Cloning is a function used to deploy a cloning image collected from a single managed server (source server) to other managed servers (destination servers).
This function shortens the time required for an initial installation as it can be used to install the same operating system and software on multiple servers.
Software maintenance can also be performed quickly and easily by deploying a cloning image collected from a server on which patch application or software addition or modification has been performed.
The information below is not copied when the cloning image is collected from the managed server; and will be automatically reconfigured when the cloning image is deployed. This enables a single cloning image to be deployed to different servers.
Hostname
IP address and subnet mask for the admin LAN
Default gateway for the admin LAN
Settings other than the above (such as those for applications and middleware) are not automatically reconfigured, set them manually before and after the cloning operation when necessary.
Cloning cannot be performed for Linux managed servers on which iSCSI disks have been configured.
Note
When using ServerView Deployment Manager on the admin LAN, this function is disabled. Use the cloning function of ServerView Deployment Manager. For details, refer to "I.2 Co-Existence with ServerView Deployment Manager" in the "Setup Guide CE".
When using server cloning, regardless of the boot environment (local/SAN/iSCSI) or RAID configurations, only content from the boot disk (first disk recognized by the BIOS on managed servers) is actually cloned.
Data disk content (second disk onwards) cannot be cloned. It is recommended to use other backup software, or copy features available in storage systems for such purposes.
For a server using local boot with a SAN data configuration, it is necessary to configure the target disk of image operations.
If cloning images are deployed without configuring the target disk for image operations, data may be overwritten on an unintended disk.
For details, refer to "9.1.13 Changing Target Disks of Image Operations" in the "User's Guide VE".
Note that all partitions (Windows drives or Linux partitions) included in the boot disk will be cloned.
Disk | Windows Drive | Cloning Target |
|---|---|---|
First | C: | Yes |
E: | Yes | |
Second | D: | No |
F: | No |
Because managed servers are restarted during the cloning process, it is necessary to stop all applications running on those servers beforehand.
The first partition must be a primary partition.
When multiple partitions exist within the disk of the cloning target, the drive letters for the drives other than the system drive may be changed after cloning images are deployed. Change the drive letter back to the original letter, after deploying cloning images.
Dynamic disks cannot be used.
Cloning images can be collected with the following file systems. Note that LVM (Logical Volume Manager) partitions are not supported.
NTFS
EXT3
EXT4
LinuxSwap
Point
When Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 is installed with default options, the file system is XFS.
When using Windows Server 2012 as a managed server, cloning images cannot be collected from system disks that include ReFS data areas.
All of the following conditions must be met for the managed server to collect the cloning image from and the managed server to deploy the cloning image to.
All server models must be identical.
The hardware configuration of each server must be identical, including optional cards, expansion boards, and the slots they are mounted in.
When using the UMC function, the number of functions is the same.
The type of all functions is NIC.
The same BIOS settings must have been made for all servers according to the procedure in "8.2.7 Configuring BIOS Settings of Managed Servers" in the "Design Guide CE".
All servers must use the same redundancy configuration (if any) and the same number of redundant paths for LAN and SAN connections. All servers must also be able to access the same network and storage devices.
Note that LAN or fibre channel switches connected in a cascade configuration are viewed as a single device.
Some applications may require manual adjustments to function properly after cloning.
If necessary, manually perform such adjustments before or after the cloning process.
When backing up or restoring system images, or collecting and deploying cloning images, up to four processes can be executed simultaneously. If four processes are already being executed, any additional image operations will enter a standby state.
Moreover, server switchover which is executed using the backup and restore method or any restore process performed during failback will also enter a standby state. When using auto-recovery and manual switchover operations with the backup/restore method, execute a maximum of three system image backup/restore or cloning image collection/deployment operations at the same time.
After collecting or deploying a cloning image, software required for connecting to external servers, etc. when the OS is started may not start correctly.
In this case, restart the operating system after collecting or deploying the cloning image.
For managed servers on which the Watchdog function is enabled, cloning operations on that server may be aborted by an automatic restart or shutdown. The Watchdog is a function which automatically restarts or shuts down non-responsive servers when their operating system does not respond for a given period.
It is therefore highly recommended to disable the Watchdog function before a cloning operation.
For details, refer to the manual of the managed server.
When using MAK license activation with Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, Sysprep can be executed a maximum of three times.
Since Sysprep is executed when deploying a cloning image, cloning image collection and deployment cannot be executed four or more times.
Therefore, it is recommended not to collect cloning images from managed servers that have had cloning images deployed, but to collect them from a dedicated master server.
As there is a chance that data will be damaged, do not perform collection or deployment of a cloning image while performing an iSCSI connection using a software initiator.
When using data disks, use the hardware initiator.
When the managed server is Linux and the disk is recognized using the by-id name, cloning cannot be used.
