Xserve setup/backup question

I'm planning to get an Xserve, together with the Promise VTrak E-Class storage system (4 TB, single controller). For backup, I am thinking of getting some LTO tape drive with an auto-loader that goes into the same rack.
My question is how to combine these pieces. It seems that tape drives with firewire interface are disappearing from the market. Given that I have a fibre channel card, would it make sense to use a fibre channel tape drive then? I was planning to use the dual-channel fibre channel card to connect to the VTrak system. As this system has only one controller, can I use the second fibre channel port to connect to the tape drive? Or would I need a quad-channel fibre channel card, given that at some point I might upgrade the VTrak system with a second controller and more storage?
Many thanks for any recommendation.

SDLT and LTO and Ultrium tape drives and particularly tape loaders are commonly deployed in the enterprise product space, and the usual connections in that market are SCSI and SAS for local direct connections, and FC SAN for typical server connections.
Various sites also use big, slow (and thus cheap) disk used for some archival processing, as well; depending on the value of the data, these configurations are usually RAID and with copies located across multiple sites. But I digress.
The tape hardware itself is generally available. The "fun" with using tape drives (of any sort) with Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server is acquiring and maintaining the driver and host software; of getting the data out to the tape drive and (hopefully) back in again as needed. This also obviously involves upgrades and related tasks, as well as how you can perform the recovery of your archives. And this software tends to be specific to the controller and the tape drive and (if you're using one) the loader.
I don't see the SCSI card in the Xserve configuration screens or in the US Apple store.
There are third-party options. If you go this route, a package of controller and hardware and related software is a better idea; a configuration that somebody has tested. ATTO Technology is one of the established vendors here, though there are others.

Similar Messages

Am being prompted to enter security questions when making a purchase on my new IPad. I don't believe I have ever setup security questions on my apple id. How to I create new security questions?

I am being prompted to enter security questions when making a purchase on my new IPad. I don't believe I have ever setup security questions on my apple id. I have tried logging into my apple id and have chosen the security and priviacy settings to set up security questions. However I am prompted to enter answers to security questions and am told they don't match. How to I create new security questions or reset them?

You need to ask Apple to reset your security questions; ways of contacting them include phoning AppleCare and asking for the Account Security team, clicking here and picking a method for your country, and filling out and submitting this form.
They wouldn't be security questions if they could be bypassed without Apple verifying your identity.
(104011)

Redundent mail server setup (backup mail server)

i have been reading all the post of setting up a mackup postfix server. i have looked at the configuration files and have a second machine ready to be implemented but have some questions on how exactly the backup works. my current setup is:
- xserve1 with 10.4.3 OD master running mail, web, dns, ichat, ftp, host name is mail.mydomain.com
- xserve2 with 10.4.3 (i will make this replica) running web and backup dns
- G4 466MHz with 10.4.3 Server running mail and web, host name is mail2.mydomain.com (this is to bemy postfix backup server)
all 3 are behind a firewall with NAT. they have local LAN IPs with NAT to 3 separate WAN IPs and open ports for the needed services.
my first question is: do i need to run dns as well on mail2.mydomain.com?
while i understand that mail stays in the queue on the postfix backup, does that mean that while mail.mydomain.com (primary mail server) is down users will not be getting any mail? can the users actually login to the mail2.mydomain.com and if yes how do they authorize?
should i keep mail2.mydomain.com as a standalone or make it part of the directory?
any info is appreciated.
thanks
martin
xserve G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

don't mail servers hold mail for days anyway and keep
retrying and when our mail comes back up will get all
the mail?
Yes, they typically do (unless some braindead administrator has configured his server to try only for a few hours or so).
i assume there is no difference if my
backup mail server runs on 10.3.9 then?
None whatsoever.
- is there a practical way to set up a mail that
clinets can login to and check mail while the primary
server is down?
Practical? No.
can the backup server forward as well
while it holds to the queue?
Why would you want that? Where should it forward to if the primary is down? As soon as the primary is up, the secondary will forward to i.
the last time i had some
coruption and problems with reconstruct (which you
helped me with), we were down for 24 hours. i am
trying to avoid this. i have an image and i run
mailbfr to backup i assume i can use that in case of
harware failure or massive os corruption that may
take hours to fix.
If push comes to shove this may help. Although images are never too brilliant for mail services recovery.
my problem is that if this happens
during the week, during daytime we cannot really
afford to be down at that time.
This is really your call. Only you can decide how much money you want/need to throw at resilience. But if you decide you cannot afford more than an hour of downtime, you will need far more than an onsite secondary mx
Alex

New XSan setup requirements questions

Hello All,
We're in the process of installing XSan in our facility, swapping out our current SanMP configuration. I had three questions about metadata controllers.
1) How CPU intensive is the XSan MDC function? I wanted to repurpose one of our MacPro 1,1 as an XSan metadata backup controller, but I'm a bit worried that the cpu won't be Zippy enough, it's a 2.8ghz dual-core x2 xeon. This would be the back up controller and exclusively dedicated to the task.
2) I understand that running XSan requires an OS X Server to manage permissions etc. But if I recall from our experience with XSan 1, the MDC could run on OS X client version just fine. The current Apple lit says otherwise. Would I be able to run our backup MDC on OS X client? We already have another xserve functioning as our OD master/file serve. So the Primary MDC running on OS X Server would already be the redundant OD.
3) How fast does the MDC FC connection need to be? If my clients are all on 4/8gb x2 connections, can I run my MDCs on 2gb? or single 4gb? My understanding is they are generally just accessing the metadata LUN, in which case, that LUN itself is the bottle neck to performance.
Thanks in advanced for all your help.

Speaking metadata, I suggest you look into this: http://www.getactivestorage.com/pr041210-1.php
Active is onto something here and this answers a huge problem when scaling a SAN. Now your storage arrays can all use the max number of drives per box.
As for your other questions:
1: CPU is not a huge deal but do things right. Get an MDC and an MDB and let them do just SAN control. Scale your RAM needs to allow for 4 GB of RAM per SAN volume if you are doing AD permissions and (gasp) Spotlight. Thus, if you have one ingest volume and one work volume, have 8 GB of RAM + another 4 for the OS. More is better. Don't expect to use the devices as cluster nodes either. Leave the processing elsewhere.
2: Using server is recommended and the official way to do it. If you already have an OD Master, then just connect the MDC and MDB to the domain. They do not need to be replicas.
Just my two cents. Enjoy Xsan.

Help with simple OS upgrade and backup questions for a dumb old previous PC user...?

Ok...have mercy on me, please...
I am not completely dumb, I know typical board etiquette, and I have searched for various answers (and found many)...but I just want to confirm my personal "research" and get all of this clear up before I proceed with this insanity. I know I could probably search more, but this is taking hours, because of all my various questions, one leads to 10 more...
I have an iMac with Mac OS X Version 10.5.8 (which, though not mentioned anywhere?...is apparently "Leopard", right? Told you I was dumb...)
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
My main goal: install an app that was in the Mac App store.
However, with Leopard, I can't access the Mac App store with Leopard, apparently.
I click on the Mac App store, and up pops up a Lion advertisement...telling me I should upgrade. Ok, fine...probably a good idea, anyway...
But how do you upgrade to Lion? Apparently through the Mac App store!
The web-redirects on the Apple site are amusing...taking me on an endless cycle...purchase Lion in the app store...click..."you need to upgrade to Lion"...OK...click..."you need Lion at the app store"...OK...click..."you need to upgrade to Lion to get to the app store"....etc.
OK...fine...google searches...ahh, I need to upgrade to Snow Leopard first, apparently! Yes?
(Maybe the Apple redirects should detect that I have Leopard, and direct me to a screen that explains that I must upgrade to Snow Leopard...and then Lion! Do you hear that, Apple? Thanks.)
Anyway...so here's my plan:
1) Upgrade to Snow Leopard
2) Access the Mac app store
3) Upgrade to Lion
Question A: With my iMac (specs above), is it really advisable for me to do this? Can my computer really handle Lion? It seems I barely meet the minimum with my intel core 2 Duo and 2 GB ram...yes? Is this a dumb idea, even if "OK"? I know that "minimum requirements" on a PC often meant: "Well, it will work...but it will be slower than a snail and crash if you run 5 programs at the same time" (which I usually do...) I don't want to upgrade if the "minimum" is really not enough.
Question B: If the answer to A is "not a good idea", then do I just need a new computer (i.e. better processor)? Or do I need more Ram? And can I add Ram to this computer, and is it relatively easy? I have added Ram to PCs tons of times, and you always have to determine type of Ram for your board, make sure they "match", or whatever, and then open up the machine and install. Kind of a pain, but once I have the "right" type of Ram, opening the CPU and installing is within my abilities. Will it be harder for a Mac?
= = =
Next:
When upgrading an OS on a Windows, you pretty much format the harddrive and start all over. Back in the day I was a PC user, there wasn't really a "great" way to back up programs and files, so this was a nightmare. You could NOT just back-up software. You typically had to re-purchase and install it all from scratch. Is this the same with Macs? Furthermore, personal files were scattered all over the hard-drive for the individual software...so trying to back all that up to get it back on the new system = nightmare! I hate PCs.
Anyway...so, my iMac has Time Machine. I am pretty ignorant about this, and based on my previous PC backup program nightmares, I have a distrust for it...and don't really understand how it works. But in any event, my external drive crashed a few months ago, and I haven't replaced it, yet. So, I am replacing it soon and will get Time Machine back up and running...setting it up again, etc...leading to question C...
Question C: When upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion, what is the best way to ensure I keep all my programs and files. My wife and I both access the computer, so two user accounts. Does Time Machine really do a good job backing up everything and all things? Is it just a matter of upgrade to Snow Leopard...then immediately to Lion...and then some sort of "Restore" from Time Machine? Anything for me to "watch out for"...or to do when I buy a new external hard-drive and setup up Time Machine for the first time on it, in order to make this work well? Will I have to re-install all the various applications I have installed on this thing? (like with PCs?)
Thanks for any sincere help.

yachadhoo wrote:
I have an iMac with Mac OS X Version 10.5.8 (which, though not mentioned anywhere?...is apparently "Leopard", right? Told you I was dumb...)
Processor: 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
Apple has discontinued support for 10.5, it's a plaque of our platform that Apple only supports the last two operating systems in circulation.
Where as on Windows you can run the same OS version for 10 years and get updates free (if not stolen), on a Mac we get one year, two tops now and if you don't upgrade and break all your third party software and hardware drivers in the process, then your denied security updates.
On top of that, the OS X upgrades tend to break your older hardware too, or slow it down so much that it drives you to want to buy newer hardware.
It's funny Apple places the AppStore on your OS X version along with iTunes and Safari updates, but then doens't supply necessary security updates, your machine may be compromised and here you enter vital credit card info, banking etc. thinking you have a secure machine.
My advice, since that's a 10.5 era Mac, is to upgrade to 10.6.3 via this disk, then use Software Update until clear. You'll get security updates and your present installed 10.5 software will work in 10.6 using Rosetta.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A
Rosetta is not avaialble in 10.7 so it could be a lot of your software will no longer function
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
I don't see the sense in you buying all new software for a machine that's at it's end of life stage.
You can buy software in the AppStore with 10.6.
Question A: With my iMac (specs above), is it really advisable for me to do this? Can my computer really handle Lion? It seems I barely meet the minimum with my intel core 2 Duo and 2 GB ram...yes?
You will need to buy 4GB of RAM to run Lion well, the 2GB is just a bare minimum, and your processor is a bit dated.
Lion 10.7 is certainly slower than Snow Leopard 10.6, in fact so many wanted to go back to Snow Leopard and one of the resons was Lion was slow.
So I wrote a User Tip, here, but the Tips were implemented only recently.
How to revert your Mac to Snow Leopard
Question B: If the answer to A is "not a good idea", then do I just need a new computer (i.e. better processor)? Or do I need more Ram? And can I add Ram to this computer, and is it relatively easy? I have added Ram to PCs tons of times, and you always have to determine type of Ram for your board, make sure they "match", or whatever, and then open up the machine and install. Kind of a pain, but once I have the "right" type of Ram, opening the CPU and installing is within my abilities. Will it be harder for a Mac?
RAM is easy, you can buy it at Otherworld Computing or Crucial.com and install it yourself, there is a little door under the monitor.
Videos online at YouTube.
When upgrading an OS on a Windows, you pretty much format the harddrive and start all over. Back in the day I was a PC user, there wasn't really a "great" way to back up programs and files, so this was a nightmare. You could NOT just back-up software. You typically had to re-purchase and install it all from scratch. Is this the same with Macs? Furthermore, personal files were scattered all over the hard-drive for the individual software...so trying to back all that up to get it back on the new system = nightmare! I hate PCs.
Mac'soperaing system is seperate, it can be replaced or upgraded indepentantly of programs or user accounts on the machine.
There are some programs that install a kernel extension file at boot into OS X, those get knocked out, but those can be replaced with a new install of the software.
You should always backup your users files as those can't be repalced.
 Most commonly used backup methods explained
Question C: When upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion, what is the best way to ensure I keep all my programs and files.
OS X upgrades dont' affect User accounts but they can have a affect on programs installed, which most of your 10.5 programs likely will no longer work in 10.7
However they will (with a slight update) work in 10.6 just like before.
You need to backup regardless, I suggest a manual backup of users files to a storage drive, a 10.5 clone on another drive, the your ready to upgrade to 10.6
10.5 to 10.6 upgrade is rather painless, also 10.6 gives accelerated video drivers, so your machine will appear faster.
However once you install 10.7, you will slow down.
Does Time Machine really do a good job backing up everything and all things?
No, you shouldn't rely upon TM, have a multiple backup stragedy, TM files are hard to access directly.
Is it just a matter of upgrade to Snow Leopard...then immediately to Lion...and then some sort of "Restore" from Time Machine?
No need to restore, OS X upgrades and leaves everything else in place, just some programs (with 10.6) or a lot (with 10.7) when you try to launch them they will fail.
Also when you connect TM it will do a substancial change to reflect the new boot drive.
If you were using TM as a "storage drive" thinking you can use the archived versions later, that wil change upon the new OS X upgrade.
But in any event, my external drive crashed a few months ago, and I haven't replaced it, yet. So, I am replacing it soon and will get Time Machine back up and running...setting it up again, etc...leading to question C..
You need not only TM drive, but a bootable clone and user files on a storage drive.
 Most commonly used backup methods explained
Will I have to re-install all the various applications I have installed on this thing? (like with PCs?)
No, depending upon what OS X version you stop at depends how many programs no longer work.
You will have to buy a lot of new or upgrade versions with 10.7, not so with 10.6 only updates mostly because of Rosetta on 10.6 and not on 10.7
My opinion, since that machine is a bit dated, is to upgrade to 10.6, Software update to 10.6.8, and stay there.
Later on 10.8 is being released after this summer, you may want to consider getting a new machine with 10.8 a few months later to ensure all the bugs are worked out of it.
Your not a comptuer savvy person, you like most Apple users expect your machine to "just work" I think going to 10.7 will be a bad experience for you.
10.6.8 will server your needs until 10.8 is released and on new hardware where Apple will hold your hand for free for three months, 3 years with AppleCare.
Your not a "OS X upgrader type of a person" and Apple needs to get of thier collective assets and pay better attention to it's most common users.

Setting up C340 20" non touch all in one pc/backup questions

Hello there I have just bought two C340's and I am nervious about setting them up, I have gone through the prompts and it says I am up and running now. But as it came with windows 8 preinstalled I don't know if I should be backing up Windows 8? I says stuff in the instructions about if you install you own OS to create a partition otherwise if you install it in c drive it will be wiped as part of the onetouch backup? But I am not sure if I have read this correctly. Should I be creating a recovery disk..of the OS or other parts? If so how? I also got a disk which says 'drivers' but it was never asked for in the basic setup prompts, and the pc says it is ready to use, so am I to suppose this is a spare copy? Lastly I have read alot on this forum about the re-sizing/repartitioning the c drive and the effect this has on the onekey back up. I don't know if this also applies to my C340 but it scares the hell out of me, I daren't touch anything now, and if the same applies to my pc than the other people having c:/d: drive/onekey backup issues should I be saving everything to the d drive as the c drive is nonexistant, fills up fast and stops the onekey dead? Thanks in advance.

hi confuseddotcom,
Welcome to the Lenovo Community.
Regarding your questions:
1. For a brand new PC, It's highly recommended to create a recovery disc so that in event of a system crash, you can always restore the computer to factory defaults. Check this guide on how to create a recovery disc on Windows 8. As an alternative, you can use Aomei Partition Assistant Home Edition or EaseUS Disk Copy Home Edition to clone the HDD.
2. The driver disc contains softwares and drivers for your Lenovo C340. I recommend you keep this disc just in case to save you the hassle of downloading the drivers on the lenovo website.
3. If you're PC came with a 500GB or 1TB HDD and has partitions, you can save your files on the partition that has more free space. If you resize the partitions by using disk management, the OKR functionality might get corrupted. Make sure to check this guide on how to create a recovery disc on Windows 8.before you resize the partition.
Hope this helps.
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2x 10.5.2 xServe + raid backup solutions - Suggestions please!

Hello,
I'll give a brief overview of what I'm rolling out. *Limited budget* So keep that in mind
Basically I'm just looking for suggestions on backup solutions for this particular setup. I have been hearing mixed reviews of most backup solutions under 10.5.x... (In 10.4.x server I was relatively confident with Retrospect and had performed restores before).
--2 xServes, One web server, one for local services like mail, OD, AFP, Cal, etc. each has 2x 80gb drive (boot volume + mirror). Advanced server config.
--1x raid configured as raid6 with 4TB useable after formatting and parity. Data (user directory, mail store, calendar, web sites and database, etc) will be on the raid volumes, the 80 gb drives in xserves are only for OS and log files.
--All clients are using MacBook Pro's and most users have minimal data. Most data will be mail and quicktime videos (compressed for web, originals on mini dv tapes).
--MacBook Pro's already live, current server is SBS 2003 and it handles backups via Retrospect.
--Backups will have to be D2D, tape is not an option in this case. This means two external drives for backup (one on site and one off site, cycle on friday). Probably 2TB FW800 for each drive as entire raid isn't being backed up, some of it is scratch storage so 2 TB is plenty for now).
Naturally I want to use time machine but I am hearing of horror stories using time machine to backup advanced server in 10.5. Also seeing issues with cyrus (mail) and time machine (I will be running mail services). In addition, I don't think I could do any sort of cycle with the two external drives using time machine? The lack of configurability in time machine worries me. And finally, I don't know how time machine does with active database' (Ie: sql database for web server, I just don't know if time machine will cause problems when trying to back live database up). If someone has experience with time machine in a similar setup I'd love to hear your thoughts / suggestions.
Alternatively there is retrospect. We already own a license and I am familiar with administering it on 10.4.x. How reliable is it for backing up 10.5.2 clients and 10.5.2 server? Including active databses (Again the web server sql databases, etc? Kind of a pain restoring anything from retrospect (Especially entire server if / when it has to be done) but it was tried and true for me in 10.4.x server installations.
These MacBook pro's will also likely become mobile homes once all is said and done (But currently are not as the xServes are not installed yet). Time machine + mobile home directory seems like a lot of data being backed up that is probably redundant?
To top it all off, until new office is ready (All gigabit when that happens in ~1 year) network is as follows:
Servers have 100 mbit full duplex connection
Clients have 10mbit half duplex (This is where time machine really frightens me with hourly client backup).
Considering above, I can either:
A: Run proactive backup script from retrospect for all clients and then nightly backup for select raid volume contents + server boot volumes.
B: Not backup clients directly via retrospect and only backup contents of the raid volume (Which is where the mobile homes will be stored). Mobile home sync would be set to occur on login / logout only (Considering 10mbit client connections, I don't want active or user initiated sync heh).
Thoughts / suggestions? Thanks in advance, any suggestions are much appreciated. Hardware is set in stone but backup solution is not so most aspects of backup solution can be changed =)

First of all, thanks for your reply!
Well I should clarify in that I wasn't going to operate "network" homes and that they were just going to be the mobile homes with sync only occurring at login / logout. Even then, I think I'd run in to issues with the 10base-T for the client systems. The servers are on 100base-T full duplex. Currently All of the Windows systems do the same and logging in / out isn't too terrible but I couldn't imagine actually running the home directories off the server on 10base-T.
Do you still think mobile homes would be too much with just the login / logout sync? If so, I'll simply avoid this option until we get our new building and gigabit networking all around in the next year.
You're correct in that all clients will be running 10.5.2.
If I am not running mobile homes, I suppose the easiest way then is to in fact backup clients via time machine to the raid volume and then backup the entire raid volume (Hence all of our sites, compressed video files and databases to a large external drive (Maybe I'll get a couple 3 or 4 TB raid drives instead... lol). Naturaly I'd select the scratch disk directories and tell time machine to ignore them. Only issue there being that I may run in to space concerns like you say. If it becomes a huge problem and apple still hasn't made TM more configurable by then, I could use the time machine editor app or modify the intervals myself. I'd rather not and will only do this if it becomes an issue
From what I can gather, time machine is not making complete duplicates of an active database (MS Entourage in this case) and is only backing up the changes. I was worried about how it handled this and whether it would detect a change and just backup the entire database again (Which would be a nightmare if it did this for our web directories as they have active databases running).
Do you know of time machine will wreak havoc with active databases (Like the ones our websites use, a couple small sql databases and one larger one).
I think time machine would work well with the method you suggested. So I can just set it to backup all clients to the raid volume and then setup time machine to backup the raid volume to the external disk? For my off site... I suppose I could just bring in the second identical external drive every Friday and copy the time machine backup database from the on site backup drive on to it and then get it out of there each evening.
As for backing up the servers themselves, they will not be storing much of anything and most everything will be pointed to the raid volume (Hence the 80GB drives). Because of this, the data on the servers themselves will not change THAT much compared to the raid volume which will change drastically every day so full backups of the servers is fine. Perhaps just setting psyncX (assuming it works in 10.5) to backup the 80GB boot volume for each server would be best? I could just set psyncX to backup each server boot volume to the same external drive the raid volume is backing up to and then each friday just copy the data from the on site drive to the external, killing two birds with one stone. (Tape would make this all easier but it isn't gonna happen in this case sigh).
I worry about the cyrus / mail issues I'm reading about on servers running time machine though.

Storage / Backup Question

As this relates to how I work with my files whilst using FCE, I suspect this is probably the right board to post on....here's my question....
I'm starting to produce more and more videos for work - I capture with a small Sony HD camera, import the files to my external hard drive....and then start work on them....
This works fine for now...but as my first Terabyte starts to be used up, I'm also starting to consider issues such as backing up...
I started to read about RAID storage options.....RAID 1 appears to be the way to go in terms of storing my master files, and ensuring they are safe....my questions are....
- Does this sound like the best strategy?
- Will my Mac need a seperate RAID card installed to handle the extra processor/RAM work?
-Are there any particular setups / brands anybody could recommend?
Many thanks in advance
Jonathan

When I was recently organising new backup facilities for my sctatch disk I got advice from someone on Macfixit against using a RAID system for backups, either a hard or software RAID system, for the reasons that Martin mentioned - lack of sufficiently reliability. The reason for re-equipping was that the internal power supply circuitry of the (failed) external Scratch Disk caused the failure. If that happened in a RAID system (which I believe shares a common internal power circuitry) the whole RAID would fail. I got a rescue firm to read and copy the Capture Scratch on to another HD but many files did not survive.
I went for two 500 GB external LaCie Firewire 800 (actually triple inteface) drives and use one for my scratch disk and copy everything across to the other now and again. As a test, by resetting FCE's Scratch settings to the second drive, (to simulate a failure of the first) FCE worked normally.
Loosing the scrastch disk (as happened to me recently) creates lots of work in re-capturing. So I am relying on two backup systems for my Capture Scratch - the second HD and the Mini DV tapes, all of which I keep as they are quite cheap.
Message was edited by: SteveKir

Restoring from a time machine backup question

Hi!
I have done several time machine restores before (every occassion has been restoring to a fresh install of the OS) and have had no problems. But i have a question about what will happen in the following situation:
I plan to install Lion on my mac which has 2 hard drives: 1 has the OS, apps, and media cache; and the other just has raw footage and project files. My Time Machine disk backs up BOTH hard drives. What I am going to do is erase my OS hard drive and do a fresh install of Lion and then restore all my data and files to it using Time Machine (I always do a fresh install when changing OS because it eliminates problems and works fine when restoring from Time Machine). But my question is: what Time Machine will do about the secondary hard drive when it is restoring since I am not going to erase it? and the Time Machine has a back up of it.
Since I have done it before, I know what options Time Machine gives you when restoring, but they are irrelivent to this issue since I have files on both hard drives.
Thanks!

soccomp wrote:
What I am going to do is erase my OS hard drive and do a fresh install of Lion and then restore all my data and files to it using Time Machine
Do you mean use Setup Assistant when your Mac boots up to transfer everything but OSX (via this window)?:
(That's the Snow Leopard version; the Lion version is a bit different.)
If so, that will transfer only from the backups of the OSX partition. Time Machine keeps the backups for each drive/partition separate, and only presents the ones with OSX on them here.
I always do a fresh install when changing OS because it eliminates problems
Such problems are fairly unusual. Most folks do just fine by simply upgrading "in place."
And unless you bought a Lion OSX USB thumb drive, or have another Snow Leopard bootable volume, you'll have a problem: you must use Snow Leopard to download Lion from the App Store, so you can't erase the drive first.

ACS Backup question

Two ACS questions
1. I have been able to access a ACS 1121 by using a keyboard and screen, but I am not able to access the ACS using a console.
The setup disk allows me to choose between using the Keyboard and screen and the console, but the console setup does not appear to work.
Default settings for the console are 9066 8 n1 and I presume that the sys managment port is where I plug the console cable in?
Any ideas
2. With just a screen and console how do I backup the configuration to a file? There is a good chance that the equipment I am working will need to habe its configurations change when it travels?
ideas?
Thanks for your help

Hi there,
About your questions:
1. Yes, this is possible. You can replicate information between the ACS appliance and the ACS Windows version. The requirement is to be running exactly the same version in both sides.
2. That information is in the backup file. In ACS 4.x there is only one backup which contains all the server information. This behavior changes in version 5.x where there are multiple type of backup files now.
Let me know if I answered your concerns.

Lync 2013 Standard backup questions

Hello
I need to backup our Lync 2013 Standard Edition setup.
We have Only one server atm.
Looking at this post for inspiration:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/heyscriptingguy/archive/2014/06/28/weekend-scripter-basic-lync-server-2013-backup-and-restore-part-1.aspx
As far as i can understand, i don't need to do SQL backup at all? Or am i missing the point?
Would I be able to restore my Lync from these 3 commands:
Export-CSConfiguratiom, Export-CSLisConfiguration and Export-CsUserData - Is that enough for a disasterrecovery?
And a bonus question:
When i run Export-CSLisConfiguration . The export only contains the following:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<LisDatabase xmlns="urn:schema:Microsoft.Rtc.Lis.Database.2008"/>
Is that not incomplete somehow?

That much would get you back up and running, yes. But it may not be a "full" restore.
For example, if you have persistent chat data, it wouldn't necessarily be included in there. If you have an archiving database where all IMs are sent, that information wouldn't be in the PowerShell exports above. If you don't have a copy of the
certificate and private key, that's lost.
Typically, I run my own custom version of Lasse's backup script https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Backup-script-for-Lync-2013-aacbb9b9
That pulls all the data, including your file stores, SQL exports, certificates, and everything into a single folder and zips it for you. If you back those zips up, you'll have most everything.
Restoring directly back into SQL isn't the recommended method, if you did need to get back up you'd want to follow standard restore procedures by using the supported PowerShell, but you'll have other avenues to restore if needed and a more complete copy
of your data.
The LIS export may be complete if you don't have any Lync locations defined. You'd typically enter these for 911 purposes.
Check out Lasse's Channel 9 video as well:
http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2014/OFC-B331
Check out his backup series docs here as well:
http://tech.rundtomrundt.com/search/label/Backup-Lync2013
Please remember, if you see a post that helped you please click "Vote As Helpful" and if it answered your question please click "Mark As Answer".
SWC Unified Communications
This forum post is based upon my personal experience and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Microsoft, its employees, or other MVPs.

Xserve and FibreChannel question

Hi,
i need to setup some xserve for a video producer for a massive video editing.
this is my stuff:
1 (one) Xserve G5 dual 2.3GHz 1GB ram 1FibreChannel pcix
2 (two) XserveRaid , the first with 14HD 400GB (5.6TB) the second 14 HD 500GB (7TB)
my question is this:
is it possible to link to a fibre channel two XserverRaid?
Is there a loss of power or something else?
How can setup them to have some advantages in video composing/editing?
thank you!

The Xserve RAID has 2 fibre channel ports, and they are independent. So each Xserve RAID requires a dual-port HBA to connect. You can connect 2 Xserve RAIDs to a single Xserve, if you put 2 fibre channel cards in the Xserve. This will take both PCI slots, so you won't be able to use a video card in this case (so hopefully you have ARD).

HT1420 i forgot my answers to my security questions, how do i setup new questions and answers?

I have forgotten my answers to my security questions, how do i setup new security questions and answers?

Welcome to the Apple Community.
Start here (change country if necessary) and navigate to 'Password and Security', reset your security questions using the link provided, you will receive an email to your rescue address, use the link in the email and reset your security questions.
If that doesn't help, you don't receive a reset email or you don't have a rescue address, you should contact AppleCare who will initially try to assist you with a reset email or if unsuccessful will pass you to the security team to reset your security questions for you.
If you are in a region that doesn't have international telephone support try contacting Apple through iTunes Store Support.

ACS 5.3 Database backup questions

I do an incermental backup every day at 02:00
IncrementalBackup-Job
Mon Sep 17 02:00:00 EST 2012
Mon Sep 17 02:00:02 EST 2012
Completed
But I get the
System Alarm [Database Purging]
Mon Sep 17 04:00:00
Incremental Backup not configured
why?
see contents of repository below so it is there
CHIACS71/chacs01# sh repository DataBase
acsviewdbfull_CHIACS71_20120912_095516.tar.gpg
acsviewdbfull_CHIACS71_20120913_020000.tar.gpg
acsviewdbincr_1_CHIACS71_20120914_020000.tar.gpg
acsviewdbincr_2_CHIACS71_20120915_020000.tar.gpg
acsviewdbincr_3_CHIACS71_20120916_020000.tar.gpg
acsviewdbincr_4_CHIACS71_20120917_020000.tar.gpg
catalog.xml
repolock.cfg
CHIACS71/chacs01#
second question can I use my secondary ACS for the DataBase repository?

Hi,
You should use an nfs server, sftp or ftp repository for backups only, something that is dedicated for storage. I would not recommending using anything that is used for production which needs internal storage to take on the task of managing another applications data.
As far as the the first question, i am not talking about the purging, i am talking about the scheduled application backups:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/net_mgmt/cisco_secure_access_control_system/5.3/user/guide/admin_operations.html#wp1076238
Tarik Admani
*Please rate helpful posts*

Please help me with some backup questions....

After suffering through two hard drive failures (not my main drive, fortunately), and being frustrated with trying to keep everything backed up, I'm taking a fresh approach to everything and I plan to do the following:
1. Purchase a new, 2 TB hard drive (enterprise class - Can you guys recommend a reliable one?) and clone my existing main hard drive to it.
2. Purchase a second identical drive and install it in bay #2.
3. Likely purchase G-Technology's G-Safe with Raid 1 capability. Likely 3 TB just cause.
4. I'll keep my current 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar in the 3rd bay. It serves only my Sonos music system. (I wanted a separate drive for that so my regular drives weren't always running.)
So far so good. I plan on putting all my files on the one main 2 TB drive. (Formerly roughly 500 GB of music was on a separate internal drive, the one that's died twice now. Seagate Barracuda FYI.) I'll then clone the main drive to the identical drive in the 2nd bay and make it bootable as well. That's backup #1 and I plan on having it also updated regularly. (Incrementally, not a complete erase and rewrite, but still keeping it bootable.) I'll then hook up the Raid 1 drive and clone the main hard drive to that as well, also making it bootable. That will give me backup #2 and #3 (through mirroring). These drives will be backed up less often and when not being used, will be stored in a fire proof safe in the garage. So far so good, I think.
What I'm stuck on is what software to use for doing the cloning and more importantly, the backups.
For the cloning, I understand I can simply use the Restore function in the Disk Utility. Is this correct? Or am I better off using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner? If so, which one? And why?
For the regular backups, I have been using Retrospect but frankly, I'm less than impressed with their interface and I've never liked the fact that even if the backups aren't compressed, I can't see the files unless I do so through Retrospect. I can't just go to the backup drive and view the files. They're all hidden in the one Retrospect icon. So, I'm considering the following:
Time Machine: However, I was less than impressed with it in the past as it seemed to completely fill whatever drive I pointed it to and then it would fail to backup. I never could figure it out that well.
SuperDuper: I was just checking them out and it seems that it's not only a good cloner, but will also then keep that clone up to date and bootable on a regular basis. It really sounds like it's what I need. And the screen shots I saw on their site seem pretty well thought out and explain a lot.
Carbon Copy Cloner: I know this app has been around for a long time, though I've never used it. I'm presuming it's good for cloning a drive onto a larger drive, just as SuperDuper is, but can it do scheduled backups of that clone like SuperDuper can?
And in all cases, I want to keep both the second internal drive and the external RAID drives backed up from their original clonings. Can any of these programs handle ongoing backups to two or more destinations from the same source?
And finally, a last question or two:
To repeat my first question, who makes a really reliable enterprise class drive?
And has anyone had any experience with G-Technology's G-Safe with RAID 1?
Thanks much for all your help.
Oh, here's my system: Mac Pro tower, 2008 2.8 GHz, 10 GB ram. Dual Intel processors. Currently 10.5.8, soon to be 10.6.8.

valbelvalbel wrote:
After suffering through two hard drive failures (not my main drive, fortunately), and being frustrated with trying to keep everything backed up, I'm taking a fresh approach to everything and I plan to do the following:
1. Purchase a new, 2 TB hard drive (enterprise class - Can you guys recommend a reliable one?) and clone my existing main hard drive to it.
2. Purchase a second identical drive and install it in bay #2.
3. Likely purchase G-Technology's G-Safe with Raid 1 capability. Likely 3 TB just cause.
4. I'll keep my current 1 TB Hitachi Deskstar in the 3rd bay. It serves only my Sonos music system. (I wanted a separate drive for that so my regular drives weren't always running.)
Hitachi and Seagate both make enterprise class drives. Just visit their websites to find models.
So far so good. I plan on putting all my files on the one main 2 TB drive. (Formerly roughly 500 GB of music was on a separate internal drive, the one that's died twice now. Seagate Barracuda FYI.) I'll then clone the main drive to the identical drive in the 2nd bay and make it bootable as well. That's backup #1 and I plan on having it also updated regularly. (Incrementally, not a complete erase and rewrite, but still keeping it bootable.) I'll then hook up the Raid 1 drive and clone the main hard drive to that as well, also making it bootable. That will give me backup #2 and #3 (through mirroring). These drives will be backed up less often and when not being used, will be stored in a fire proof safe in the garage. So far so good, I think.
I don't know what your desires are for backup redundancy, but I would create a two drive mirrored RAID for your main backup. This could consist of two identical hard drives mounted in your Mac Pro's slots (this is what I do.) Or you could purchase a two-drive external case and use Firewire. (I also do this.) Drive size should be determined by how large a drive(s) you are backing up and if you plan to use Time Machine. TM's backup device must be at least twice the size of the drive(s) it backs up.
What I'm stuck on is what software to use for doing the cloning and more importantly, the backups.
For the cloning, I understand I can simply use the Restore function in the Disk Utility. Is this correct? Or am I better off using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner? If so, which one? And why?
For the regular backups, I have been using Retrospect but frankly, I'm less than impressed with their interface and I've never liked the fact that even if the backups aren't compressed, I can't see the files unless I do so through Retrospect. I can't just go to the backup drive and view the files. They're all hidden in the one Retrospect icon. So, I'm considering the following:
Time Machine: However, I was less than impressed with it in the past as it seemed to completely fill whatever drive I pointed it to and then it would fail to backup. I never could figure it out that well.
SuperDuper: I was just checking them out and it seems that it's not only a good cloner, but will also then keep that clone up to date and bootable on a regular basis. It really sounds like it's what I need. And the screen shots I saw on their site seem pretty well thought out and explain a lot.
Carbon Copy Cloner: I know this app has been around for a long time, though I've never used it. I'm presuming it's good for cloning a drive onto a larger drive, just as SuperDuper is, but can it do scheduled backups of that clone like SuperDuper can?
And in all cases, I want to keep both the second internal drive and the external RAID drives backed up from their original clonings. Can any of these programs handle ongoing backups to two or more destinations from the same source?
If you are running Lion then do not use SuperDuper. It has not yet been updated for reliable use with Lion and cannot handle Lion's Recovery HD. Carbon Copy Cloner's recent beta release would be a good choice as would Synk Pro from Decimus, or Tri-Backup. All of these will clone a drive as well as perform scheduled backups/updates of a clone. But only CCC properly deals with Lion's Recovery HD at this time. All of these make essentially file by file copies from the source to the destination. One can easily restore a file or a few items without needing to use the backup utility since everything on the backup is accessible through the Finder.
TM is not able to create a bootable clone. It is an archival backup utility intended for home users needing basic, automatic, and simple to use backup software. Restoring software from a TM backup can only be done through the TM application.
And finally, a last question or two:
To repeat my first question, who makes a really reliable enterprise class drive?
And has anyone had any experience with G-Technology's G-Safe with RAID 1?
Thanks much for all your help.
Oh, here's my system: Mac Pro tower, 2008 2.8 GHz, 10 GB ram. Dual Intel processors. Currently 10.5.8, soon to be 10.6.8.

Xserve setup/backup question

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