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Old 10-01-2013, 03:41 PM   #1
rolly4444
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i lost /etc directory from my server. How can i restore my system?


I've 2 identical itanium servers in my network which run rhel 4.8.
i lost /etc directory in one of them in somehow; and i cant run this server again.
will that server be OK if i get /etc from the other server and but it in the dead one, or it will be worst ??
 
Old 10-01-2013, 03:56 PM   #2
cbtshare
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the best and easiest way is from a backup ...if not you have to re-install
 
Old 10-01-2013, 04:13 PM   #3
haertig
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There is stuff in /etc that is unique to a server (static IP addresses and things like that), so you can't just copy /etc from a different computer, even a supposedly "identical" one, and have things work perfectly. Another example: You might have the same users on the two servers, but their user numbers would be different in /etc/passwd (this would depend on how you created those userids in the first place). If you are lucky, you could possibly copy /etc, edit a few files, and get it to work. Finding what might need to be edited would be a nightmare I would predict. But in general, what you are proposing is a very bad idea. These servers would really have to be "identical" for what you propose to have a ghost of a chance of working, even with some manual file editing. Was one server cloned from the other, and neither was ever subsequently administered seperately? If that's not the case, I would abandon your plan quickly.

Linux is pretty resilient when it comes to picking up an entire Linux installation and copying it to another computer. But the key is "entire Linux installation". Not just /etc all by itself.

How did you lose /etc? If it was due to hardware disk problems then your whole system is probably trashed anyway. If you accidently did something like "sudo rm -rf /etc" then I am at a loss for words.
 
Old 10-01-2013, 04:19 PM   #4
jpollard
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rolly4444 View Post
I've 2 identical itanium servers in my network which run rhel 4.8.
i lost /etc directory in one of them in somehow; and i cant run this server again.
will that server be OK if i get /etc from the other server and but it in the dead one, or it will be worst ??
You can get most of what you need that way.

For the rest, you have to set the systems IP number appropriately, hostname, /etc/fstab, /etc/exports (if NFS server); delete the ssh keys so that it will be regenerated when you restart the service. If the host was an apache server you will have to check the configurations (sometimes IP numbers/host names are embedded).

If you had a configuration backup (as in a notebook) you would have a much easier time of rebuilding.

And in the future, keep a system backup, and system notebook for all configurations that apply to the specific system. Include any special procedures used (including the one for this recovery).

Last edited by jpollard; 10-01-2013 at 04:22 PM.
 
Old 10-01-2013, 06:48 PM   #5
rolly4444
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Quote:
Originally Posted by haertig View Post

Linux is pretty resilient when it comes to picking up an entire Linux installation and copying it to another computer. But the key is "entire Linux installation". Not just /etc all by itself.

How did you lose /etc? If it was due to hardware disk problems then your whole system is probably trashed anyway. If you accidently did something like "sudo rm -rf /etc" then I am at a loss for words.
i really dont know exactly what happened to it but i think someone may cause this problem inadvertently
 
Old 10-01-2013, 06:50 PM   #6
rolly4444
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpollard View Post
You can get most of what you need that way.

For the rest, you have to set the systems IP number appropriately, hostname, /etc/fstab, /etc/exports (if NFS server); delete the ssh keys so that it will be regenerated when you restart the service. If the host was an apache server you will have to check the configurations (sometimes IP numbers/host names are embedded).

If you had a configuration backup (as in a notebook) you would have a much easier time of rebuilding.

And in the future, keep a system backup, and system notebook for all configurations that apply to the specific system. Include any special procedures used (including the one for this recovery).
thank you so much ithink your post so helpful
 
  


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