Cisco Expressway - Disaster Backup and Recovery

[marco_81]

Hi all,

from Cisco Jabber Guest Server :

"To minimize the effects of a disaster ,you must create a disaster recovery plan to minimize downtime and data loss. You can achieve this by using a VMware-supported disaster backup
and recovery solution or you can export the OVA files as described in this section".

Does it make sense to apply the same strategy for Cisco Expressway for example?

Did anyone try this strategy before?

thanks

[marco_81]

I tested and i took note about different serial number after deploying the OVF template, to have the machine working properly i'd need a new release key generated from Cisco.

[Dennis Mink]

I wouldnt rely on vmware backups too much, 

vcse has backup and recovery, I have used it in the past and it works quite nicely, 

the configuration on your expressways is quite static so a backup before you make changes will suffice. 

OVA templates, you can get off the cisco download section.

[Patrick Sparkman]

Expressway doesn't support exporting it's VM and deploying it again, the serial number will change and all the installed licenses will become invalid, this is to prevent customers from simply copying the VM over and over. The Expressway also doesn't support VMware snapshots, as this process interferes with database timing and negatively impacts performance, so you should utilize the built-in backup/restore feature within the web interface. If for some reason the Expressway VM is unrecoverable, you can deploy a new one by downloading the OVA from Cisco's website and then rehost the licenses from the old VM to the new one by contacting TAC.