This issue can be low priority but i post it anyway.
As a test, I made a backup from a virtual server (windows XP) with UR Backup.
The virtual system is citrix xenserver 5.6.
I copied the restore iso to the xenserver cifs drive and used it as my first boot device.
Then when it boots, i can see the UR Backup screen and when I hit enter knoppix should load but then the screen gets black.
I don’t know why, but when i start for example gparted live cd the same way as the ur backup, then gparted loads successfully so my guess is that there is something from the restore cd not compatible with xenserver.
No idea if it is a linux issue or a xenserver issue.
I will post this issue also on xenserver forums, maybe they have an idea.
thanks. Verus.
I also tried to import a VHD file from a server on the xenserver which was backupped with UR Backup to make sure that there is no driver problem.
It was a full image vhd file, no incremental.
Still can’t boot, probably because of the MBR ?
the error:
Boot device: Hard drive - success.
Error loading operating system.
I also tried to repair the MBR with linux rescue cd but the problem remains.
is there a possibility to make one VHD file from the 3 UR Backup VHD files so that i can import that in my xenserver (data vhd, hash vhd and mbr vhd) ?
Is it possible to change the screen resolution when booting the ur backup restore cd ? maybe that’s the reason why the window is black.
Okay. Maybe the knoppix needs updating. It’s just much work (Take the original knoppix, strip out necessary stuff, build new knoppix). Could you test it if the current knoppix version works?
The .hash file ist just an internal file for UrBackup. The .vhd is complete in itself, but doesn’t have the original MBR, just one so that it is mountable. The VHD is not bootable, because I put the image data for efficiency reasons (incremental backup) not at cylinder boundaries, where Windows needs to be to be able to boot it. Which Windows version did you backup? I think with newer Windows versions it is somehow fixable. XP and co. is a lost case though (Thank the SDDs )
Another way to restore the VHD is to install the UrBackup server on a debian based live cd and do something like this:
(1) I will test the latest knoppix with xenserver 5.6 and vmware esx 3.5 and let you know (probably tomorrow or monday at latest) if it works with the network drivers also.
(2) I tried the backup/restore with a windows server 2003.
I took a backup with UR backup from the server on the xenserver system without a problem.
After that I imported the VHD back in Xenserver but as told before I couldn’t start.
Then tried some MBR hacks but it didn’t help.
You think this is fixable for windows server ?
If UR backup could be a working backup alternative for system backups on xenserver (and vmware), it would be very helpful for a lot of xenserver admins.
It is a pretty hot topic on the xenserver forums and the commercial applications are mostly expensive and not every company has the resources to buy those commercial apps and not everybody wants to work with the commercial apps!
There are free alternatives but mostly on a lower level which are not so clear for every admin as UR Backup.
(3) About the debian based live cd, is there a live cd with UR Backup available or is it something we have to make ourself ?
Well because Server 2003 is pretty much the same as XP I don’t think one could get it to work there. At one time it worked. The problem then is that incremental images are then not as space efficient. It’s a tradeoff. But it is stupid that XP only starts when the partition starts at 63*512 bytes.
I think newer windows server versions can be fixed up. Who cares about Server 2003 anyways (Just kidding)
Well the knoppix live cd is debian based. I just said debian based, because then you can install the .deb files, which is easier than first downloading the compilers+libraries and compiling UrBackup.
What I just said also means that it would be doably with an option or something but would make the incremental image backups more inefficient. If it’s a big pain point…
I did some more tests to boot the ur backup restore cd on xenserver with a lot of settings on the boot line but nothing helps…
also,
Just tested knoppix “KNOPPIX_V6.4.3CD-2010-12-20-EN.iso” with xenserver and vmware esx 3.5 and it boots like a charm.
No boot options were given and once booted, the network works also without changing anything, plug & play.
about
This means that we have to boot the knoppix cd first and then download ur backup server and install it manually and then perform the command you gave ? (as long as there is no update to the new knoppix ? )
I could start the restore_cd application in the latest knoppix (on xenserver).
Backupserver is found, I can start the restoration but after a while there is a message (after about 56% or something) “writing to output file failed” and the restoration restarts (happened now already 2 times).
the third time i received a Read Timeout - 2 (see attachment)
Is this when ur backup starts writing to the virtual server and is everything before that point reading from the server ?
When ur backup searches for the backup server, it takes some time also.
sometimes i have to try 2 or 3 times.
Normally the problem can’t be the network (gigabit network).
In the ur backup interface i don’t see anything about restoring (logs/activities) or is this normal (didn’t checked that before) ?
One thing about the restoration on the xenserver.
The last try i also got an error with the restoration, then it rebooted and i forgot to boot from the cd and now the restored windows XP started.
It stays on the windows XP starting screen but it is already something and it means that UR Backup started well and that the MBR is also ok but at the end, there is something loose (the restoration fault).
About searching for the backup servers, it seems that the best chance to find it is when i do a ping from the client to the server.
Thanks, Verus.
A test on vmware esx 3.5 was succesful with the latest knoppix and the restore_cd app (windows server 2003).
so for the xenserver I will have to do some more tests I think, also tried with xp and 2003.
regards, verus
Hmm your Xen problems sound like it really has an unstable network connection with it not finding the backup server at the beginning.
I’ve updated the restore cd (the command on the previous page) to attempt to reconnect a few times if the connection was lost. Maybe if you try it with that version it’ll work. You would need the newest unstable server version though, otherwise it starts from the beginning after reconnecting.
Which operating system are you using on the server again?
Not finding the backup server is also a problem with the vmware or a normal computer.
It takes a few times to search before the server is found.
The network is a gigabit network which works really good, no other problems are known.
I will try to do some more tests today.
thanks, Verus.
Hmm. It works this way: The server sends a unreliable UDP broadcast every 50s. The restore cd waits for 60s so if this UDP broadcast gets lost the server doesn’t find the client.
I test the stuff with VMWare atm.
It seems that the backup server is found faster when i restart the service from the backup server.
On the xenserver i could restore a server (suddenly it worked with another image after 2 tries), urbackup restore said that it was successful but when i reboot i get:
Missing operating system…strange.
any idea ?
Indeed. I’ve never used Xenserver, but maybe it has some quirks it enables for a windows install and disables them if you run linux in it.
Also what would be nice to test is if you create a real linux install (ubuntu or something) and test the restore from there.
you mean restoring the windows server on the xenserver with a ur backup on linux instead of windows ?
Why would the result be different ?
In the past I already restored windows machines on xenserver with ultrabac.
It would just be a test if it maybe the knoppix’s fault. Or some kind of Xen<->Knoppix interaction problem. I mean you can also test with the ubuntu live cd. I don’t know.
Can one install this xenserver in vmware and test it? VM in a vm… Maybe I can somehow replicate the problem.
I can test it with the ubuntu live cd, will do that today or tomorrow.
I don’t think that you can install xenserver in vmware, but it’s free to download and to use.