Ghosting a server. + other server tasks.

[BoomAM]

Hi.
Can someone tell me if its possible to ghost a server?

The reason being is as another level of backup, i'd like to be able to take one of our 3 servers offline for a few hours, run a a DOS version of Norton Ghost and then Ghost everything on every drive on the server to an external USB drive. And then, hypothetically if the server was to fail, i could then restore the server and its contents from the Ghost image, with it working as before without either the OS or the network clients that'd connect being any wiser.

The reason i ask is that its easy to ghost XP, but if i ghost Vista, it messes up the OS and gives me loads of 'not genuine' errors!?

The 3 servers in question are:
Network1 - Main server, running Server2K3 & Active Directory.
Network1 - Proxy ISA server, running Server2K3.
Network2 - Main server, running Server2K3 & Active Directory.

It'll basically allow me a safety net for upgrades/patches to the system.
As i plan on doing some HDD/Mem upgrades to 1 of the servers, and installing R2 on all 3.

On that note, am i correct in thinking that adding another HDD to a server, going to Disk Management, and 'expanding' an existing disk/partition to the new one will allow me to seemlessly add size to an existing drive?

And is R2 for 2K3 litererally just a set of extra apps that can be installed on any 2K3 box?

Thanks in advance all.

 

[zetec452]

Yes you can ghost a server.

You can ghost a server live with Aconis true image. Make sure you test the integrity of any images before you decide to play. It's not a nice mistake to happen. Obviously full tape backups should still be in place.

Microsoft Patches and updates are generally trouble free as MS are doing a lot of testing prior to each release.

In terms of expanding disk drives I wouldn't let windows do it, I don't think its possible anyway. If you have proper hardware (HP Servers with decent raid cards) you can expand arrays via your controller card and software.

 

[BoomAM]

Yes you can ghost a server.

You can ghost a server live with Aconis true image. Make sure you test the integrity of any images before you decide to play. It's not a nice mistake to happen. Obviously full tape backups should still be in place.

Microsoft Patches and updates are generally trouble free as MS are doing a lot of testing prior to each release.

In terms of expanding disk drives I wouldn't let windows do it, I don't think its possible anyway. If you have proper hardware (HP Servers with decent raid cards) you can expand arrays via your controller card and software.

Is it possible to ghost live with Ghost?
Doesnt have to be live tbh, i can shut down the server for 'essential' maintenence once a month without problem.
Would the ghost image function as other ghost images? ie; i take the image, and when i restore it, EVERYTHING works as before, with no apparent change?

We do daily incremental backups onto 400Gb tapes and a monthly backup of the entire server.

How come you wouldnt let Windows expand a 'drive' onto another one? Bad experiances? Whats another way i could achieve this?
We do have HP servers, but im not sure if they have RAID cards or not, as i havnt had a need to check thus far, but i will in the morning when i get in.

Thanks for the reply btw. Much appriciated.

 

[zetec452]

I doubt windows will support the dynamic addition of disks too well if at all. I've never used windows to manage this as I wouldn't trust it.

When I've expended raid arrays in the past I've done it via the HP software. Windows won't add the extra space into the C drive for instance. You have to create another drive with the new space.

You can't use Norton Ghost live on machines on the versions I've used (ghost 8 iirc).

 

[BoomAM]

The drive that needs expanding would be the D: of the server, where the SQL database & the Profile/Home folders are stored.
I'll see whats in the HP software tomorrow. .