Dynamic Root Disk: Quick Start & Best Practices

Maintaining the Integrity of System Logs

If system logs are being collected and audited for regulatory, intrusion detection, or forensics

purposes, it is desirable to avoid gaps in logs between the creation and boot of the clone. To

address this need, the drd sync command was introduced in March 2010. The drd sync

command allows you to automatically synchronize the active image and the clone, eliminating the

need to manual update files on the clone. It is recommended that the drd sync command be

incorporated into a shutdown script prior to activating and booting the clone, so that any files

changed on the original image after the clone was created will be propagated to the clone. See the

“DRD sync” section below for more information.

DRD sync

With the March 2010 release of DRD, version A.3.5.186, the drd sync command is now

supported to automatically synchronize the active image and the clone. For detailed information

regarding drd sync, please review Chapter 5 of the Dynamic Root Disk Administrator’s Guide at

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01918754/c01918754.pdf. The

information presented will help you understand how to use drd sync, when it is recommended that

drd clone be used to recreate a clone instead of using drd sync, and even includes a sample

drd sync system shutdown script.

DRD Activate and Deactivate Commands

The commands drd activate and drd deactivate enable an administrator to choose an image

to be booted the next time the system is re-started: An image is said to be activated if it will be

booted. A drd activate command activates the inactive image. A drd deactivate command

activates the booted image.

An administrator can use drd activate and drd deactivate to implement various maintenance

schemes, such as setting a DRD clone as an alternate boot disk or activating a mirrored DRD clone.

For further information on the commands, please see the Using Dynamic Root Disk Activate and

Deactivate whitepaper at

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01920455/c01920455.pdf.

Delayed Activation/Boot of the Clone

HP recommends that system administrators clone, patch, and boot in a fairly short time cycle. If a

long period of time has passed since the clone was created, it is recommended that the clone be re-

created. If it has been a few days since the clone was created, you can use the drd sync command

to determine how many files have changed on the original image that would need to be propagated

to the clone. If this number is large, it may be advisable to re-create the clone, rather than using drd

sync to copy files from the original image to the clone. For more details, please see Chapter 5 of

the Dynamic Root Disk Administrator’s Guide at

http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01918754/c01918754.pdf