flex_readme

Double-Take Flex Readme[3.0 SP1]© 2009 Double-Take Software, Inc. All rights reserved.This readme file contains last minute release notes about the Double-Take Flex ® release that are not included in the user documentation. The user documentation is available on the product DVD and in the installation directory after you have installed Double-Take Flex. See Documentation Notes for details on how to access the user documentation.Be sure to check the readme file posted on the product updates download page of the Double-Take Software support web site for the latest release notes. The readme file contained in the self-extracting zip file or on the DVD may not contain all of the most recent information.Contents1.Overview2.Maintenance3.Known Issues4.Documentation Notes5.Contact Information1.OverviewThis Double-Take release is an updated release that includes, but may not be limited to, the modifications listed in this section.1.1.Support was added for the Double-Take Flex Management Server Linux daemon. For more information, see chapters 31, 32, and 33 in the Double-Take Flex User’s Guide .1.2.Double-Take Software products netBoot/i and sanFly have been merged, rebranded, and enhanced to form the Double-Take Flex solution. Product component names have changed as follows:1.3.Capability was added to the Double-Take Flex Management Console to perform most tasks related to managing Flex Targets. When the Double-Take Flex Management Server and Double-Take Flex Storage Server are installed on the same machine, the only tasks for which you must use the Double-Take Flex Storage Server are: 1) activating the Double-Take Flex Storage Server, and 2) specifying global options for the Double-Take Flex Storage Server.1.4.A New Client Wizard stand-alone tool was added so that you can configure a Double-Take Flex Client directly on the client machine. The process is expedient and includes the capability to create a target configuration and associate the target with the client.1.5.A Double-Take Flex Client grouping feature was added to simplify management of a subset of clients. Double-Take Flex Client groups offer the same settings as client configurations (with the exception of an administrator mode option that you can specify for individual Double-Take Flex Clients only).Former NameNew Name netBoot/i serverDouble-Take Flex Management Server netBoot/i consoleDouble-Take Flex Management Console sanFly serverDouble-Take Flex Storage Server sanfly consoleDouble-Take Flex Storage Console netBoot/i clientsDouble-Take Flex Clients sanFly targets Flex Targets (all targets created on the Double-Take Flex Storage Server)1.6.A target grouping feature was added to simplify management of a subset of targets. Now,users define portals under which all targets must be organized.1.7.Shared image parameters are now associated with the target instead of the Double-TakeFlex Client.1.8.Double-Take Flex Client status information was added to the client Properties dialog.1.9.An Activities object was added to the left pane of the Double-Take Flex ManagementConsole to help users monitor recent Double-Take Flex Client activities.1.10.The menu command to view PXE service and TFTP service message logs was added to therespective context menus.1.11.Licensing controls were improved so that users can specify the activation code duringinstallation. Licensing improvement also includes the ability to handle multiple license keys supporting incremental license purchases. Further, license controls can now differentiatebetween server and desktop licenses.1.12.A feature was added to promote an initiator cache to the master image. By promoting aninitiator cache, the original master is preserved. If necessary users can roll back to theoriginal master.1.13.The option to store the master image separate from initiator caches was added. Now, userscan place the master on a separate disk, such as a fast solid-state drive (SSD), and yetkeep caches on rotating media, thereby speeding up access time to the master.1.14.The ability to clone targets was added.1.15.The ability to reboot or shut down clients from the Double-Take Flex Management Consolewas added.1.16.Unknown clients can now be automatically discovered and added to the Double-Take FlexManagement Console.1.17.Drag-and-drop support was added so that users can quickly assign a target to aDouble-Take Flex Client without using menu commands.1.18.The ability to run batch updates on iSCSI volumes from the Double-Take Flex ManagementConsole was added to support patch management.1.19.The process of joining shared-image Double-Take Flex Clients to Active Directory wassimplified by adding the ability to create an Active Directory computer account for the client in the Double-Take Flex Management Console.1.20.The Double-Take Flex Client Deployment Tool was redesigned in a wizard-based format toimprove usability.1.21.Support for additional operating systems was added to run the Double-Take Flex ClientDeployment Tool from the product media.1.22.WMI support was added to the Double-Take Flex Storage Console so that users can runscripts to set up Flex Targets.1.23.Broadcom C-NICs configured for iSCSI offload (iSOE) are now fully supported as bootclients.2.Maintenance2.1.Double-Take Flex3.0 SP1 is an updated version that supersedes all previous releases andaddresses several minor issues. If you are using a different release or if you have questions about the upgrade, please contact Technical Support.2.2.MPIO failover now works correctly on the Double-Take Flex Storage Server.2.3.In the Double-Take Flex User’s Guide, some omissions were corrected and other procedureswere clarified.3.Known Issues3.1.Volume Copy versus Disk Copy. It has been noted that iSCSI Boot after using SystemCopy's Volume Copy will fail on some servers (e.g. Dell xx50 servers) where the firstpartition on the disk is a system-tools partition (in Dell's case, of approximately 35 MB),and the Windows boot volume is on the second partition. On some servers, mounting the iSCSI boot volume and modifying its BOOT.INI to point to the first partition will do the trick.This may not always work. Work-around: Use System Copy's Disk Copy facility to copy the entire disk to the iSCSI target.3.2.Booting from replicated LUN fails. When booting from an iSCSI LUN that has beenreplicated from an already-existing boot LUN using a vendor's own tools, booting from the replicated LUN may fail. Some things to check:1. If not a sysprepped image, check that you are then using the original hardware to bootfrom the replicated LUN.2. Check the attribute flags of the replicated LUN's volume - check that they were notmarked read-only and/or hidden. You can use Microsoft's DISKPART tool to examine or change these flags.3.3.DHCP not working when Double-Take Flex installed on DHCP server. Double-Take Flex isoften installed on the same physical system that is running DHCP. In this case, the DHCP server may stop responding to DHCP requests, because the Double-Take PXE Service(which uses the same port) may have started first. To resolve this, set up your system to ensure that the DHCP server is started before the Double-Take PXE Service:3.3.1.Method one: Create a batch file as below:net stop DHCP servernet stop Double-Take PXE Servicenet start DHCP servernet start Double-Take PXE ServiceThese are the friendly names of the services, hence, the batch file may have to looklike this:net stop "DHCP server"net stop "Double-Take PXE Service"net start "DHCP server"net start "Double-Take PXE Service"Put the batch file in the WINDOWSROOT\system32 directory (or somewhere in thePATH environment) and set it to start at login. Basically it stops the two services (ifstarted) and restarts them.3.3.2.Method two: The recommended approach is to NOT use a batch file and instead usea service dependency, so that PXE does not start until DHCP is started. Make sureDHCP starts first - do this by modifying the dependency for Double-Take Flexservices (PXE). See the following link for an example of how to do this./default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;193888 3.4.Hardware-specific issues3.4.1.Make sure to download and install the latest NIC drivers and firmware to the localdisk before performing any System Copy to the iSCSI target.3.4.2.Broadcom's Virtual Bus Drivers (VBD) on NetXtreme II chipsets have been known tocause various issues with regards to iSCSI boot. Please use the latest drivers toalleviate any issues.3.4.3.When using NetApp filers, the LUN will need to be located at the root - cloning andthen remote boot of cloned LUNs located in subdirectories will not work. The Web UIwill not allow this, but the NetApp CLI does allow cloning to subdirectories.3.4.4.The following error message may be encountered during boot:Can't establish TCP connection with targetThis error may be encountered when using switches/routers that have "port fast"(for example, Cisco) or "edge port" or "fast link" (for example, Dell) capabilitiesdisabled. This is disabled by default on some switches in order to minimize thepossibility of spanning tree loops. When disabled, there is no ARP reply, and theDouble-Take Flex bootstrap can not resolve the target's IP address, resulting in theTCP Connection error message.3.5.Software-specific issues3.5.1.Sysprep. Microsoft's Sysprep utility can be successfully used on prepared masterinstallation systems that have booted from iSCSI. Attempts to use sysprep on alocally booted (from hard disk) system and then using the Double-Take System Copyutility to copy the resealed image to an iSCSI target may result in failure, as theresealed image may not be fully functional at this point.When using the LegacyNic=1 setting with Sysprep and you have a second NIC in thesystem, don't disable it via Windows Network Connections. If you do, there will bean eight minute delay during the Sysprep reboot at Windows Setup: NetworkSettings. If the second NIC is removed via BIOS there is no delay, and if the secondNIC is enabled with a static IP or set to DHCP there is no delay.3.5.2.Virtual Machines. If using VMware's ESX server, you cannot remove the assigneddrive that hosted the original boot volume, because ESX uses SCSI virtual drives(not IDE). You may BSOD if you remove it, because ESX injects something into thevirtual machine's OS that it expects. You can, however, do the next best thing withESX - shrink the SCSI drive. Once the VM is booted from iSCSI SAN successfully,shut the VM down, remove the assigned SCSI drive, and add a new SCSI drive withas little capability as needed - 1MB will do. This drive can also be shared with otherboot-from-iSCSI VMs.3.5.3.WinPE. Problems loading the WinPE ISO RAM disk image. When you try to PXE bootthe WinPE image you may receive the following error message:Windows could not start due to an error while booting from a RAMDISK. Windowsfailed to open the RAMDISK image.File netBoot-i\x86\nbicdt.iso or netBoot-i\x64\nbicdt.iso could not be loaded. Theerror code is 21. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.Error 21 is a general failure when downloading the WinPE PXE image, and usuallymeans a network time-out. It means that there was an error loading the WinPE bootimage, which is quite large in size. This error may happen if the network isexcessively busy.3.5.4."Operating System Not Found" message. You may see the message: "Booting fromC: (iSCSI disk)…..Operating System not found." To fix this, mark the iSCSI disk'spartition as active, and perform an incremental copy again from the local systemdisk to the ISCSI target.4.Documentation Notes4.1.The following manual is installed in the directory where you installed Double-Take Flex andalso in the \Double-Take Flex\docs directory on the product DV D. To view the manual, you must have Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®. If you do not have Acrobat, you can download it free from Adobe at .4.1.1.flex_user.pdf—The Double-Take Flex User’s Guide contains information andinstructions for installing, configuring, and using Double-Take Flex.4.2.For a list of current Application Notes containing configuration procedures, visit the Supportweb site at .5.Contact Information5.1.Product Updates—Check your service agreement to determine which updates and newreleases you may be eligible for. These updates can be obtained from the support website at .5.2.Sales—If you need maintenance renewal, an upgrade activation code, or other salesassistance, contact your reseller/distributor or a Double-Take Software sales representative.Double-Take Software contact information is available on the Double-Take Software web site at /company/contact-us/.5.3.Technical Support—Contact the technical support center identified on your serviceagreement. This is generally the reseller or distributor who you purchased your productfrom. If you do not have access to this agreement, contact Double-Take Software Technical Support and we can direct you to the correct service provider. To contact Double-TakeSoftware Technical Support, you will need your serial number and activation code. For acomplete list of technical support contact information, including phone numbers and e-mailaddresses, visit the support page of the Double-Take Software web site at/support/.5.4.Documentation—Please forward any comments or suggestions about Double-TakeSoftware documentation to documentation@.Double-Take, Balance, Double-Take Cargo, Double-Take Flex, Double-Take for Hyper-V, Double-Take for Linux, Double-Take Move, Double-Take ShadowCaster, Double-Take for Virtual Systems, GeoCluster, Livewire, netBoot/i, NSI, sanFly, TimeData, TimeSpring, winBoot/i, and associated logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Double-Take Software, Inc. and/or its affiliates and subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, Hyper-V, Windows, and the Windows logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.© 1996-2009 Double-Take Software, Inc. All rights reserved.Version 3.0 FL-301-RN-042809。