I’m trying to figure out an easy way to recover from a complete failed server. If I have two servers which are the same in every way is it possible to image one (bit for bit copy of a hard-drive) and drop the image on the replacement? I understand I would need to tie an IP to the NIC as the MAC address would have changed. Would this break the modules I licensed?
Thanks!
One solution is mondorescue
the far slower one is dd -if/yourolddick of=/yournewdisk
your mac address will only change on a hardware change. for that you have i believe a two time recourse
I’ve been using Clonezilla and Pendrivelinux (Universal USB Installer - Easy as 1 2 3). The PenDriveLinux will take the Clonezilla ISO and place it on a thumb drive. I place the thumb drive in the server boot, connect my external USB HD and snag the image. Crazy easy. Not so easy is the commercial keys…my poison pills that kills my solution.
Thanks for the thoughts!
My commiserations, mondoarchive will do it while you are online and every Friday if you want 
and restore precisely even on a VM, if you change the network hardware, then you will either need to spoof the mac address (trivial in linux or in a VM) or re-register your deployment if you accepted commercial modules.
Yes, you can, and you don’t even need to worry about the MAC - just remove the MAC line from /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 and delete the file /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules and everything will be back up and working. (Obviously, this is RHEL/CentOS/FreePBX Distro, but it’s very similar on all the rest of them).
However, you’re over-engineering this, by a long way. Go to the backup module. Enable ‘backup to S3’. Set it so it backs up every day.
After a few days, and you’ve checked the the backups are being sent to S3, set the machine on fire, then shoot it, then throw it off a cliff, then run over it with a tank, and then dump it into the ocean somewhere.
Now, go and find another machine somewhere, download the latest ISO that matches your FreePBX version (hopefully, 13), install, and then restore the backup you downloaded from S3.
Your phones are now back up and working, with only the downtime of you disposing of your previous server in an environmentally sensitive manner, like above.
Don’t make things too complex. Make them simple!
The only issue I have with the warm spare is the wiki seems to be incomplete to create a “warm spare”. As written it would break all my IVR’s as the custom voice prompts will be lost as it only calls out - “Full Backup” and “Exclude Backup Settings”.
http://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FPG/Warm+Spare+Setup
The Schmooze guide talks about a “warm spare” template.
http://literature.schmoozecom.com/backup_restore-module/WarmSpare-Setup/Warm_Spare-Setup-Guide.pdf
Does a more complete document exist or has a “warm spare” template been shared that can be installed?
Thanks for the advice!
Will MondoArchive work with the default raid setup that the Distro uses? I have tried clonezilla in the past and it doesn’t always work so hot. Typically breaks the raid.
When you’re creating the backup, make sure that custom recordings are enabled. They are by default, as far as I know.
May I suggest you try it?
Yes it supports all manner of software raids.
Hi Rob,
Sure I’ll try it.
Can you help me understand the Freepbx documentation better?
In the Full back up it notes -
it does not include user voicemails, voice mailbox greetings or system audio greeting recordings
Is this not the case? From my very limited knowledge it’s coming across as the custom messages will not be backed up.
As always thanks for helping me build a better understanding of FreePBX.