Multiple Media Types The traditional method for making crash recovery media is the floppy diskette. RecoverEDGEallows two additional choices:
CD-Recordable and HP OBDR. CD-Recordables tend to be more reliable than floppies, and boot quicker in the event of a disaster. OBDR tapes are tapes which contain standard RecoverEDGE backups, but are
also bootable so that no other media (i.e. floppy or CD-Recordable) are required. RecoverEDGE supports ODBR backups on any system with a compatible tape drive, system BIOS and SCSI host adapter.
RecoverEDGE
can actually make tapes that are bootable regardless of whether the tape drive in the system is OBDR compliant. For instance, if the system has a non-compliant DDS drive, but the user has access to an OBDR drive, bootable backups can still be made, even to a remote device. In the event of a catastrophe, the user can simply plug in the OBDR device and boot from it using last nights backup tape.
This does not require special tapes or special image backups. OBDR tapes are made during standard attended or unattended backups. Remote Media Creation RecoverEDGE
can create bootable CD-Recordable media to the local system devices, OR to any other device attached on the network. In a large system environment, all the servers but one might have an
inexpensive CD-ROM drive, while one server has a SCSI CD-Recordable. Each of the other systems can create recovery media images and have them transferred and burned automatically on the CD-R equipped system.
Bootable OBDR backups can also be made to any tape drive on the network. Modem Support While booted from the crash recovery media, RecoverEDGE
allows remote administrators to dial in and take over a crash recovery from anywhere in the world. Moreover, when the remote user logs in, they take over the system console keyboard in a fashion similar to the old DOS "remote control" programs. This means they have full access to the menu system, context sensitive help, and system tables.
Modem support includes a disconnect/reconnect "at will" feature. When a remote administrator logs out, control is simply returned to the console. That means the the administrator can start a long restore,
then log out and come back later without terminating the restore process when he/she hangs up. This can save many dollars of long distance telephone charges, and greatly speed up the restore (files can scroll by very
slowly across a modem connection!). Network Support When the RecoverEDGE
media is built, it includes a complete network stack. Our discovery process allows this to be done with no prompting for network adapter type, and fully understands that there may be multiple network adapters in a single system. Network support enables two major capabilities.
Remote Control Crash Recovery A remote administrator can telnet in and take over the recovery with all the same features as modem support.Imagine being able to put
systems in the field where the user has no real Linux knowledge. If the system becomes non-bootable, simply have them boot their floppy, CD-R or tape and you or your administration staff can take over the recovery for
them! Remote Tape Support Along with telnet support, having a full TCP stack on the boot media allows crash recovery using tape drives attached to systems that reside on
other servers. Many products, including BackupEDGE, can perform backups to remote tape drives while the server is running. With RecoverEDGE, you can crash recover without having to bring
the tape or the tape drive to the crashed system. Combined with our PCMCIA / PC Card support, this provides the perfect way to protect Linux-based notebook PCs. PCMCIA / PC Card Support
The module detection capabilities of RecoverEDGE have been expanded to include support for initializing PC Cards. This allows notebook users to back up their Linux notebooks to
servers attached to tape drives elsewhere on the network, and also to crash recover them, since we can boot from a floppy or CD-R on the notebook, configure the hard drive or hard drives, then initialize the PCMCIA
network card and restore from the remote tape. Of course, you may simply want to use a PCMCIA SCSI card to attach a local tape drive for local backups, and we can do that also. Or, you can initialize a PCMCIA
modem and allow remote administrator access to the notebook. Summary If the crash recovery system you've been using or looking at for Linux doesn't do all these things, it
may fail you just when you need it the most. Please take the time to evaluate our new 01.01.08 release. Because we've already done the years
of research, engineering and hard work, you'll find that RecoverEDGE is the easiest, most versatile and reliable way to protect mission critical Linux installations. You'll find that BackupEDGE
, the backup software that includes RecoverEDGE
free of charge, is one of the most stable, reliable and advanced programs on the market today. Our Fast File Restore (Quick File Access) capability is simply the worlds fastest, and our low level SCSI support and auto changer / library support give you the capability of using all of today's most sophisticated storage devices.
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