Disaster Recovery: what to do in case of system disk crash ?

[wer_ops]

Hi....

I´ve set up a Debian (sarge) fileserver.
The server have the following diskconfigurations:
- 4x160GB IDE-disk in a software RAID5
- 1x8GB IDE-disk as a systemdisk
- 1x250GB IDE-disk as a single drive

Now I´m getting worried that the old 8GB will crash.

Then I would like to know
a) which files on my systemdisk are critical when conducting a system recovery in case the sysdrive makes a 'no-no' ?
b) what steps should I take to be prepared for a crash ? Not in detail, but more like "do remember to backup....", "do remember to copy /etc/fstab....".....

If the sysdrive fails, I sure would like to get the system up-and-running in no or very little time (excluding install-time on a new drive) and especially get the Raid5 intact.

Do you understand what I mean ?


Thanks in advance.

[domecq]

Keep this reference handy. It's a good source for day-to-day. I think you can have it installed and updated in your disk with apt-get or Synaptic:

http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/refer ... ce.en.html

For your questions, you can consult the chapter: 6.3 Debian survival commands.

Cheers,

Domecq