How to backup and restore VCS configuration on Windows OS?

Description

There are instances wherein the Veritas Cluster Server (VCS) configuration needs to be backed up and restored as a part of Infoscale upgrades/OS upgrades or any other maintenance activity. 

This article provides details regarding the backup and restore procedures for VCS on Windows platform in situations like node rebuild/VCS configuration corruption. 

SECTION #1: Backup of VCS configuration

1) Export the following registry key from one of the nodes:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base

2) Locate and back up the following cluster configuration files from one of the nodes:

%VCS_ROOT%\Cluster Server\conf\config\main.cf
%VCS_ROOT%\Cluster Server\conf\config\types.cf
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\gab\gabtab.txt

3) Backup the following files individually from each node:

%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llttab.txt
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llthosts.txt

4) Back up the lic folder under the following location:

C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\VERITAS Shared\vrtslic\lic

SECTION #2 - Restore the Cluster Configuration (Node rebuild)

1) Run vcw.exe from an elevated command prompt to launch the Veritas Cluster Configuration Wizard on the node that needs to be rebuilt/restored.

2) Do not join this node to the existing cluster yet.

3) Create a new cluster with this server as the only node.

4) From any other node(s) that is still in the original cluster (not the rebuilt node) run the following commands:

haconf -dump -makero

hastop -all -force

5) On the new node, run the following command:

hastop -all

net stop llt /y

6) Replace the main.cf  file on the rebuilt node with the one that was backed up in Section #1 at %VCS_ROOT%\Cluster Server\conf\config\main.cf

7) On the new node only, replace the following files that were previously backed up.

%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llthosts.txt
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llttab.txt
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\gab\gabtab.txt

8) On the new node only, modify the following registry keys to match the other nodes in the cluster:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\ClusterName
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\ClusterID

9) On the new node only, modify the NodeID registry key to match the value contained in the llthosts.txt from step #7

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\NodeID

10) On any node, run the following command:

hastart -all

11) Run the following command to check the status of the nodes:

hasys -state

SECTION #3 - Restore the Cluster Configuration (Corrupt VCS configuration)

1) On the problem node(s), run the following command:

hastop -local -force

net stop llt /y

6) Replace the main.cf  file on the problem node(s) with the one that was backed up in Section #1 at %VCS_ROOT%\Cluster Server\conf\config\main.cf

7) On the problem node only, replace the following files that were previously backed up.

%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llthosts.txt
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\llt\llttab.txt
%VCS_ROOT%\comms\gab\gabtab.txt

8) On the problem node(s) only, modify the following registry keys to match the other nodes in the cluster:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\ClusterName
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\ClusterID

9) On the problem node(s) only, modify the NodeID registry key to match the value contained in the llthosts.txt from step #7

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\VCS\Base\NodeID

10) On the problem node, run the following command:

gabconfig -x

hastart

11) Run the following command to check the status of the nodes:

hasys -state

Note: If the Veritas High Availability Engine (HAD) service fails to start, review the %VCS_HOME%\log\Engine_A.txt to determine the reason for the failure.