Kern, As requested, here is some instructions and comments on backing up a Windows Cluster, not necessarily specific to Exchange.
It's simplest to think of a Windows cluster as a completely separate machine to the nodes that make it up. With that in mind, the best way I can think of to back it up is to make the fd a clustered service too. Unfortunately, you still need the per-node fd too (unless you have a single button deployment or something and don't need to back them up), which makes things a little complicated. When backing up an Exchange Virtual (clustered) server, you need to connect to the name of the cluster, not the name of one of the nodes (physical machines). I fiddled around with various ways of doing this before I had the epiphany above - when the fd runs as a clustered service, the GetComputerName call returns the name of the cluster so it all 'just works'. An overview of the tasks involved: 1. Update bacula-fd.conf 2. Create a new bacula-cluster-fd.conf file for the clustered fd 3. Clone the existing bacula-fd service in the registry 4. Set up the clustered service itself 5. Configure the director 1. Update bacula-fd.conf We need to make the regular bacula-fd listen on a specific IP address, so that there is no conflict with the clustered service when we set it up. . Open bacula-fd.conf (in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bacula probably) . Just above the FDPort= line, add 'FDAddress=<ip of physical machine>' . Restart the bacula-fd service 2. a new bacula-cluster-fd.conf file for the clustered fd . Copy bacula-fd.conf to bacula-cluster-fd.conf . Change all of <name>-fd to <cluster name>-fd . Create a new password . Change FDAddress to the IP address of the virtual server . Make a 'Cluster_Work' directory in the same place as the existing 'Work' directory . Change the work and PID directories to point to the new Cluster_Work directory 3. Clone the existing bacula-fd service in the registry We need a new service that is independent of the existing service, so the cluster manager can stop it and start it on the active node. The only way I could think of to create a new service is to clone the data in the registry. Please make sure you have a backup before you tinker in here (and yes, I am aware of the irony in that statement) . Run regedit . Export HLKM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\bacula-fd to a file . Export HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_BACULA-FD to another file . in both files, change all instances of bacula-fd to bacula-cluster-fd, and change the DisplayName to 'Bacula File Service (Clustered)'. It's probably best to preserve the case. . Import both files back in. Just running them from Windows Explorer should be sufficient . Edit HLKM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\bacula-cluster-fd\imagepath so that the config file is bacula-cluster-fd.conf not bacula-fd.conf . Reboot (there has to be an easier way to get Windows to notice a new service but I don't know what it is) 4. Set up the clustered service itself For Windows 2003 - Windows 2008 should be similar enough: . Start the new bacula-cluster-fd service just to make sure it loads. Make sure it is listening on the right address etc. Stop it again. . Open Cluster Administrator, right click on the cluster, and select New->Resource . Enter 'bacula-cluster-fd' as the name . Enter a meaningful description . Change the Resource Type to 'Generic Service' . Select the required group . Click Next . Select the owner nodes . Make it dependant on the resources you are backing, eg Exchange, disks, etc. . Enter 'bacula-cluster-fd' as the service name . Select 'Use Network Name for computer name' . Click Next . Click Finish . Bring the new resource online 5. Configure the director Basically, each per-node fileset should back up each clustered node in the same way as you'd back up any other machine, and then there should be one more fileset/client/job that backs up the clustered resources (exchange server, clustered disks, etc). Windows should take care of failing over the fd service as required. I'll follow up in a minute with ideas about how to make some of that automated... James ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crystal Reports - New Free Runtime and 30 Day Trial Check out the new simplified licensing option that enables unlimited royalty-free distribution of the report engine for externally facing server and web deployment. http://p.sf.net/sfu/businessobjects _______________________________________________ Bacula-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-devel
