Hi All,
I have two identical G5 Mac Pro running system 10.5.7 and one is used as a picture processing server and handles the volume we require well.
I would like to keep the second G5 identical in all aspects apart from the I.P. so if the first one fails all we would have to do is switch the I.P.
Can anyone suggest how to do this automatically as at the moment any changes we make on the first one we also have to make on the second one.

So just to be clear we would like an exact backup clone of our G5 server and for that clone to be updated automatically when we make any changes to the server.
The backup G5 does not have to be on our network and can be attached to the main server by firewire.
Any suggestions would be most welcome !

Many Thanks
Neil

Neil have you considered installing a RAID 1 or preferably RAID 5 array on the "Master" G5. That would provide automatic backup of the OS and all your data in case of disk failure without having to switch from on G5 to the other. If the "Master" G5 had a hardware failure all you would have to do is switch the array to the "backup" G5. That way there is no issue of one G5 being in synch with the other.

If you go that route and even if you are using the relatively simple RAID 1 (mirrored) configuration, I would urge you to use hardware RAID rather than software for speed and reliability. With RAID 5 it would have to be hardware RAID.

The other, and less reliable method, and one which requires a bit more messing with the software, is to enable file sharing on your secondary G5 and run Carbon Copy Cloner from the primary to clone it to the secondary, and to do it on a regular schedule.

The Raid method is the preferred way to do this though.

Thank you both for your answers and I will look at the RAID 5 option.
Just one other quick question, when you say that I should go for the hardware RAID do I buy an external hard disk with the RAID built in ?

Many thanks
Neil

RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks. RAID 1 requires a minimum of two drives and RAID 5 takes three. This Wikipedia article does a good job of explaining the RAID concepts and the various RAID "levels". You are going to wind up with an external inclosure with several disks preferably in "hot swappable" trays so if one fails you can simply swap out the failed drive without ever taking the array offline and the data on the new drive will be automatically rebuilt. The enclosure's interface to your G5 can be either Firewire 800/400 or even better eSATA.

Hardware RAID is preferable to Software RAID every time and the controller can either be a microprocessor in the enclosure itself or a PCI card in a slot in your G5. My personal preference in your situation would be having the intelligence in the enclosure with simple firewire 800/400 or eSATA interface to your G5.