Re: Image Catalog over NFS

Hello Larry,

Am 11.12.2024 um 15:45 schrieb Larry DrFranken Bolhuis <midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx>:

Where I ALWAYS focus though is the reverse, how is this backup useful should I need to recover from it?

Thanks for emphasizing this most important fact!

Likely in this order, the needs are:

1) Restore 'a thing,' which could be any IBM i object but most often is a file or file member.

2) Copy a group of things to another system. This may be to a test system, or development system for example.

3) Recover a lost system.

The Frequency of #1 and #2 together are probably 1000 times more than #3.

Sounds about right. But in case of a full system recovery, one is already nervous, tense and probably stressed. I can't emphasize enough that backups should be organized in such a way that restore is as easy and self-explanatory as possible.

BUT when #3 happens you have to know how. AND have everything needed to make it work.

Exactly. And in today's increasingly complex environments, you will never be sure until you need to actually recover, and note where the process needs improvement.

For example if you find you need to regen the BOOTP directory contents but all you have is the images on Linux, then you may be stuck.

That's why I feel backups should be automated. Including secondary measures like ensuring boot stuff is current.

Another idea I have is to tinker with DIY iSCSI virtual tape. Need to check:
- Does VIOS 2.2 support iSCSI (without special hardware)?
- If not, can I run VIOS 3.1 on a Power7?

(Answers to those questions are gratefully accepted.)

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/power9?topic=overview-iscsi-disk-support-vios

IPLing from a tape drive which looks like a local drive to IBM i is the easiest thing I can come up with for a full recovery.

The beauty of having a tape is that you can find 100 places that can read a tape and recover your system. Similar with USB.

Or with ISO images. :-)

If you are planning on using a non-supported Linux boot setup to recover in a disaster, then the recovery is 100.00% on you because *NOBODY else will understand how all the pieces go together!

That's why one should write documentation. :-)

:wq! PoC