Re: Best way to "Clone" a Linux Hard drive?

j3r3my_t0l$m4_at_salmahayeksknockers.edu
Date: 02/22/04 

Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 20:30:33 GMT

P.T. Breuer <ptb@oboe.it.uc3m.es> wrote:

> Simply the clone will be broken if the apache is writing logs (it's a
> near certainty, not a risk, since your server is busy enough to make you
> want to keep apache open).

Logfile integrity is not necessary for my DRM requirements.

> There's no point in avoiding it, since killing all daemons that might
> be accessing the disk is much more difficult than simply not starting
> any but what you want in the first place.

Undoubtedly, you're correct, but if I want my cake, there must be tradeoffs...

> Yes, you could do the same thing with a runlevel change, but you'd have
> to have a much greater knowledge of init than you seem to have! You'd
> have to kill all the dameons you don't want running and you don't seem
> to know what those are!

You repeatedly assume that because I do not explicity discuss something, I
am unaware of it. You seem predisposed towards underestimating others in
order to emphasise your own knowledge.

Truthfully, I find you expleasant to deal with, but are a knowledgeable
sounding board, and have offered a good idea or two (Especially passing
instructions to Lilo from the command line).

>> >> A floppy would mean there'd be a delay in the case of an unforseen hardware
>> >> reset or reboot.
>>
>> > Eh? You can only use a floppy boot when you are physically present, so
>> > you would be there to see the unforeseen.
>>
>> As mentioned, This process will be unattended. If it were unattended, and
>> I used a boot floppy

> You couldn't. You wouldn't be there to put it in the slot.

Goodness, thanks for pointing that out! That's why I discarded the option
in the first place...

> I have no idea what they are, if that is what you mean! How could I?

They have been explicitly covered in the thread.

>> Nonetheless, I think I have
>> mini-howto, which will detail the problem, the contstraints, and the solution.

> Oh please don't! Talk about writing a book on eating a bowl of cereal

A bowl of serial in the dark, with both hands tied behind the back.

Obviously, the regular sector cloning of a HD is simple: It it the other
requirements I have that complicate the matter.

> Personally, if I were doing this, I'd tar the file system across and
> run lilo afterwards. It's perfectly automatable and requires no change
> of run level or reboot.

This is a reasonable suggestion, however, I've found that doing a system
"hot" takes too much time, with all of the different processes competing for
I/O. By Quiescing the system, I greatly reduce the I/O, and thus the time
required to clone. 

-- 
.............................................................................
"Israel's policies in the West Bank are an outgrowth of an imperial concept
 'I want this' - combined with the  ability to go about taking it.  It must 
 be stressed again  that this 'ability' is conferred  by lavish US funding, 
 ideological support and diplomatic support"
 
                                -Noam Chomsky (The Fateful Triangle, p114)
 
.............................................................................
dswan@m3m3t1ccand1ru.com                        http://www.memeticcandiru.com

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