Zero to Bitcoin in sixty seconds - how to set up a Bitcoin client in case you need it fast? Lets say I have a bitcoind instance running on a server with proper wallet.dat backups created regularly. The server crashes, blockchain data becomes corrupted or what have you, and I need to set up a server client fast to take over traffic. Moreover, I need the service to be interchangeable with the official client - that is it needs to provide the same RPC commands, conform to the wallet.dat specification so it can be interchanged between the clients and so forth. What is the fastest way one can do that in case of emergencies?
Well, I would run the bitcoind in a VM, and regularly snapshot it.  If it fails, rollback the snapshot and reboot. Back online in &lt; 10 min, assuming frequent backups and you start working right away.  Not sure if this is the use case you're asking about, but that's what I'd do for max uptime.