Re: Correct procedure for restoring system image data

From: Marcelino Mata (mmata@MULTIMATIC.COM)
Date: Tue Apr 27 2004 - 16:47:02 EDT


Christopher,

See response below...

>-----Original Message-----
>From: cbaker@GOODYEAR.COM [mailto:cbaker@GOODYEAR.COM]
>Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 3:45 PM
>To: aix-l@Princeton.EDU
>Subject: Re: Correct procedure for restoring system image data
>Importance: High
>
>
>Marcelino,
>
>Don't know why it is doing what it is doing, but since you are
>back to square-one, may I ask a few questions and make a few
>observations:
>
>1) You can go from AIX 4.3.3 ML9 directly to AIX 5.1. No need
>(that I am aware of) to go to ML11 in the interim.
>

I read it somewhere that AIX 5.1 upgrade can fail if AIX 4.3 is not at the
last released ML level. IBM performed testing at the lastest ML level so it
better practice to start from that level.

>2) If you can connect both the 4.5 GB and the 9.1 GB drive at
>the same time, you then only need to mirror to the 9.1 then break the
>mirror to have your OS drive be the 9.1 GB
>

I can do this. I did not know that this would work. I thought that if I
did this type of thing, the 9.1Gb disk would be "formatted" to be 4.5GB
disk. I use the work "formatted" since I don't know the AIX lingo for this
type of thing. I manage AIX, Tru64, Solaris and Linux so I can't stay on
top of this...

>3) We have AIX 5.1 and AIX 5.2 on systems with only a single
>4.5 GB drive. If it is only the rootvg and it is only the OS,
>it should
>fit.
>

I have no free PP's on the disk now and I'm told a migrated 4.3->5.1
requires more space than fresh install of 5.1. There is also a couple
filesystems I on the RAID volume group which I want to move to rootvg.

>4) Why not use "mksysb" and then clone it back onto the system
>after you swap drives? (Assuming you can't do #2 above.)
>

Do you recommend of mksysb site or can you provide the command line for
using myksysb? Sysbackup is idiot proof so I was going to stick to
that....I'm open to mksysb is I have run into a Sysbackup bug/limitation.
(Suggestion #2 seems like a better idea)

>5) You would be very wise to have all other VG's varied-off /
>exported and even have the drives off or disconnected so that you don't
>screw those up.

This was going to be plan B...
>
>I am guessing that sysbackup restore is only trying to make
>the VG definitions in the rootvg / system area and thus will not hurt
>other VG's, but I would NOT have the other VG's live or
>connected when I was doing this.
>

I think I will test a few things on spare 43P's before proceeding...

>Hope that helped,
>
>Christopher M. Baker
>Senior Technical Support Analyst
>DSE/TCO
>Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
>
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>
>
> Marcelino Mata
> <mmata@MULTIMATI To:
>aix-l@Princeton.EDU
> C.COM> cc: (bcc:
>Chris Baker/NA/GDYR)
> Sent by: IBM AIX Subject:
>Correct procedure for restoring system image data
> Discussion List
> <aix-l@Princeton
> .EDU>
>
>
> 04/27/04 03:01
> PM
> Please respond
> to IBM AIX
> Discussion List
>
>
>
>
>
>
>I am making preparation to move from AIX 4.3.3ML9 to ML11 then
>AIX 5.1. As
>I need to perform upgrades, I do not have enough disk space on
>the current
>4.5Gb O/S disks. I was planning on replacing the 4.5Gb disks
>with 9.1Gb
>disks. I was going to just use the user friendly program Sysbackup to
>accomplish this. I made a system image of the rootvg ONLY and
>replaced the
>disks. Everything was going fine during the restore until it
>informed me
>that a volume group was missing and it wanted to know if
>sysbackup restore
>should create or delete it. The volume group is a 270GB RAID
>volume which
>are still present in the system but I do not want touched by sysbackup
>restore. My guess would be to select the create option and
>then it will
>continue. As I can not afford to lose time due to errors I
>did nothing (put
>the old disks back in) until I get clarification on what it
>was actually
>going to do next. If I select "create", will it continue the restore
>without me assigning any filesystem to it or will it force me to assign
>something to it before continuing?
>
>TIA,
>
>Marcelino
>



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