Linux backup and restore server project- several particulars needed.

[Monty J. Harder]

On 9/17/07, Oren Beck <orenbeck at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Concise statement of a non-trivial larger concept is to have a Linux
> server make timed backups of several windows systems in a zero user
> interaction format- and be able to remote restore those boxes equally "no
> user assist" required.


 Define "zero user interaction format" and "no user assist", which you've
already put in quotes..  Do these mean that we're allowed one or more
"administrators" as opposed to "users" to install and configure the system
on the backup server(s) and Windows systems, or what, exactly?

 These periodic "Make it simple enough for the dummies!" exercises try my
patience.  There is a minimum amount of complexity involved in a backup
system that can't be avoided.  If nothing else, when the Windows side runs,
if it does not pop up some message confirming that the backup was
successful, the "No news is good news" trap is set.  A failure of the backup
software to run would be interpreted by the users as "everything is OK",
which it isn't.

  I speak from painful experience here.

  Another painful fact is that backup software running under Windows seems
to be unable to back up files in use.  I'm not sure why this is, but I look
at backup logs and see it all the time.  The first lesson in the Tao of
Backup (http://taobackup.com/coverage.html) teaches that every file must be
backed up.  As Windows typically has open hundreds or even thousands of
files, precisely those most important for proper functioning, this is a huge
issue.

  The backup software we use for *nix backs up every single file on all
mounted filesystems (with such exceptions as we may set up in a config
file).  It produces bootable media (CD or pair of diskettes) with which one
can install a brand new hard drive, boot the system, and reload everything
from tape, resulting in a fully-functional system.  We don't have trouble
backing up all the files under *nix, because the software doesn't try to
open files in an exclusive mode.

  I assume that the people who write the backup software aren't complete
idiots, so that makes me think there may be a technical reason why Windows
doesn't allow them to do a better job of it.  It may be necessary to have
software that writes an entry to the Registry, forces a reboot of the
server, and then runs in exclusive mode during the boot.  I've seen programs
like Partition Magic do this to solve exclusive access problems.  A
slightly-different approach might modify boot.ini (or whatever the Vista
equivalent is) so that Windows doesn't even boot at all that time, but
instead loads a Linux kernel to do the backup (and then reset boot.ini to
load Windows next time).  Or the Windows loader could be chained off grub.

  A lot of such details depend on the BIOS limitations.  The proverbial
"Make it unhappen" CD, which boots into Linux, checks the backup server(s)
to see what's available (which might require some creative use of bootp) and
offers complete images from which to restore a system.  But you still will
have choices to make.  Someone has to decide how many images per machine to
retain, then at restore time decide which one to use....
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