3.8.2 LAN Server Management Tools (LSMT)

3.9 Prepare for Disaster Recovery

After an unsuccessful migration, the system might refuse to boot. In this case, the only way to access the server's hard disks is by being able to start from the Disaster Recovery Diskettes. If any data is seriously damaged, you have to be able to restore it from a previously-made backup.

Although most administrators will claim to have a reasonable backup method, many of them never consider the restore process since this is not a regularly performed task. Having Disaster Recovery Diskettes available can be the only chance to recover from system failure. If you don't have them available, create them by either of the following methods:

1. Make copies of the OS/2 installation diskettes and modify them manually.

2. When using 386 HPFS, use the MAKEDISK utility located in \IBMLAN\NETPROG (if running OS/2 Warp Server, double-click on the Icon Create 386 HPFS OS/2 Startup Diskette located in the IBM LAN Services folder as shown in Figure 10 below). You will need to have access to the OS/2 Warp Server installation files. Also verify that the CONFIG.SYS contains the BASEDEV=XDFLOPPY.FLT entry.
   
   
   
   Figure 10: Create 386 HPFS OS/2 Startup Diskette Utility
   
   

3. If your backup software offers functionality to create Disaster Recovery Diskettes, then do it this way.

Verify that the Disaster Recovery Diskettes contain at least the following additional drivers, and if not, add them manually:

• 386 HPFS driver, if your server has 386 HPFS installed

• SCSI driver, if your backup device is a SCSI device

• RAID driver, if your server has a RAID array

• Backup device driver (if required).

Note
In order to be sure the device drivers work as expected, always copy those from your currently running system onto the Disaster Recovery Diskettes instead of getting the latest version from the Internet.

Also, keep in mind, if needed, to copy additional device drivers to the Disaster Recovery Disks whenever the server's hardware has been modified.

Important Note
To be sure disaster recovery works, you should have tested the Disaster Recovery Diskettes for the following issues: Are you able to boot from the Diskettes and access your server's hard disk? Is the backup device recognized during startup? Are you able to read and restore from the backup media?

Always keep those diskettes in a safe and known place.

3.10 Remove LAN Distance