Backup and Recovery - Oracle Exadata Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach - page 188

Solution
Oracle provides a utility to create a bootable rescue image for your storage cells using an external USB drive. In this
recipe, we will provide instructions to create your external USB bootable recovery image.

1. First, locate or purchase an unformatted USB drive and put it into either of the empty USB

slots in the front of your storage server. The front panel in your Exadata storage cell has two
USB slots; make sure you only have one external device plugged in.

The device should appear as /dev/sdad ; log in as root and run the following fdisk
command to validate this:

2.

[root@cm01cel01 ~]# fdisk -l /dev/sdad
... output omitted
Disk /dev/sdad: 32.35 GB, 34735548006 bytes
63 heads, 32 sectors/track, 30848 cylinders
... output omitted
Disk /dev/sdac doesn't contain a valid partition table

[root@cm01cel01 ~]#

3. Create a partition on your USB drive, create an EXT3 file system on your partition, and

label your volume:

[root@cm01cel01 ~]# fdisk /dev/sdad
... output omitted for brevity
Command (m for help): p
Command (m for help): n
Command action
e extended
p primary partition (1-4)
p
Partition number (1-4): 1
First cylinder (1-30848, default 1):
Using default value 1
Last cylinder or +size or +sizeM or +sizeK (1-30848, default 30848):
Using default value 30848

Command (m for help): w
The partition table has been altered!

Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
Command (m for help): q

[root@cm01cel01 ~]# mkfs.ext3 /dev/sdad1
... output omitted for brevity

[root@cm01cel01 ~]# e2label /dev/sdad1 CELLBOOTEXTERNAL
... output omitted for brevity