Re: Backing up from your Mimix HA machine

[rob@xxxxxxxxx]

We test our failover every other month and run on the backup machine for 
the weekend.  The only complaints we've had is that we need to reconfig 
our WRKRDBDIRE stuff to support ODBC connections and Domino applications. 
At the end of the weekend we switch back over to the primary.

We use Iron Mountain for tape storage.  It is extremely rare that we would 
grab last night's backup to do a restore.  First, we would have to catch 
it before sending it off, or wait until the truck reaches Fort Wayne and 
drives back.

We would continue to do a full system save on the primary machine every 
other month.  We've only been doing full system saves on the backup 
machine every other month for a few years.  And that is the only time data 
gets saved on the backup machines.  We're just switching that.  And, as I 
type, I have IBM on the way to replace a disk drive on the backup machine.

These machines would be placed about 45 minutes apart.  We've never had a 
flood spread that far.  Tornados have never knocked out both locations. 
Separate power suppliers.

Currently they're in the same room.  We have a generator which will run 
our entire building.  That generator is going with the primary machine to 
our main production building.  (It can't run that whole building but will 
run that section of office.)  Our site will be the backup site and we are 
getting an additional 1200# of batteries for our UPS.  (They are in the 
hall waiting for installation).

The entire personnel at the backup site will consist of our BOFH, me, a PC 
tech who services this area of the county and a network consultant.  The 
rest of IT has been moved to the main production site where they complain 
all day about how they can't get anything done now with users pestering 
them for every little thing.  Even our boss manages to find multiple 
reasons to escape back to our building.  Doesn't help that they determined 
the computer room wasn't big enough to hold the UPS there so they stuck it 
in his office and even though it's cold enough to ... off of the brass 
monkeys his office is a toasty 80 degrees.

Rob Berendt