Using Ghost to image Novell...

**Gabriel** · November 4th, 2007, 02:30 AM

Hi All,
I came across a dinosaur... a system using Netware 3.x (computer is roughly 12 years old...).
Question is - how do i Image its disk - does ghost 12 (or any other cloner for that matter) support it?

Cheers,
Gabriel

**CCT** · November 4th, 2007, 08:24 AM

Like this: http://www.trtec.com.br/pages/NGhostnetware.html

**slgrieb** · November 4th, 2007, 03:48 PM

Gabriel, I guess it depends on what you want to do. If you are looking for software that actually runs under Netware, you're going to be forced to track down something like CCT's ancient version of Ghost.

Acronis True Image Server will make a bi-by-bit copy of any drive, but it costs $699, and only runs under a recent Windows Server OS.

**Gabriel** · November 5th, 2007, 04:53 AM

Actually it something more sophisticated
there is an application runing on that novell server that is mission critical and cannot be replaced (cheap customer)...
The Idea was to Image it and run it as a virtual machine
http://www.symantec.com/norton/produ...r&pvid=ghost12

Ghost can create virtual machine from Images...

How about this Idea?

Gabriel

**CCT** · November 5th, 2007, 07:14 AM

That first link said, in part:

"Norton Ghost uses a sector-by-sector copying process for partitions that it does not understand. The Novell NetWare partition is one of them. If the source and target drives have the same number of sectors-per-track and heads-per-cylinder then the sector copying method will work correctly. Norton Ghost for NetWare was developed to handle the complex partitions, volumes, and files in Novell NetWare. Norton Ghost for NetWare is the very first product to fully support Novell NetWare."

So, provided that concern is addressed, if sounds fine. I'd suggest you talk to the Ghost people.

**Niclo Iste** · November 5th, 2007, 08:15 AM

Curious. Have you tried Acronis? I've never used it for a Novell partition but given the control Acronis offers in imaging it might work.

**HipHoper** · November 5th, 2007, 05:52 PM

Except for the fact that I've stopped using ghost since version 9 (When it started to get bloated), I've noticed that latest Acronis TI 11 have a feature of making a sector by sector restoration of image, So maybe it's worth to give it a try.
I would try to mount the image and restore it on older (not ver. 6) vmware workstation

http://www.vmts.net/article/installnovell.htm

Check this out too :

http://pcwin.com/Internet/Novell_Net...isor/index.htm

**rgharper** · November 6th, 2007, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by Gabriel

Actually it something more sophisticated
there is an application runing on that novell server that is mission critical and cannot be replaced (cheap customer)...
The Idea was to Image it and run it as a virtual machine
http://www.symantec.com/norton/produ...r&pvid=ghost12

Ghost can create virtual machine from Images...

How about this Idea?

Gabriel

The problem, I think, won't be imaging - that's not too tough. The problem will be getting the Novell 3 machine to run in a VM at all. The last I knew of this wasn't a supported scenario for either Microsoft or VMWare. I tried this once with a Novell 3.12 server and Microsoft Virtual Server - the VM would run until you tried to get networking up and running at which time it failed miserably.

**HipHoper** · November 7th, 2007, 02:14 AM

That's interesting point Rg, Because the novell 3.X protocols are usually not the normal TCP/IP. There's no replacement to experience....

**houseisland** · November 14th, 2007, 11:29 AM

Hi,

Novell had a great migration utility, one which I only dimly remember now.

What I remember is that it allowed the migration of account information and data to a workstation so that the server could be rebuilt and then everything could be migrated back.

It worked extremely well.

___________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

**HipHoper** · December 18th, 2007, 12:40 AM

Hey House,

Can you bring up the memories for the utility name or a link ? I have a Novell 3.12 that I want to backup before it dies.

Thanks

**houseisland** · December 18th, 2007, 07:52 PM

I will ask my smarter younger brother. He lives in a country area where up until recently he had clients still using 3.11. He has a lot of stuff archived.

More later.

___________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!

**HipHoper** · December 18th, 2007, 07:57 PM

Smarter AND younger ? Isn't there equality in your family ? No wonder you sent him to 3rd world country :O)
I just asked Gabriel today how all this cloning business ended...Haven't got his answer yet, But seems like a dead end to me with my minor Novell's experience

**houseisland** · December 18th, 2007, 11:43 PM

Hi,

According to my brother it is the Upgrade command in Novell itself -- he checked this in one of his old manuals. You run it from a workstation. It runs in two modes. One is "migrate," used where you all ready have a new server set up on new hardware and want to move the bindary and the data to it. The other is "backup," used when you want to backup the the bindery and data to a workstation, rebuild the server on the same hardware, and then restore the bindery and data to it. He said he hasn't used it in a long time, but the syntax was fairly self-explanatory. He has only one client left with a Novell 3.11 server running and he hasn't had to touch that server in over ten years.

I did a little Googling but I couldn't find any referrence sites still in existence that list the Upgrade command.

Sorry.

____________________________________________

It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!