Restore Data - Informix iDataAgent - Full System Restore

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Overview

Perform a Full System Restore

Overview

The difference between a normal restore and a full system restore is the severity of the problem. Normally, if data is lost or removed, it is recovered from the archives using the normal restore procedures. However, when a normal restore operation cannot correct a software and/or hardware corruption problem, some additional changes may be required.

The level of system restore required may be different as described below.

• When the database is corrupted and a restore is required, both the application software and database must be restored. This can be achieved by performing the following steps:
  • Restoring the application by using the file system iDataAgent restore options.
  • Restoring the database files using the restore options in the iDataAgent.
• When the client system (operating system, hardware, hard drives, etc.) is damaged or destroyed, a full system restore may be required.

Perform a Full System Restore

The following procedure demonstrates how to perform a full system restore when the client system is damaged or destroyed. The procedure assumes the following:

• Latest file system, Informix backups, ixbar file, and ONCONFIG file are available.
• File system backup does not include the Informix databases. (This is done by filtering the entire dbspace directory.)

To perform a full system restore:

1. If necessary, rebuild the hardware as it existed before.
2. Using the appropriate instructions, perform a full system restore of your file system to rebuild your operating system.  In addition to restoring to your operating system, this operation will restore the Informix application files and all of the iDataAgent software.
3. Reboot the machine.

   If there are any problems with the Informix iDataAgent software, we recommend that you un-install and re-install the software in the same drive where it was previously installed. Use the same installation parameters, passwords, and backup type settings as were previously used.

4. Use the directives in Create an Instance to create a simple instance on the destination host. Ensure that you are including the parameters that were used for the instance before the system failure. 
5. On the destination host, start up the instance and then shut down the instance.
6. Log into the destination host and navigate to the $INFORMIXDIR/etc directory.  Then perform the following file copies (using "cp"):

   ixbar.$serevrnum  to  ixbar.$servernum.org

   onconfig.$servername  to  onconfig.$servername.org

   oncfg_$servername.$servernum  to  oncfg_$servername.$servernum .org

   Then use the directives in Browse and Restore to cross-restore the ixbar and onconfig files on the CommCell Console from the source host's backups.  Thereafter, modify the onconfig.$servername.org file to be identical to the onconfig.$servername file  (i.e., ensure that DBSERVERNAME, SERVERNUM, and ROOTPATH are the same).

   Finally, copy the onconfig.$servername.org file to the onconfig.$servername file.

7. Log into the destination host and prepare dbspaces that refer to the oncfg files. All dbspaces physical paths have to be the same (e.g., prepare the cooked file space, cat /dev/null > $INFORMIXDIR/dbs/test1/data/testdbs1.c1,

   chmod 666 $INFORMIXDIR/dbs/test1/data/testdbs1.c1,

   chown -R informix:informix $INFORMIXDIR/dbs/test1/data/testdbs1.c1)

8. Try to restore the whole system by using the directives in Browse and Restore. It is recommended that you avoid performing a salvage backup (e.g., zeroing out the root dbspace before restoring or performing a physical whole system restore plus a logical whole system restore).

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