On Wed, 8 Feb 2017 19:08:41 -0800 Geoff Nordli <geo...@gnaa.net> wrote:
> On 2017-02-08 06:11 PM, Mario Lobo wrote: > > On Tue, 7 Feb 2017 12:02:24 -0800 > > Geoff Nordli <geo...@gnaa.net> wrote: > > > >> Hi Mario. > >> > >> I use the pause quite a bit to backup virtual machines. Pausing the > >> machine will flush the cache and complete all outstanding async IO. > >> > >> https://www.virtualbox.org/pipermail/vbox-dev/2011-June/009810.html > >> > >> Look for the ignoreflush property and set that. > >> > >> VBoxManage setextradata "name" > >> \ "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/LUN#[x]/Config/IgnoreFlush" > >> > >> As a note, I use iscsi targetsand zfs/solaris to host the data as > >> zvols. > >> > >> Snapshots aren't 100% guaranteed. If you have applications like > >> Exchangeconsider using something like VSS on Windows. For example, > >> with Exchange I use VSS and then snapshot the disks from inside the > >> the VM using putty/plink. Then I know I am getting a good copy of > >> the data. > >> > >> Other applications may havereplication options. > >> > >> For things like SQL, I use a separate backup application to > >> explicitly backup the database, just to make sure. > >> > >> > >> Geoff > >> > >> > >> > >> On 2017-02-06 03:36 PM, Mario Lobo wrote: > >>> Hi to all. > >>> > >>> Currently, my backup routine consists of shutting down all VMs, > >>> copy all their .VDI files to the standby server, and restart the > >>> VMs. > >>> > >>> The obvious reason is for the standby server to be ready to run > >>> the VMs in case the primary server fails. > >>> > >>> A few questions comes to mind: > >>> > >>> 1) Shutting down and restarting the VMs is always a lot of work, > >>> no to mention the loss of counters, system statistics, etc ... > >>> so, is it safe just to pause the VMs to copy the .VDIs over? > >>> Would a paused state .VDI start ok on the standby server if I > >>> need to fire it up? > >>> > >>> 2) What is the proper procedure to backup via snapshots to a > >>> standby machine that needs to be fully independent of the primary > >>> server? > >>> > >>> Any experiences or recommendations are gratefully welcomed. > >>> > >>> Thanks, > >>> > > Thanks for replying, Geoff! > > > > It made sense to me that pausing would be ok but I needed to confirm > > this. > > > > One last question. > > > > Sounds wierd to me to set an IgnoreFlush property if pausing the > > machine will flush the cache and complete all outstanding async IO. > > > > Is this setting telling the VM not to flush? > > > > Is this IgnoreFlush a per VM stting or general? > > > > Thanks again. > > > > Here is some more information on the ignoreflush property: > > https://unixsherpa.com/solution/honor-guest-idesata-flush-requests/ > > It is based on the device and it just tells vbox to not lie to the OS > that data is has been saved to improve performance. > > I also disable caching in vbox on the controller. > > I do all my caching in zfs where I know the data is safe. > > Geoff > Do you mean to uncheck the box "Use Host I/O cache" on each controller? -- Mario Lobo http://www.mallavoodoo.com.br FreeBSD since 2.2.8 [not Pro-Audio.... YET!!] "UNIX was not designed to stop you from doing stupid things, because that would also stop you from doing clever things." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Check out the vibrant tech community on one of the world's most engaging tech sites, SlashDot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot _______________________________________________ VBox-users-community mailing list VBox-users-community@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/vbox-users-community _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe: mailto:vbox-users-community-requ...@lists.sourceforge.net?subject=unsubscribe
