How to backup and restore the System Controller (SC) and Domain configuration on Sun Fire[TM] 3800, 4800, 4810, 6800, E4900, E6900 servers.

Asset ID:	1-71-1019028.1
Update Date:	2010-08-12
Keywords:

Solution Type Technical Instruction Sure

Solution 1019028.1 : How to backup and restore the System Controller (SC) and Domain configuration on Sun Fire[TM] 3800, 4800, 4810, 6800, E4900, E6900 servers.

Applies to:

Sun Fire 4810 Server
Sun Fire 6800 Server
Sun Fire E4900 Server
Sun Fire E6900 Server
Sun Fire 3800 Server
All Platforms

Goal

Description

This document details how the configuration will be saved on a secondary server so that you can restore the settings to a replacement System Controller (if the current system controller needs replacement in the event of a failure).

Solution

Steps to Follow

Backup/Restore Procedure

How to backup SC/Domain configuration

Login to the system controller shell. Type the system controller dumpconfig command from the platform shell to save the present system controller configuration to a server :

schostname:SC> dumpconfig -f url

-f specifies the URL, which must use the FTP protocol. The URL is the directory containing the data files. The URL must point to a directory and not a file. Examples are:

ftp://userid:password@hostname//path
ftp://hostname/path
ftp://IPaddress/path

NOTE: The directory specified in the URL path must have write permission for the specified user. If a user is not specified, then anonymous FTP is used.

The dumpconfig command saves the platform and domain configurations to a server for recovery. By default, data is saved in encrypted format. You will be prompted to enter the password for the encrypted configuration data. This command creates two data files at the specified URL: "hostname.nvci" and "hostname.tod".

Use this command when you complete setting up the initial configuration of the platform and the domains, and each time you modify the configuration or change the hardware configuration. For example, a configuration change occurs when you use any of the following commands: setupplatform, setupdomain, setdate, addboard, deleteboard, setls, and password. By running the dumpconfig command again, the new platform and domain configurations are saved to a server.

You should not use this command to revert to an old configuration. The showplatform, showdomain, showcomponent, and showboards system controller commands display all of the configuration and can be used for reference.

How to restore SC/Domain configuration from previously backed up datafiles

Login to the SC platform shell. Type the system controller restoreconfig command from the platform shell :

schostname:SC> restoreconfig [-y|-n] -f url

-f specifies a URL, which must use the FTP protocol. The URL is the directory containing the data files hostname.nvci and hostname.tod. The URL must point to a directory and not a file. Examples for "url" are:

ftp://userid:password@hostname//path
ftp://hostname/path
ftp://IPaddress/path

NOTE: -y does not prompt for confirmation. -n does not execute this command if confirmation is required. You will be prompted to enter the password for the encrypted configuration data (see actual example below for details).

To use the restoreconfig config to restore SC/Domain configuration data, the command dumpconfig should have been executed as described in the first section of this article.

The following is an example of using the restoreconfig command, including the feedback provided as a result of the command:

sf6800-sc0:SC> restoreconfig -y ftp://root:tmp_passwd@123.456.78.9/SAVE

This will restore all the platform and domain configurations and passwords.
The system controller will be rebooted when the restore is complete. 
The date will need to be set in the platform and each domain.

Do you want to restore the system controller configuration now  yes (-y)

Retrieving: ftp://root:tmp_passwd@123.456.78.9/SAVE/ib-sf6800-sc0.nvci
Retrieving: ftp://root:tmp_passwd@123.456.78.9/SAVE/ib-sf6800-sc0.tod
Verifying data.
NVCI has been restored.
TOD has been restored.
Enter new password:         
Enter new password again:

It is advisable to save system configuration whenever the system firmware is upgraded. If you use the dumpconfig command to save a system configuration but later upgrade the firmware without saving the system configuration after the latest upgrade, the configuration files are associated with the previous firmware version. If you use the restoreconfig command to restore those configuration files, the restoreconfig operation will fail because the firmware version of the configuration file is not compatible with the upgraded firmware.

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