VSMS - VSOM Backup/Restore Procedure Exercise

[panayiotiscy]

Hello all,

One of our clients have requested to test the backup/restore feature of the VSMS and VSOM just before upgrading to 6.3.2

Does anyone know if backing up and restoring from version 6.2.1/4.2.1 to the same version would casue any issues???

Also, i couldnt locate any documents for 6.2.1/4.2.1 so i guess i will be following the same procedure as in documents for 6.3.1 ??

Thanking you

[Sean Merrow]

Hello,

Any backup that is used to restore a server must have been generated on the same version of software as which it will be applied.  For example, a backup of VSOM or VSMS server created on 4.2.1/6.2.1 can only be restored on a server running 4.2.1/6.2.1.  You cannot restore a 4.2.1/6.2.1 backup on a server running 6.3.2.  Therefore, if you were upgrade from 4.2.1/6.2.1 to 6.3.2 and the upgrade fails, then you would need to downgrade the server(s) back to 4.2.1/6.2.1 in order to restore your servers using the 4.2.1/6.2.1 backups.

You can find the 4.2.1 VSOM document and the 6.2.1 VSMS document on our website, and they both include the backup and restore process for their respective processes.

Also, if you are going to upgrade from 4.2.1/6.2.1 to 6.3.2 you many want to use the Cisco VSM Software Assistant 6.3.2.

Hope this helps,

Sean

[panayiotiscy]

Hey Sean,

I always appreciate your feedback.

One last question here: Do i need to unistall/install the VSOM/VSMS(as stated in steps 2 and 3 of the Upgrade Pocedure document) if i'm just restoring on the same physical server (VSOM or VSMS) with the one generated the backup from??

Thanking you

[Sean Merrow]

If all you are doing is restoring a backup, then you do not need to uninstall/install the software.  You can simply follow the instructions on restoring a backup.  The software version of the backup must match the software version running on the server you are restoring it on.

Thanks,

Sean

[panayiotiscy]

Sean you are the man!

Thanks a lot, this answer saved us from unnecessary hassle!

I will come with feedback when finished!

[Sean Merrow]

Hello,

It is clear to me now that I wasn't clear on your question.  I thought you were asking if you needed to re-install all of the software on the server.  That said, you do not need to re-install all the software, but as I suggested, you do need to follow the instructions on restoring the backup, which does include uninstalling and re-installing the VSOM rpms, only.  So process would look something like this:

1. /etc/init.d/cisco stop
2. rpm -e Cisco _VSOM
3. /usr/BWhttpd/bin/vsom_backup_restore VSOM_vsmmn053a01a02_backup_20110316040001.tar
4. rpm -ivh Cisco_VSOM
5. /etc/init.d/cisco start

Sorry for the confusion,

Sean

[panayiotiscy]

Hi Sean,

Coming back with some feedback after backup/restoring.

All we did today was the following(for VSOM):

1. /etc/init.d/cisco stop
2. /usr/BWhttpd/bin/vsom_backup_restore VSOM_vsmmn053a01a02_backup_20110316040001.tar
3. /etc/init.d/cisco start

Tested it, worked fine. Rebooted the server just to be sure and checked again.

The VSOM, was "restored" successfully. Do you believe that our procedure will cause any issues ???

We have a scheduled upgrade to 6.3.2 soon and we are going to use the Upgrade Assistant script.

Thanks for your support.