BARS install and testing?

victoriabardy · ‎12-10-2008

We are going to be installing downloading and installing BARS on a Call Manager 4.2(3)system that is already in production. Once we do the download and install of the utility we want to verify that it will work if we need the back up to perform a restore. Has anyone ever installed and tested BARS on a server that is already up and in production for a while?

If so, please let me know your thoughts/experience on this.

Thanks.

Rob Huffman · ‎12-10-2008

Hi Vicky,

Hope all is well my friend! You can install BARS at any time without issue but I wouldn't try the restore on a "live" system unless it had actually failed. There are many considerations when doing a BARS restore that are shown in this doc;

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucm/bars/4_0_11/restore1.html

This is where having a couple of extra boxes in the Lab comes in handy and is where this testing (in my opinion) should be done. We were always curious about the process as well until we actually tested it out, so I know where you are coming from.

I would recommend talking to your Cisco SE about borrowing a couple of "loaner" MCS boxes or trying this process out in their lab rather than risking your current build by going through the BARS Restore re-build in production.

If you really have to do this, make sure that you have everything you need on hand CCM cd's, OS with proper release,all SR's, Locale files, any custom ringlist or background files, any phone firmware files that have changed since the base install etc. etc. These things should all be kept from build to build just in case.

I would really try to do this in a lab so you have time to perfect the process :)

Hope this helps!

Rob

victoriabardy · ‎12-10-2008

Hi Rob,

Thanks again, this feedback is exactly what I was looking for. We have an office on the west coast that we need to review because we are being asked to take over management. Currently there are no backups being done. So we can send the back up file to our Cisco SE and have them test it out?

What happened when you tested it out?

Thank you again.

Rob Huffman · ‎12-11-2008

Hi Vicky,

You are always welcome!

I don't think your SE will test the file out for you, but they generally have a Lab that is fully kitted out and might be available for you to use to do this testing. It is a great idea to practice this process like you nicely noted:) We have done the BARS rebuild in the lab a few times and it works like a charm. One of the most important things here is that you have all the necessary media on hand to re-build a new box from scratch. So while you are working out the details on how you will test the BARS Restore, try to secure all of the media,SR's, custom files, locales etc. that I referenced earlier. This is where most people falter in their planning.

The other thing to ask your SE about is the "Demo Depot" where Cisco will lend you equipment for testing purposes.

Just make sure that you start collecting the BARS Back-ups now and ensure that they complete successfully. You may be able to even send the .tar file to TAC to have a look at.

Hope this helps! It sounds like you are really on the right track here.

Cheers!

Rob

victoriabardy · ‎12-11-2008

Thanks again for your time here Rob. I will look into the Demo Depot, that would really do the trick.

Rgds,

Vicky