Need of urgent help with website server

overdrivemachines

Hi

I have two servers running Red Hat 3.4.6-11 CentOS release 4.8 (Final); lets call them dev1 and dev2.

Dev1 is running a website which uses tomcat and oracle and other software that Im unaware of. Dev1 is going to go offline because it needs some maintenance. So, while dev1 is offline, I want dev2 to do the job. I have access to dev1 and dev2 through putty since they are at a different location in town. What steps can I take to make this happen?

mfillpot

you will need to install all necessary software from Dev1 onto dev2, copy the database and website files, modify the webserver config file on dev2 to support the new site then re-route the dns entry to the new server.

I recommend setting up a virtual installation that clones dev2 in virtualbox, then setting up a bash script for you to document the copied files and directories, then through trial and error you will end up with a perfect script that can be used to push the final file migration.

overdrivemachines

Thank you for your response. Im unaware of all the software dev1 is using to run the website. If you know how to do it, can I hire you or anyone on here to do it, Im willing to pay for it.

mfillpot

I am sorry, but I do not do contract work, all I can do is help guide you to resolve the issue yourself.

First to get a list of all software running on the server you can run the command "rpm -qa | less"
To clone the oracle server a guide is located at http://www.dba-oracle.com/oracle_tips_db_copy.htm
TO move tomcat I would recommend copying the configuration file data data file directories to the new server.

Or you can select to just clone the hard disk from server1 to server2 which will move all files.

overdrivemachines

I think cloning the hard disk from server1 to server 2 is a good idea. What do I use to clone the servers and is it possible to clone hard disk from server1 to server2 remotely?

mfillpot

overdrivemachines wrote:

I think cloning the hard disk from server1 to server 2 is a good idea. What do I use to clone the servers and is it possible to clone hard disk from server1 to server2 remotely?

You cannot clone a disk that is in use, so the best recommendation would be to boot into a Linux based live disk, run the appropriate dd commands to copy the hard disk to a file on a remote server or external HD, then boot the same way on the other machine and copy the entire image over the current disk images.

And example of dd command would be:

To copy the contents of /dev/sda into the image file disk1.img
"dd if=/dev/sda of=disk1.img bs=512"

To Copy the image disk1.img over the disk in /dev/sda
"dd if=disk1.img of=/dev/sda bs=512"

The breakdown of the command is simple:
if - means input file
of - means output file
bs - means block size, I choose 512 bits at a time to make it faster

I know there are tools that allow remote cloning, but I have not used them.