Category: Howto

How do I restore files from my ABS backup?

To restore a file or folder from ABS using CrashPlan:

  • If you are restoring to a temporary directory (recommended, create a directory called /esupport/restore
  • Launch CrashPlan Desktop (see also How do I launch the CrashPlan PRO administration software on my Linux server?)
  • Select the Restore tab
  • Select the file/folder to be restored from the “explorer” interface
  • Select the “arrow” to expand all available versions of the file/folder
  • Select the file/folder version you wish to be restored
  • Set the destination to “a folder (/esupport/restore)”
  • Select Restore

 

How do I change a printer’s IP address in Linux?

The mappings of IP addresses to “lp” names are contained in the /etc/hosts configuration file. You may modify the IP addresses for entries in the /etc/hosts files in a couple of different ways:

Command Line

  • Log into your server via PuTTY
  • Launch your favorite text editor to edit the hosts file. For example, using vim:
vim /etc/hosts
  • Locate the entry for the printer(s) you wish to change
  • Make the change
  • Save the file and quit

GUI

To view a step-by-step screencast of this process:

To change the printer’s IP address from the GUI interface:

  • Log into the GUI via any method (ie VNC, DRAC, physical console)
  • Navigate to Applications -> Accessories -> Text Editor
  • Navigate to File -> Open Location
  • Enter /etc/hosts
  • Locate the entries for the printer(s) you wish to change
  • Select Save
  • Exit

How do I perform a manual tape backup on Linux?

If your system is configured to perform a tape backup as part of the standard snapshot script, simply run the following command:

at now /u2/UTILS/bin/snapsave_linux.sh

If your system is configured to perform a local and/or remote rsync backup as part of the standard snapshot script, but you need to run a tape backup only, run the following command:

[root@eclipse-server ~]# /u2/UTILS/bin/snapsave_linux.sh
Unmounting previous snapshots
Suspending database
Performing snapshots
Releasing database suspension
Run tape backup now?  [NO/y]y
Run local rsync now?  [NO/y] n
Send email report now?  [NO/y] y
[root@eclipse-server ~]#

This script will suspend your database, take snapshots of the database files and create a full tape backup. You will not see any output in your console session, because the script creates a separate log file under /tmp/snapsave.log.

If you have already created the snapshot filesystem, but you want to perform a separate manual tape backup:

tar -cvzpf /dev/st0 --totals -C / ./etc -C /snap ./u2

If there are no snapshots present, but no users are on the system and you want to perform a manual tape backup:

tar -cvzpf /dev/st0 --totals -C / ./etc -C / ./u2

How do I restore files from my tape backup on Linux?

If you are just interested in testing the readability or listing the contents of a tape, you may perform a table of contents listing (aka readback):

tar -tzf /dev/st0

To restore a single file (CONTROL) to a temporary directory (/esupport/restore):

mkdir -p /esupport/restore
cd /esupport/restore
tar -xzvf /dev/st0 ./u2/eclipse/CONTROL

To restore an entire directory (/u2/eclipse) to it’s original location (/u2/eclipse) for a full system recovery:

Warning: As always, please exercise caution when performing system maintenance, especially when initiating processes that can potentially overwrite data.
cd /
tar -xzvf /dev/st0 ./u2/eclipse

How do I view the Linux system logs?

Nearly all Linux log files are located under the /var/log directory. You may view these log files using the text viewer or editor of your choice.

Command Line

From the command line, a common method for viewing the syslog message file is:

less /var/log/messages

GUI

View a step-by-step screencast of this process:

To view the system log files from the GUI interface:

  • Log into the GUI via any method (ie VNC, DRAC, physical console)
  • Navigate to System -> Administration -> System Log

Common Linux Logs

  • /var/log/message: general system log
  • /var/log/boot.log: boot log
  • /var/log/dmesg: kernel messages/log
  • /var/log/secure: authentication log
  • /var/log/cron: scheduled (cron) job log
  • /var/log/maillog: mail server log
  • /var/log/yum.log: software update log