 appears stating that the job could not be initiated.

The Boot CD ejects automatically before rebuilding the system.

Monitoring job progress and finalizing a recovery with Plug-in Live Client for Linux

From the NetVault Backup Server, you can monitor the progress of any job through the Job Status page. While it is not necessary to monitor a job’s progress, Dell recommends that you monitor progress when performing a recovery of a NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client. After the recovery of a Linux® NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client has completed, you must perform a last task to bring it back online. By monitoring the recovery job, you are alerted to the completion of a job and this final task can be performed.


	NOTE: This topic offers an example of the use of the Job Status page of the NetVault Backup WebUI for monitoring the progress of a Linux DR recovery operation to finalize the job. The tools made available in this dialog box are not exclusive to the Plug-in Live Client for Linux and complete information on their use can be found in the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

With the recovery job running, click Monitor Job in the Navigation pane.

In the list of jobs displayed, locate the in-progress Linux DR recovery job.


	IMPORTANT: If you need to stop the job, you can also access the Abort command the same way. If you use this command to stop a recovery job, NetVault Backup stops the transfer of data. However, the System Installation for Linux application currently running on the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client stalls and its commands, while still accessible are not usable. A full reboot of the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client must be performed with the CD inserted in the drive to reactivate the application for use.

Various information pertaining to the selected job is displayed, including the plug-in in use and data-transfer-rate values. The Run Status field displays the status of the job, for example, Waiting for Media or Reading from Media. As the recovery finishes, data transfer values stop and this field is updated to Restore Complete.

To complete the recovery process, locally access the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client machine, and reboot it by using the Reboot the System command in the System Installation for Linux application — type exit at the maintenance shell prompt, or manually shut down the system.

The Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client boots and its file system should be recovered to the point when the DR image was taken.