XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing)
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@JaredBusch said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
What I want to know is WTF are you all trying to do this for in the first place.
No one cares about cloning VMWare or Hyper-V boot partitions. You just reinstall and attach manually in the even of a complete failure.
I don't know. Just following out the original thread/thought to its conclusion.
Is this on 30 post thread cluttering up the resources on ML? If so, I apologize.
In all seriousness, it's more for speed. You have a failure, you're back up and running in the time it takes the server to reboot.
Otherwise you need to reinstall, then reattach the SRs, then hope you have your metadata backed up.
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@BRRABill said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@JaredBusch said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
What I want to know is WTF are you all trying to do this for in the first place.
No one cares about cloning VMWare or Hyper-V boot partitions. You just reinstall and attach manually in the even of a complete failure.
I don't know. Just following out the original thread/thought to its conclusion.
Is this on 30 post thread cluttering up the resources on ML? If so, I apologize.
In all seriousness, it's more for speed. You have a failure, you're back up and running in the time it takes the server to reboot.
Otherwise you need to reinstall, then reattach the SRs, then hope you have your metadata backed up.
Is there a separate process for backing up metadata?
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@FATeknollogee said
Is there a separate process for backing up metadata?
Yes. You can do that through the XS console.
It's not mandatory, but if you have a boot failure, when you reinstall XS and reattach the SR, you'll just have a bunch of virtual disks.
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@BRRABill said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@FATeknollogee said
Is there a separate process for backing up metadata?
Yes. You can do that through the XS console.
It's not mandatory, but if you have a boot failure, when you reinstall XS and reattach the SR, you'll just have a bunch of virtual disks.
Console only, it's not available via XC GUI?
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@FATeknollogee said
Console only, it's not available via XC GUI?
No.
I believe it is also available through the CLI as well, though I have not used it that way.
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@BRRABill
You backup the metadata to the same USB stick or do you need a 2nd stick?How do you restore the metadata?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@BRRABill
You backup the metadata to the same USB stick or do you need a 2nd stick?How do you restore the metadata?
Not to the stick. It backs up to the SR. You also restore from the XS console.
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@BRRABill
In XC menu, there is Server, Back Up... and Server, Restore from Back Up...? -
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@BRRABill
In XC menu, there is Server, Back Up... and Server, Restore from Back Up...?That is ONLY for backing up the host. And if you read through this thread (https://www.mangolassi.it/topic/9960/converting-to-a-virtual-environment/52) and the XS documentation, they recommend reinstalling the host as opposed to backing it up.
Kind of what @JaredBusch was saying above.
- Crash
- Reinstall XS
- Reattach SR
- Restore VM metadata if you have it (from XS console) or otherwise reconstruct your VMs by hand.
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@Dashrender and I were talking about this topic a little bit offline. HE was saying the metadata is stored with the VM is ESXi.
I wonder why XS does not store the metadata with the VM itself? What would be the reasoning there?
Does Hyper-V?
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Also, this is interesting...
http://discussions.citrix.com/topic/303350-backup-metadata-1st-time/
Offers some additional metadata options, including a way to backup from XC, via Windows command prompt!
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FWIW, I think XO backs up the metadata when backup up the VM. I know this metadata issue has been discussed previously on ML. There's also an ER for XO to allow for the backup and restoration of the metadata.
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Got this response, via email, from @olivier
"our backup allow to import your saved VMs on any new clear XenServer, anytime, anywhere. So it seems there is no need to save more. Eg you lost all your servers in a fire. Just get another new machine, SR type (local, NFS) doesn't matter, even if it's different from the previous servers. And import your backup, you are back on track." -
@FATeknollogee @olivier Unfortunately, that doesn't address the current situation where we are just looking to replace the boot device. If your SR is intact, it will always be faster to reinstall XS and restore the metadata than to restore all VMs from backup using XO.
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@Danp said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@FATeknollogee @olivier Unfortunately, that doesn't address the current situation where we are just looking to replace the boot device. If your SR is intact, it will always be faster to reinstall XS and restore the metadata than to restore all VMs from backup using XO.
I thought replacing the boot device can be done in XC menu, with "Server, Back Up..." and "Server, Restore from Back Up..."?
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@FATeknollogee It can, but not recommend according to this earlier post.
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@Danp said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@FATeknollogee It can, but not recommend according to this earlier post.
There's a difference between backing up the entire boot partition vs. Creating a backup of the metadata then when you have a problem reinstalling xenserver on to a new memory stick and then restoring the metadata to that from the backup.
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@Dashrender said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
There's a difference between backing up the entire boot partition vs. Creating a backup of the metadata then when you have a problem reinstalling xenserver on to a new memory stick and then restoring the metadata to that from the backup.
Agreed... which is why I would hope that XO will eventually offer this as a backup / restore option.
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It would take forever to restore all your VMs using XO. It's obviously great for a backup, especially if you were to lose your SR.
But if the SR is still there, just reinstalling XS is the way to go. XO would not be appropriate there IMO.
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@Danp said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
@Dashrender said in XenServer 7.0: clone USB (without removing):
There's a difference between backing up the entire boot partition vs. Creating a backup of the metadata then when you have a problem reinstalling xenserver on to a new memory stick and then restoring the metadata to that from the backup.
Agreed... which is why I would hope that XO will eventually offer this as a backup / restore option.
Yeah it would be great if it could kind of couple that in.
Granted, it is pretty easy to do already, though.
You can backup metadata daily to the SR (in the form of a VHD it creates for itself), or manually to another location. You can also write a script to export the metadata...
http://techblog.danielpellarini.com/sysadmin/backup-your-xenserver-vm-metadata-daily-to-a-cifs-share/
