Scheduling backups of the Virtual I/O Server and user-defined virtual devices

To ensure that your backup of the VIOS accurately reflects your current running VIOS, back up the VIOS and the user-defined virtual devices each time that the configuration changes. For example:

• Changing the VIOS, like installing a fix pack.
• Adding, deleting, or changing the external device configuration, like changing the SAN configuration.
• Adding, deleting, or changing resource allocations and assignments for the VIOS, like memory, processors, or virtual and physical devices.
• Adding, deleting, or changing user-defined virtual device configurations, like virtual device mappings.

You can schedule backups in one of the following ways:

• You can schedule backups of the VIOS and user-defined virtual devices by creating a script that includes the backupios command. Then, create a crontab file entry that runs the script on a regular interval. Use this option in situations where you plan to restore the VIOS to a new or different system. (For example, use this option in the event of a system failure or disaster.)
• You can schedule backups of the configuration information for the user-defined virtual devices by using the viosbr command. Use this option in situations where you plan to restore the configuration information to the same VIOS partition from which it was backed up.