BOFH: Recover a database from five years ago? It's as easy as flicking a switch

But nobody needs to know that

Episode 19 Overtime, in recent years, is very much an endangered species at the Company. Whereas in the past even the most minor of system upgrades would need to be performed late at night or during the weekend, now the office preference is to action such things on a Friday afternoon or over a lunchtime – with occasionally disastrous results.

Belts are tightening everywhere but the boardroom.

It therefore comes as a surprise when the Boss rolls hastily into Mission Control with an urgent request for a large chunk of weekend work.

"We need to recover the Financials Database," he says.

"How far back?" I ask. "We could probably load a cloud snapshot in half an hour if it's not too far."

"I'll check," he says, wandering off.

About ten minutes later, he's back with the Heads of both Beancounting and HR...

"We need you to recover the database from, uh... five years ago," the Head Beancounter says.

"Five years ago!" the PFY gasps. "We're not even using the same accounting system!"

"Yes. Well. We'll still need to get that recovery done," the Head of HR says.

"But we'd need to run up all of the old system," I gasp. "We'd have to get some old hardware."

"Don't you have some sort of backup copy of the old financials?" he asks.

"Sure, but it needs to run on a machine, and we disposed of the hardware when we migrated to the Cloud."

"But you could do it?"

"Sure. We'll need to source some fairly similar second-hand kit as it's a full system snapshot – OS and all – and we might need to procure some questionable licenses to run the software."

"We need to do it," the Head Beancounter sighs.

...

"OK, I... guess I can ask around to see if anyone has some," I say, "but I doubt it'll be cheap."

The standout observations from this conversation are: (a) the presence of the Head of HR, (b) the lack of concern about both cost and dodgy licenses, and (c) this really is quite urgent – for some reason.

There's palpable relief from the two senior managers when I tell them that we've been able to source some kit from a company specializing in older computer hardware – and that they'll lease it to us instead of us having to buy it.

"How long will it take to get up and running?" they ask, almost in unison.

"If we start now, we'll have everything running by... Monday morning?" I suggest. "The good news is that we can probably use the original license product activation keys if we set the clock back to pre-migration date."

"Oh, we'll need to do that," the Head Beancounter says unhappily. "But will it take all weekend?"

"Well, we do have to run up an isolated network, then a pair of domain controllers running an old DC snapshot, then recover the database machine, then create a VM with the client-side software."

"It's not as easy as flicking a switch," the PFY adds.

"And the equipment people want the money up front before they deliver the hardware. They can bring it later tonight, though."

The Head Beancounter takes the account information off to make a rapid payment – which is a move that contravenes the Company's financials policy in a number of ways. But this is important.

"We could pull an all-nighter, I guess," I tell the Head of HR. "Only we'll need..."

"Time and a half?" the Head of HR says dryly.

"Time and a half for the first three hours," I reply. "But as you know, it's double time for all subsequent hours, a meal break for dinner, a meal allowance for dinner, a meal break for breakfast, a meal allowance for breakfast, etc. If we don't get an eight-hour break every 16 hours we're entitled to a personal wellbeing allowance, which compounds every 24 hours without a break..."

"Then you should work in shifts."

"That's a great idea, though again – as you know – Company policy mandates that people working in dangerous areas are not permitted to work alone for periods longer than half an hour. And I think the injury register would prove that the server room is a dangerous area. Not nearly as dangerous as the stairwell or our office window, but considerably more dangerous than most of the rest of the building..."

A quarter of an hour of wrangling later, we've reached a deal that is agreeable to both parties.

A further ten minutes of discussion reveals the nub of the crisis. It turns out that the Financials Database does NOT contain the secret of world peace, the combination to the locking system of Pandora's Box, nor the magic keystrokes to get you to level 25 of Rogue with masses of gold and armor. What it DOES contain, however, is information on which senior managers may have crossed the fine line between tax avoidance and tax evasion.

"And if you can get it up before Monday, that would be great," the Head of HR says. "We've got someone who wants to come in and, uh, modify some, uh, errors."

"We can but try," I say. "But it might require some form of bonus. It's not as simple as flicking a switch..."

...

Only it is as easy as flicking a switch – the switch at the bottom of a rack of gear that we didn't get around to recycling when we moved to the Cloud.

Still, we will probably have to set those clocks back...

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