Backup Solution to Share

Server Farm

We have been working over time to come up with a solid backup solution that does not break the bank and makes sure that our data is redundant, recoverable,  multiple copies and multiple sites.

The servers left to right – our Smoothwall router/firewall, our VMware Esxi host and our primary Openfiler iscsi target.  The combination of these machines have proven a reliable and cost effective solution for our church.  More on this set up another day.

Our virtual file server has two nic’s one dedicated to general network traffic and on dedicated to iscsi traffic on a different subnet, providing quick access, low processor overhead and the ability to scale well.  Also giving us the ability to change out the virtual server very quickly if the need would arise or to move to vmotion when we are ready.

Visionman backup box

Enter our Visionman backup box, a low cost box from TigerDirect with sata drives to match our primary Openfiler iscsi target.  It is also an Openfiler box running as an iscsi target.  To build and use Openfiler as a iscsi traget you will want some great direction and the Microsoft iscsi initiator software.

Now we have an outline of the parts, which happen to be in different building of our church plant, linked by gigabyte Ethernet, it is time to make a backup and an offsite backup as well.

Running the MS iscsi initiator on our virtual file server we map the primary iscsi target as the D: drive and the backup iscsi target as the E: drive.  We use the command line program called ROBOCOPY with the following commands to mirror the primary target to the secondary target on a predetermined schedule.

>robocopy d: e: /B /SEC /MIR /R:02 /W:05 /LOG:c:Robocopylast.txt

The switches:

/B – backup mode (will copy all files if run as an administrator)
/SEC – copies security settings
/MIR – makes a mirror copy of the drive
/R – tries to read the file twice and /W – waits five seconds between reads
/LOG – make a log file of the last run

Ok, we have copy one of all the data that is store on on server now copied to another building on our campus.  Enter the third computer.  Don’t laugh…..

Half laptop

Mr. Half Laptop was recovered after a theft of several computers at our church.  Robert, just can’t seem to part with this little guy.   Mr. HL has taken a lick or two and just keeps running.  Linux is the operating system of choice right now and he even does double duty with some audio duties.  A post for another day.

But this half laptop running linux request a rsync session with another linux computer that is not in our facility.  This rsync session goes out of our building on a secure ssl connection and copies the changed contents of the backup iscis target to the remote location.

I have to give props to Russ for technical thought and Robert for mad Linux and box build skills.

 

Garden Hose and the Gospel…

Well, service number three has come and gone.  The Lord continues to bless our church with positive gains in Bible study attendance and good gains in worship attendance.  As a church we are knocking on a thousand in both worship centers, with The Encounter @ FBC knocking on four hundred.  I simply say may God be praised.

This week the new wrinkle was the garden hose.  Yes, not one, not two, but three garden hoses.  You see we are having a problem getting a good lan connection between the building.  So we knew that we could string a cat5 cable between the buildings and bypass the week link.  But, how do you protect a network cable across a busy gravel parking lot and a major side street of the church.  The solution, thanks to Ray Leininger was a garden hose.  Why did I know think of that.

So now each Sunday we turn off the wireless connection at the main building.  Plug the cable in a hose into the router at the Esquire and spool out about three hundred feet of hose carrying cable.  We go in a window at the church into an intern office and plug in.  Progress.  I keep telling myself that is is progress.

Well, I will gladly continue to call contractors, enlist the help of my friends to get a good bid (Roy) and continue to bury this wire or fiber which ever we can afford.  Until then, if you wish to see spooling for to gospel carrying garden hose at FBC Bolivar just come by and see me before Bible Study.

To God be the Glory….

 

It is Official!

Well, family and friends live practice services have come and gone.  A few minor issues, but nothing that the team could not handle.  The growing number of volunteers has made the creative process of a contemporary worship service very dynamic.

We launched Sunday, Feburary 1.  I don’t mind saying it was a crazy Sunday.  We moved back into one Sunday morning Bible Study hour.  I talked with a few people in the halls that were looking for a class or did not have an idea of what class to try.  I hope my suggestion help them find a small group Bible study home.

Oh, I also helpped with a baptism on Sunday morning.  That is always a good day in my books.

Then the start of the  dual worship at FBC.  It was a great Sunday.  Take out a couple of minor techinal issues and it was a perfect day.  We did have a great attendance in both services, with the total approaching a thousand people.  It is nice to know that we as a church can adjust to changing times.  We understand the important relationship between worship and small group Bible study.

All in all a good day to walk with the Lord and to do His thing with Him.

Oh, the technology that we are using to reach the Esquire (old movie theater) is a slingbox, our in house lan, to wireless routers for a bridge across the block, the in house lan in the Esquire, a computer to catch and spool the main worship service and Tom Sneed’s quick and nimble fingers on a combination of buttons.

 

New Server Room

Picture 1 is our server space before the move and the center and right picture are the after picture.  We where able to make a new secure room for our church servers by taking eight feet from a classroom.  We now have a locked and air conditions space for our servers.  Meet the servers from left to right.  Box 1 is our smoothwall firewall.  Box 2 is our Domain control.  Box 3 is the work horse data server and vm server.   The vast expanse of open playwood is for future growth and a later telephone project.