Linux bare metal restore procedure

The Linux bare metal restore process uses a master backup of your server to recreate the operating system. All files associated with the master backup are restored. Files in any differential or incremental backups can be restored after the bare metal restore is complete.

It is important to know:

     You need a valid master backup and the bare metal media should be tested as described in Test.

     The option Smart restore destroys all of the existing data on all disks. Please be sure that this is absolutely desired.

     The option to Make disk bootable in the Restore menu cannot damage anything on the disk.

To perform the restore

1        If performing the restore as a test, first see Considerations for bare metal test restores.

2        Boot your new hardware from the disk you burned in Creating Linux hot bare metal boot media. If you need to change the IP of the restore target, navigate to Utilities > Change IP addresses > Change Client IP address. If you change the IP of the restore target, you need to change the relevant entry in the hosts file on the Unitrends system at this point as well. To do so, navigate to Settings > Clients, Networking, and Notifications > Networks > Hosts on the Unitrends interface.

3        You may optionally test connectivity to the Unitrends system by selecting Test from the menu.

4        Begin the restore process by selecting Restore > Smart Restore.

Note: If the IP address of the Linux client is changed before the bare metal restore process, the client’s IP address must also be updated in the Unitrends system’s hosts file by navigating to Settings > Clients, Networking, and Notifications, Networks > Hosts.

5        You are warned that the restore process will destroy all data currently on the disk you’re restoring to. Type Y and press Enter to proceed.

6        Enter the name of your backup device and press Enter, or just press Enter to accept the default. This is typically D2DBackups.

7        Enter ID number of backup to use. You may leave this blank and press Enter to use the most recent master.

8        Follow on-screen instructions to enter any exclusions. This data will not be included in your newly restored system. Type none and press Enter if you have no exclusions.

9        Review your choices and press Enter to proceed.

10    Your backup is transferred to your new hardware. Do not perform any actions on your new server until the restore is complete. You can monitor the status of this restore in the Unitrends interface by navigating to Settings > System Monitoring > Jobs.

11    Once the restore is complete, go back to your Linux server and press Enter to return to the Linux Hot Bare Metal menu. Select Exit, then select Yes to exit. If asked to make disk bootable, select Yes.

12    Your server reboots into its former state.

13    Perform file-level recovery to restore your machine to its latest backup. See Executing a point-in-time restore for details.