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AICadmin_2415's avatar
AICadmin_2415
Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
Jan 07, 2015

Is a clone of a BIG-IP LTM VE a bad idea as a backup?

I am preparing to install some hotfixes and shortly thereafter a version upgrade on my BIG-IP LTM VE. I have backed up the .ucs but I was looking for an easier / faster way to recover in the event of some catastrophic failure. I was able to create a clone of the BIG-IP VM in VMware without any issues but I have not booted it up yet. The cloned VM would be started on the same VMware ESXi host as the original.

 

Is this not recommended for some reason? I know snapshots are not a good practice but I am doing this as a last resort in the event of some major failure. I've never restore or recreate a Big-IP from a .ucs backup but from reading the SOL article it is a bit or work.

 

Has anyone successfully booted and used a clone of their Big-IP LTM VE?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

application delivery
cloud
LTM
virtualization
vmware

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  • boneyard's avatar
    boneyard
    Icon for MVP rankMVP
    Jan 08, 2015

    in our test environment we have cloned and booted VEs fine. but i would certainly test this procedure a few times if you depend on it.

     

  • AICadmin_2415's avatar
    AICadmin_2415
    Icon for Nimbostratus rankNimbostratus
    Jan 08, 2015
    Also, does anyone know if booting up a clone of a license Big-IP LTM VE would invalidate or cause any licensing issues if its on the same hardware the clone came from?