Hello jessieobioma,

You can’t backup the OneFS OS.  If the OS has an issue and is determined that it needs to be reinstalled then you will have to redeploy it from scratch and then import data back onto your system.

Hello and thank you for responding.

Just so I am clear, by redeploying from the scratch you mean reimaging the nodes right?

One more question please.

Other than software failure(OneFS failure) and Hardware failure(Boot drive failure),

what other reason would warrant a reimage of nodes?

Thank you.

Hello jessieobioma,

Those are the main reasons that you would have to reimage.  In most other case you can modify the software & setting and you shouldn’t need to reimage.

Hello and thank you for your responses.

There is no mention of reimaging the system during node replacement and boot drive replacement in the FRU replacement manuals so I am guessing it is not necessary? I am right?

Also when replacing a node in a cluster, what happens if the new node has a different OneFS version than that which is running in the cluster, will there be a software mismatch problem when it joins the cluster?

Thank you.

Hello jessieobioma,

You are correct. Only in complete system failure cases that I have seen, is when we have needed to reimage the system. 

If there is a mismatch in nodes then in most cases the replacement node will downgrade or upgrade to match the other nodes before it will be brought online.

Thank you for the clarification.

I have noticed that the OneFS image are of 2 types (maybe more even).

PowerScale OneFS installation bundle and PowerScale OneFS reimage bundle(file in some cases).

How is the "Installation bundle" different from the "reimage bundle"?

Thank you.

Hello jessieobioma,

If you are doing a first time install or upgrading from an older version to a newer version, then you will want to use Installation bundle. 

If you have an issue with a node, and you open a support case and it is determined that you will need to reimage, then you will want to use the reimage bundle for the version that you are at.  The reimage bundle is different as it will in most cases rebuild the node and used the previous configuration.

OS backup might be impossible but configuration backup is finally introduced with OneFS 9.2. Unfortunately your hardware is not supported by this version.

http://www.unstructureddatatips.com/onefs-cluster-configuration-export-import/