Running The CDP Agent On Xen

Question:

Can I run the CDP Agent on Xen?

Solution:

R1Soft works on XenSource and Citrix XenServer and can be used to provide Continuous Data Protection for both native and hosted type Hypervisors.

• XenSource - Windows domUs
• XenSource - Linux domUs
• Citrix XenServer - Windows domUs
• Citrix XenServer - Linux domUs

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UPDATE: Beginning with agent version 1.70, partition tables are not required to back up Xen DomU environments.

Now available in the 1.70 agent (The 2.20 version of the CDP Server is also required) is the "DiskAsPartition" option, to be able to discover filesystems on raw devices without a partition table. This option can be found in the agent configuration file. To enable DiskAsPartition, set the option to "Yes" in the agent configuration file (/etc/buagent/agent_config) and restart the agent.

If the devices have already been discovered without the DiskAsPartition option enabled, please delete the host from the CDP Server (Or Control Server) web interface, and re-add it. The devices should now be discovered correctly, and backups can begin!

Read on for more information about creating partition tables on a raw device.
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Create Partition Tables on Virtual Disks When Using XenSource domUs and CDP Server 2.0 Agents

CDP Server 2.0 is not able to detect disks without a partition table. By default, XenSource virtual disks are created without partition tables.   If you simply create a Partition Table on the virtual Disk and then format, it will be detected correctly by the CDP Server.

Please follow these instructions for creating new XenSource virtual disks and they will be created with a partition tale allowing the CDP Server to detect them. 

http://wiki.xensource.com/xenwiki/InstallGuestImage

This step is not needed on Citrix XenServer.  Citrix XenServer creates disks with partition tables by default. 

Should the CDP Agent be Installed in the domU (Virtual Machine) or dom0 (hardware node)?

The Agent should be installed inside of the domU virtual machine.  That is the only way to perfectly freeze and thaw the domU's file systems for a perfect snapshot. 

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