XenServer: Backup & Replication
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
What is the hardware for your 4x hosts? Dell, HP, SM?
My pool is comprised of two R730's from xByte, the standalone "production" system is a Whitebox, and my last system is just a desktop I repurposed and setup MD RAID 10 with.
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@DustinB3403 I thought you guys have always preached HW Raid. Why your choice of MD RAID?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 I thought you guys have always preached HW Raid. Why your choice of MD RAID?
That is an entire other thread on it's own. To summarize (business management).
MD Raid is very capable and reliable (you just need to know how to manage it) Hardware RAID is the "make life simple" choice.
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@DustinB3403 said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
I understand that it's FOSS.
Question is, who here is using the paid version?
No XenServer in production here right now, so wouldn't be prudent.
How can anyone be a XS "proponent/advocate/promoter" but not use it in production?
I have XS in production, and use XO from Source (it's worked great, and @olivier is more willing than not to assist. Just don't expect a 24/7 window of support.
@DustinB3403 Can you talk a little more about your prod XS: how many hosts, how many VMs, when was this setup etc?
I have 4 host (2 standalone, and 2 in an HALizard Pool).
On the pool, I've only got 3 VM's atm (will be going up in a in the next week or so). The pool has been up for about 4 months, the Standalone servers have been running for close to a year using MD RAID.
On my "production" standalone host I have 10 or so VM's running at any given time. I use it to run VDI tools, XO, and IT appliances that don't reach my general user base.
The pool is running our file servers, exchange server (federated services exchange) and an application server that is running SW for a separate department.
Are you still booting off USB?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 I thought you guys have always preached HW Raid. Why your choice of MD RAID?
We do, but it is not always an option.
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@BRRABill Yes.
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@DustinB3403 What actions have you taken with regards to logs been written to USB?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 What actions have you taken with regards to logs been written to USB?
That is still up in the air, I've been working to get a good, searchable solution in place and haven't been able to complete anything. Up until now logging has gone directly to the USB without issue.
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 What actions have you taken with regards to logs been written to USB?
I've got two servers at two different sites. One is an R510 running XS6.5, been in place for ~2.5 years. No problems with the usb so far. The other site is an R900, been in place for ~ 4 years now. Has only just recently been upgraded to XenServer 7.0 from ProxMox. ProxMox isn't something I'd really recommend, and is even harder on usb drives than XenServer is. Switched to a new usb drive for the XenServer install, so it's only been 2 weeks it's run on that so far. Didn't have any issues with the usb drives.
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Is cost the main reason for using USB vs a small capacity 2.5" HDD or even a 64 or 80GB SSD? (not sure sizes this small even exist anymore)
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
Is cost the main reason for using USB vs a small capacity 2.5" HDD or even a 64 or 80GB SSD? (not sure sizes this small even exist anymore)
Mostly so the hypervisor doesn't take up valuable drive slots. With the size even SSD is hitting today, that's quickly becoming less of a concern. My R900 with only 5 available drive bays makes me cry a little that it has so few slots. Couldn't argue with the price on it at the time.
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@travisdh1 Since the current suggestion from folks like @scottalanmiller is to have (and use) a single large array (RAID 5 or 10) for XS o/s & VM storage, why would slot population be a concern?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@travisdh1 Since the current suggestion from folks like @scottalanmiller is to have (and use) a single large array (RAID 5 or 10) for XS o/s & VM storage, why would slot population be a concern?
Five SSD bays is still pretty small. Even with 1TB drives, that's only 4TB usable. Often a limitation.
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@scottalanmiller If one used your method of one large array, what is the advantage of using a 64GB USB stick? Just seems like your adding more complication?
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller If one used your method of one large array, what is the advantage of using a 64GB USB stick? Just seems like your adding more complication?
It's to prevent updates (or something similar) from destroying your XS installation.
It's also a best practice to separate VDI/VM storage from the XS boot files.
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller If one used your method of one large array, what is the advantage of using a 64GB USB stick? Just seems like your adding more complication?
Rapid restore, ability to image, ability to flip back and forth between versions.... and some platforms like ESXi can't do the single array without the USB/SD approach.
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@DustinB3403 said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@DustinB3403 What actions have you taken with regards to logs been written to USB?
That is still up in the air, I've been working to get a good, searchable solution in place and haven't been able to complete anything. Up until now logging has gone directly to the USB without issue.
@BRRABill @DustinB3403 What do both of you plan to do regarding "logging + USB"?
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@scottalanmiller said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller If one used your method of one large array, what is the advantage of using a 64GB USB stick? Just seems like your adding more complication?
Rapid restore, ability to image, ability to flip back and forth between versions.... and some platforms like ESXi can't do the single array without the USB/SD approach.
@scottalanmiller What do you prefer: one large array-[XS o/s + VMs] or USB (aka small SSD or HDD)-[XS o/s] + large array-[VMs] ??
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@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@FATeknollogee said in XenServer: Backup & Replication:
@scottalanmiller If one used your method of one large array, what is the advantage of using a 64GB USB stick? Just seems like your adding more complication?
Rapid restore, ability to image, ability to flip back and forth between versions.... and some platforms like ESXi can't do the single array without the USB/SD approach.
@scottalanmiller What do you prefer: one large array-[XS o/s + VMs] or USB (aka small SSD or HDD)-[XS o/s] + large array-[VMs] ??
When feasible, SD card for hypervisor and RAID array for VMs is ideal. But SD installation causes a lot of headaches for people that either have hardware that doesn't support it easily and/or aren't comfortable with getting logging pointed somewhere other than the SD card. You have to adjust the write behaviour manually or it will not likely be properly reliable. In which case, install to the main array becomes the better approach.
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@scottalanmiller Thank for clearing that up.
Why can't we get a simple & concise guide to external logging?