Cloning and Deploying a SmartServer to a Multiple Sites (Release 3.3 and Prior)
- Nina Cardillo (Unlicensed)
- Nina Cardillo
Cloning is available with SmartServer 2.7 Update 1 and higher.
For SmartServer 3.4 and higher, see Cloning and Deploying a SmartServer to Multiple Systems (Release 3.4).
Cloning can be used to replicate a reference (source) SmartServer IoT to another SmartServer IoT(s), where each cloned (target) SmartServer's configuration will be identical to the reference SmartServer. Cloned SmartServers will have the same CMS configuration, external devices, external data points, custom applications, and custom web pages as the source SmartServer IoT.
Warnings
Using the Storage widget → RESTORE button → CLONE tab preserves the new SmartServer's Serial Number, Host Name, and Install Code, but changes the apollo password to the old SmartServer's password, as well as the Segment ID (SID) and MAC Addresses. In most cases, when you restore a database backup onto a new SmartServer, you will use the CLONE tab. You cannot clone a target SmartServer with the same backup file more than once; however, if you re-image the SmartServer, then you can perform another clone. In addition, you cannot put two SmartServer clones on the same network.
Using the Storage widget → RESTORE button → SYSTEM tab or DATABASE tab overwrites the new SmartServer's Serial Number, Host Name, MAC Addresses, Install Code, SID, and apollo password.
The reference SmartServer can include the most comprehensive configuration of devices likely to be seen in the field. For subsets of the reference configuration, devices that are not present in some sites can either be ignored or deleted accordingly. Cloned Modbus and BACnet networks should be configured with the same addressing and baud rate information as the reference SmartServer IoT networks. LON networks will need their devices replacing in the CMS with the new UIDs.
To clone a source SmartServer once its configuration is finalized and tested, a system backup image must first be created using the CMS Storage widget. Then, the source SmartServer IoT system backup must be restored onto a target SmartServer using the clone feature.
This section consists of the following:
Prerequisites
Backing up the SmartServer IoT
SmartServer IoT backups are stored on the SD Card in the /media/sdcard/backups directory (there can be multiple backup files on the SD Card).
Backup file names will appear similar to the following example:
SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-10-114532.tgz
The SmartServer IoT's SD Card is formatted using the Linux ext4 filesystem and cannot be read directly by a Windows PC. You can use an SFTP application on a Windows PC, such as WinSCP to read and write backup files from and to the SD Card. WinSCP downloads are available at https://winscp.net/eng/docs/guide_install. However, for speed purposes in a production environment, it is recommended that a Linux PC is used to read or write to the SD Card. If you do not want to modify your existing PC configuration, you can use a trial version of Ubuntu to do this, where you simply boot the PC from a USB drive with a bootable version of Ubuntu installed. Ubuntu downloads are available at https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop.
To create a bootable USB drive from an Ubuntu ISO image, you need to use an application such as Rufus. Rufus downloads are available at https://rufus.ie/.
Alternatively, you can install a dual-boot Ubuntu/Windows or an Ubuntu-only configuration.
Storing User Applications and Data
User applications and data should be located in the directory indicated in the APOLLO_DATA environment variable (typically /var/apollo/data). Doing so ensures that user applications and data are not affected by updates and are included in the SmartServer IoT's backup mechanism.
Connecting to the Console
To receive status updates during SmartServer IoT backup and restore operations, you need to be connected to the SmartServer IoT's serial console port (USB micro B, 115200, 8,1,N) using a terminal emulator, such as PuTTY for Windows or microterm for Ubuntu.
PuTTY downloads are available at https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html.
Microterm downloads are available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/microterm/.
Cloning the SmartServer IoT
The sections that follow describe the necessary steps to clone a SmartServer IoT, including:
- Creating a Source SmartServer Backup
- Copying the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer
- Restoring the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer
Creating a Source SmartServer Backup
To create a source SmartServer backup, perform the following steps:
- Connect an Ethernet patch lead from the source SmartServer IoT's RJ45 LAN connector to an Ethernet switch port on your local LAN with a DHCP server running (unless you are using a static IP address).
- Connect your PC to the same LAN and subnet as the source SmartServer IoT using an Ethernet lead. Alternatively, use the SmartServer's Rapid Fallback feature (if enabled) to set the SmartServer IoT's address to 192.168.1.222, which will allow a direct Ethernet connection from the PC to the SmartServer IoT. In this case you will have to manually configure the PC to be on the same subnet as the source SmartServer IoT.
- Remove any USB devices from the source SmartServer.
- Connect the terminal emulator to the console port using a USB cable and power up the SmartServer.
Find the SmartServer IoT's IPV4 address for the eth0 port (shown as inet addr:192.168.168.5 in the example below, third line) by entering the following command at the console:
ifconfig
A result similar to the following appears:apollo@smartserver-17q41xs:~$ ifconfig eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:d0:71:07:46:eb inet addr:192.168.168.5 Bcast:192.168.168.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::2d0:71ff:fe07:46eb/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:38427 errors:0 dropped:17168 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:35507 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:2909558 (2.9 MB) TX bytes:6099630 (6.0 MB) Interrupt:51 Base address:0x6000 eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:d0:71:07:46:ec UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:0 (0.0 B) Interrupt:50 Base address:0xe000 ip70 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:d0:71:07:6f:50 inet addr:192.168.239.128 Bcast:192.168.239.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::2d0:71ff:fe07:6f50/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING NOARP MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:6538 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:380111 (380.1 KB) lo Link encap:Local Loopback inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0 inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:65536 Metric:1 RX packets:1230995 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:1230995 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 RX bytes:170737328 (170.7 MB) TX bytes:170737328 (170.7 MB) apollo@smartserver-17q41xs:~$
- Connect to the source SmartServer IoT's CMS from a browser at:
- With SmartServer release 2.8 or higher: https://<IPV4 address>/cms
- With SmartServer release prior to 2.8: https://<IPV4 address>:8443/cms
The CMS login window appears.
- Login using the username and password. Note that the username is always apollo, but the password may have been changed from the one that is printed on the rear label of the SmartServer.
Open the Storage widget.
Note 1: If the Storage widget does not appear on the CMS, you will need to /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776.
Note 2: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the Expand button (
). 
Click BACKUP.
Click BACKUP SYSTEM in the Confirmation dialog box.
- Click OK in the Confirmation dialog box to start the backup process.
A notification (shown below) indicating that the backup started will appear at the top right corner of the CMS. No additional notifications regarding the backup process will be displayed on the CMS.
Messages similar to the following will appear on the console:
Broadcast message from rebootmanager daemon (Tue 2020-03-10 11:19:58 BST) System going down to perform backup... going down for reboot NOW ==================================================================== ============ Adesto Apollo 2 Backup/Restore Utility ============== ==================================================================== Version 1.2 * Initializing... OK SDCard: /dev/mmcblk2p1 * Checking required files... Required files are present. * Mounting partitions... OK Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on none 868600 0 868600 0% /dev /dev/mmcblk2p1 30634944 1032904 28022828 4% /mnt/mmc_restore /dev/mmcblk3p3 3232312 2145144 903260 70% /mnt/mmc_main /dev/mmcblk3p1 16128 8707 7422 54% /mnt/mmc_main/boot /dev/mmcblk3p5 884676 45860 776660 6% /mnt/mmc_main/var/apollo getpgdata: found PGDATA=/media/sdcard/postgres pgdata after stripping leading slash: media/sdcard/postgres pgdata before returning from getpgdata: 'media/sdcard/postgres' PGDATA is on SDCard, remount as media/sdcard * Backup System... tar -czf /mnt/mmc_main/media/sdcard/backups/SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-10-114532.tgz --exclude-from=etc/backup/excludes --exclude-backups --exclude-caches-all boot home srv var bin data etc lib opt root sbin usr media/sdcard/postgres * Backup System, including PGDATA=media/sdcard/postgres... * Syncing... OK * Unmounting partitions... OK Procedure Complete. Rebooting in 5 seconds...
Continue with the SmartServer cloning process following the steps in the section below: Copying the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer.
Copying the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer
Follow the appropriate procedure to copy the source SmartServer backup file to the target SmartServer for your environment below:
- Using Windows
- Using Ubuntu
Using Windows
You can use an SFTP application such as WinSCP to read the backup file from the source SmartServer IoT's SD Card, then store it on the Windows PC, and finally write the backup file to the target SmartServer IoT's SD Card.
Note: This process assumes that the Windows PC, as well as the source and target SmartServer IoT, are all connected to the same subnet and their addresses are known.
The backup file can be read from /media/sdcard/backups on the source SmartServer IoT, copied to a temporary location on the Windows PC, and written to /media/sdcard/backups on the target SmartServer IoT.
Depending on the infrastructure, this process will take at least 120s to read and write the backup file.
Once the process is completed, the USB console cable should be removed from the source SmartServer.
Continue with the SmartServer cloning process by following the steps in the section Restoring the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer below.
Using Ubuntu
To copy a source SmartServer backup file to the target SmartServer, perform the following steps:
Copy the SmartServer backup file from the source SmartServer's SD Card to the Linux PC.
Note: Although it is possible to copy the backup file from the source SmartServer to the target SmartServer using an intermediate flash drive, in a production environment, it is more efficient to copy the backup file from the source SmartServer's SD Card to the Linux PC first, and then copy the backup file to the target SmartServer’s SD Card.
Copy the file from the Linux PC to the target SmartServer SD Card.
Once reboot has completed after the backup operations, power-down the source SmartServer.
Remove the SD Card from the source SmartServer.
Using a suitable USB micro SD Card adapter, insert the SD Card into the adapter (unless the PC has a built in SD Card reader).
Insert the USB adapter into the Linux PC.
Copy the backup file from the SD Card's backups directory to the Linux PC.
Determine the SD Card device by entering the following command at the console:
sudo fdisk -l
Messages similar to the following will appear on the console:ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo fdisk -l Disk /dev/loop0: 1.9 GiB, 2029981696 bytes, 3964808 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop1: 89.1 MiB, 93417472 bytes, 182456 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop2: 54.7 MiB, 57294848 bytes, 111904 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop3: 44.9 MiB, 47063040 bytes, 91920 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop4: 160.2 MiB, 167931904 bytes, 327992 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop5: 4.2 MiB, 4403200 bytes, 8600 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop6: 14.8 MiB, 15462400 bytes, 30200 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/loop7: 956 KiB, 978944 bytes, 1912 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: dos Disk identifier: 0x96d7c2b4 Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type /dev/sda1 * 2048 1187839 1185792 579M 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT /dev/sda2 1187840 1953521663 1952333824 931G 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT Disk /dev/sdb: 28.7 GiB, 30752636928 bytes, 60063744 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disklabel type: dos Disk identifier: 0x0033a204 Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type /dev/sdb1 * 2048 60063743 60061696 28.7G c W95 FAT32 (LBA) Disk /dev/loop8: 3.7 MiB, 3825664 bytes, 7472 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disk /dev/sdc: 29.8 GiB, 32010928128 bytes, 62521344 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes Disklabel type: dos Disk identifier: 0x00000000 Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type /dev/sdc1 8192 62521343 62513152 29.8G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
In the example above (last line), the SD Card appears as device /dev/sdc1/.
If you are unsure which device it is, enter the commandsudo fdisk -lboth with and without the SD Card adapter plugged-in.- Create a local directory to mount the SD Card by entering the following command:
sudo mkdir /media/mysdcard - Mount the SD Card to the new directory by entering the following command (use the appropriate device determined in step #8):
sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /media/mysdcard Determine the backup file name by entering the following command (there may be multiple backup files):
ls /media/mysdcard/backupMessages similar to the following will appear on the console:
ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ ls /media/mysdcard/backups SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-03-154632.tgz SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-10-114532.tgz SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-12-091112.tgz Copy the name of the backupfile by selecting the text, right clicking and selecting copy.
Create a directory to store the backup file on the Linux PC by entering the following command:
sudo mkdir /home/cloneCopy the required backup file the local directory by entering the following command (use the backup file name appropriate for your environment):
sudo cp SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-12-091112.tgz /home/cloneUnmount the SD Card by entering the following command (use the appropriate device for your environment):
sudo umount /dev/sdc1Insert the SD Card into the source SmartServer.
Power-down the target SmartServer.
Remove any USB devices.
Remove the SD Card.
Replace the SD Card into the USB SD Card adapter in the Linux PC.
Mount the SD Card by entering the following command (use the appropriate device for your environment):
sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /media/mysdcardCopy the backup file from the Linux PC to the SD Card's backups directory by entering the following command (use the backup file name appropriate for your environment):
sudo cp /home/clone/System-Backup-2020-03-12-091112.tgz /media/mysdcard/backupsUnmount the SD Card by entering the following command (use the appropriate device for your environment):
sudo umount /dev/sdc1Remove the SD Card from the USB adapter.
Insert the SD Card into the target SmartServer.
Remove the USB console cable from the source SmartServer.
Continue with the SmartServer cloning process following the steps in the section below: Restoring the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer.
Restoring the Source SmartServer Backup File to the Target SmartServer
To restore a source SmartServer backup file to the target SmartServer, perform the following steps:
Do not clone a target SmartServer with the same backup file more than once, and do not put two SmartServer clones on the same network.
- Connect an Ethernet patch lead from the target SmartServer's RJ45 LAN connector to an Ethernet switch port on your local LAN with a DHCP server running (this assumes a new SmartServer).
Connect your PC to the same subnet as the target SmartServer using an Ethernet lead. Alternatively, use the SmartServer's Rapid Fallback feature to set the SmartServer's address to 192.168.1.222, which will allow a direct Ethernet connection from the PC to the SmartServer.
Remove any USB devices from the target SmartServer.
Connect the terminal emulator to the console port using a USB cable and power-up the SmartServer.
- Find the SmartServer's IPV4 address by entering the following command at the console:
ifconfig - Connect to the source SmartServer IoT's CMS from a browser at:
- With SmartServer release 2.8 or higher: https://<IPV4 address>/cms
- With SmartServer release prior to 2.8: https://<IPV4 address>:8443/cms
The CMS login window appears.
- Login using the username and password. Note that the username is always apollo, but the password may have been changed from the one that is printed on the rear label of the SmartServer.
Open the Storage widget.
Note 1: If the Storage widget does not appear on the CMS, you will need to /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776.
Note 2: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the Expand button (
). Click RESTORE.
Select the CLONE tab on the Restore dialog box and select the backup file that was copied to the SD Card from the drop-down menu as shown in the example below.
Warnings
Cloning preserves the new SmartServer's Serial Number, Host Name, and Install Code, but changes the apollo password to the old SmartServer's password, as well as the SID and MAC Addresses. A target SmartServer should not be cloned with the same backup file more than once. You cannot put two SmartServer clones on the same network.
- Click RESTORE.
Click OK in the Confirmation dialog box to start the restore process.
Messages similar to the following will appear on the console:
Broadcast message from rebootmanager daemon (Tue 2020-03-10 15:15:02 BST) System going down to perform restore... going down for reboot NOW ==================================================================== ============ Adesto Apollo 2 Backup/Restore Utility ============== ==================================================================== Version 1.2 * Initializing... OK SDCard: /dev/mmcblk2p1 * Checking required files... file 'restore' is present. file 'preserve' is present. file backups/SmartServer-System-Backup-2020-03-10-114532.tgz is present. Required files are present. * Checking files integrity... e77de975a4eabefc339dae6f132d8803 - OK Files validated. * Mounting partitions... OK Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on none 868600 0 868600 0% /dev /dev/mmcblk2p1 30634944 1935896 27119836 7% /mnt/mmc_restore /dev/mmcblk3p2 3232312 2164084 884320 71% /mnt/mmc_main /dev/mmcblk3p1 16128 8707 7422 54% /mnt/mmc_main/boot /dev/mmcblk3p5 884676 7268 815252 1% /mnt/mmc_main/var/apollo * Preserving Identity...OK * Unmounting partitions... OK * Formatting partitions... * Mounting partitions... OK Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on none 868600 0 868600 0% /dev /dev/mmcblk2p1 30634944 1935932 27119800 7% /mnt/mmc_restore /dev/mmcblk3p2 3232312 5756 3042648 0% /mnt/mmc_main /dev/mmcblk3p1 16128 1 16128 0% /mnt/mmc_main/boot /dev/mmcblk3p5 884676 904 821616 0% /mnt/mmc_main/var/apollo Always mount sdcard for restore. * Restoring System... OK * Restoring original identity...OK * Syncing... OK * Unmounting partitions... OK Procedure Complete. Rebooting in 5 seconds...
To ensure full functionality after the reboot process completes, perform the following steps:
Power-cycle the target SmartServer to ensure full functionality.
Note: The target SmartServer may not be accessible over the current IP infrastructure due to IP address changes, and its password will have changed to that of the source SmartServer.- Verify target SmartServer operations.