Ignite-UX: The difference between working and not working

What kind of events would require a recovery from an Ignite image?

Actual disaster events such as fire, flood, lightning strikes, power surges, and building failures.
Hardware errors in CPUs, Memory and Disks can create LVM and/or file system corruption.
Human errors such as 'rm -r *' from root, or accidental deletion of logical volumes in an array.

Why does every HP-UX server needs an Ignite recovery image?

The HP-UX OS on each server or virtual instance is actually a complex amalgamation of base OS code, device drivers, patches, kernel variables, layered software, and LVM configurations. The current version of HP-UX 11iv3 was released in 2007 and thus has 5 years of accumulated patch and driver variations.

Ignite/UX provides a known quantity in a unified boot and recovery image for HP-UX servers. Without Ignite, recovery from a catastrophic failure requires a lengthy process that involves installing a server from original HP installation media (CDs, DVDs, DDS), adjusting logical volume sizes and parameters from configuration data or memory, applying patches, setting kernel tuning variables, installing additional layered software, restoring over the environment from a recent backup, then configuring and importing volume groups for user data.

Ignite simplifies this by creating boot media that contains the complete current operating environment. Recovering a server from an Ignite image brings back the LVM configuration, patches, kernel settings, amd add-on device drivers. Ignite can recover an HP-UX operating system in hours instead of days or weeks.

Stated simply, Ignite “puts it back the way it was,” in minute rather than days.

How can I create an Ignite image?

In the past, Ignite images were typically made on tape using the make_tape_recovery command. Newer HP-UX servers no longer have dedicated tape drives. This is especially true of blade servers. Alternatives to DDS tape for Ignite images include setting up an Ignite server and creating the Ignite image over the network, or creating an Ignite DVD.

Does Beechglen provide services to create and certify Ignite images?

Beechglen provides project consulting to create and certify Ignite images. An Ignite project includes the following services and activities:

  • Install or upgrade Ignite to a common version on all servers.
  • Configure NFS and create or expand file systems
  • Develop strategy to create an Ignite Server and recovery media on DVD, USB drives (for Itanium servers), or ISO images for offsite storage
  • Certify copy of recovery media on a like server in Beechglen’s facility
  • Provide all documentation, software, and scripts required

For a project quote please call 513-922-0509 x428 or fill out our sales contact page.