Storage Toolbox (v13.5 LTS) - Runbook

Mount a Single Device

It's important that the related 'block_device' scripts are executed in the correct order to ensure that any cookbook dependencies are properly resolved. The 'block_device' cookbook's default recipe (block_device::default) must be executed before any of the other 'block_device' recipes are executed because it sets parameters that are used by other recipes in the cookbook.

Use recipes from the 'repo' cookbook to populate the mounted device with data from a software repository or ROS location.

Provide values for the inputs that are specific to the device. Use the device suffix to locate the corresponding device's inputs. (e.g. Backup Lineage (1))

Required to Set up a Device

Recommended to Set up a Device (Optional)

*TIP it is recommended that you replace the default nickname (data_storage1) with a more descriptive nickname, which will make it easier to find your respective volumes in a RightScale account that contains numerous volumes.*

Required for Primary Backups

If you want to take a primary backup or enable continuous primary backups, see the Take a Primary Backup section for details.

Required for Setting Backup Policy

If you want to adjust primary backup frequency, see the Modify Device Backup Policy section for details.

Mount Multiple Devices

By default, the "Storage Toolbox" ServerTemplate is configured to support up to two devices. If you want to mount more than two devices, you will need to fork the repository and update the 'block_device' cookbook to support additional devices. See Override Chef Cookbooks.

In the 'block_device' cookbook's metadata, change the code to support the number of devices to support.

# Multiple Block Devices
device_count = 2devices = 1.upto(device_count).map {|number| "device#{number}"}

See Increase the Number of Block Devices for more detailed instructions.

Take a Primary Backup

If your cloud does not have full volume support, run the following script to take a primary backup snapshot of the specified device to store in ROS. 

• block_device::do_primary_backup - Create a backup snapshot of the device. If the device is comprised of multiple volumes, a snapshot will be created for each attached volume and tag them appropriately. So if a device consisted of two volumes, the snapshot of the first volume would have the following tags: rs_backup:count=2, rs_backup:position=1

Required Inputs

If the following inputs did not inherit appropriate values at launch time, go to the current server's Inputs tab and set the following inputs before running the script.

Enable Continuous Primary Backups

Before you enable continuous backups, make sure that any inputs that are required to take a primary backup have already been set and passed to the instance. Typically, these values are set before the server is launched. However, if you changed any of the inputs related to taking a primary backup or entered new values, you must first run the 'default' recipe to pass the updated input values to the instance before you run the script to enable continuous backups script.

1. (Optional) If you want to change the values for any of the required inputs for taking a primary backup or modify the backup policy, edit the inputs under the current server's Inputs tab. For example, you may want to adjust the frequency of backups.
2. Under the current server's Inputs tab, specify which device you are going to enable primary backups for by setting the Block Device(s) to Operate On input accordingly. List a single value (e.g. device1), a comma-separated list of devices (e.g. device1,device2) or use an asterisk (*) to run the script on all devices.
3. If you made changes to any of the primary backup or backup policy related inputs, run the block_device::default script, otherwise go to the next step.

4. Run the block_device::do_primary_backup_schedule_enable script to create and enable a cronjob that takes periodic (primary) backups of the device.

Disable Continuous Primary Backups

1. Under the current server's Inputs tab, specify which device you are going to disable primary backups for by setting the Block Device(s) to Operate On input accordingly. List a single value (e.g. device1), a comma-separated list of devices (e.g. device1,device2) or use an asterisk (*) to run the script on all devices.
2. If you made changes to any of the primary backup inputs, run the block_device::default script, otherwise go to the next step.
3. Run the block_device::do_primary_backup_schedule_disable script to disable (stop) continuous backups for the specified device(s).

Take a Secondary Backup

Run the following script to take a secondary backup of the specified device. 

• block_device::do_secondary_backup - Create a backup of the device to a ROS location. You will need to specify a bucket or container name and valid cloud credentials.

Required Inputs

If the following inputs did not inherit appropriate values at launch time, go to the current server's Inputs tab and set the following inputs before running the script.

Restore a Device from a Primary Backup

If there is an existing primary backup available, you can restore a device from the backup. By default, the most recently completed primary backup will be used for a device restoration. However, if you want to use a different backup that has a different lineage or an older backup, use the timestamp and lineage overrides.

1. Under the current server's Inputs tab, set the inputs below accordingly.
2. Run the block_device::do_primary_restore script.

Restore a Device from a Secondary Backup

If there is an existing secondary backup available, you can restore a device from the backup. By default, the most recently completed secondary backup will be used for a device restoration. However, if you want to use a different backup that has a different lineage or an older backup, use the timestamp and lineage overrides.

1. Under the current server's Inputs tab, set the inputs below accordingly.
2. Run the block_device::do_secondary_restore script.

Terminate Server and Delete a Device

If you want to terminate a server that contains an attached device, you should use the 'block_device::do_delete_volumes_and_terminate_server' script to perform that operation instead of using the standard 'Terminate' action button in the Dashboard so that any attached devices will be properly deleted. All attached volumes of the specified device will be detached and deleted. If you terminate a server by using the standard 'Terminate' action button, the instance will be terminated, but any previously attached volumes will persist and not be deleted.

Before you can successfully run the script, you must first remove the default safety setting that prevents the script from being inappropriately executed.  Set the following inputs under the "current" server's Inputs tab.

Run the following script to unmount the specified device.

• block_device::do_delete_volumes_and_terminate_server - Unmount and delete the specified block device (device 1 or 2). All attached volumes of the specified device will be detached and deleted. Terminate the current running server. WARNING! Execution of this script will delete any data on your block device! Any data not saved in a backup will be lost.

If you're using more than one block device, and you want to operate unmount all of your block devices, you must use * for your input value

Reset a Device

Unmount and delete the attached block device(s) for the defined lineage. Designed for test and development purposes only.

Warning! Execution of this script will delete any data on your block device!"

Before you can successfully run the script, you must first remove the default safety setting that prevents the script from being inappropriately executed.  Set the following inputs under the "current" server's Inputs tab.

Run the following operational script to unmount the specified device.

• block_device::do_force_reset - Unmount and delete the specified block device (device 1 or 2). All attached volumes of the specified device will be detached and deleted. Designed for test and development purposes only. WARNING! Execution of this script will delete any data on your block device! Any data not saved in a backup will be lost.

Modify Device Backup Policy

Use the following inputs to control the backup policy for a device. The inputs that apply to 'device1' are listed below. A duplicate set of inputs are available for 'device2' which are highlighted with a (2) suffix in the namespace. Typically, you will set the values for the backup policy inputs before servers are launched. 

To change the backup policy on a current running server, you must perform the following steps:

1. Modify the inputs under the "current" server's Inputs tab.
2. Run the block_device::do_primary_backup_schedule_disable script.
3. Run the block_device::default script.
4. Run the block_device::do_primary_backup_schedule_enable script.