Cloning a running Linux OS

[Tyler Aviss]

What's the chance that you could manage a mysqlhotcopy on just the
databases and sync the rest of your data?

On Thu, Sep 11, 2008 at 9:15 AM, Lennart Sorensen
<lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 09:17:49PM -0400, John Miles wrote:
>> I would like to do it on an operating OS.
>> Essentially, I've put off creating an Autoyast file for a group of shared
>> development servers we use - 71 of them - and, one had a slew of updates
>> applied, getting it out of sync with the rest. These machines are so heavily
>> used, and the negotiated down time this weekend is barely enough time to
>> perform the maintenance they all need, let alone install a new one.
>> So.... I was thinking of experimenting with the concept of grabbing a clone
>> image from a running system.
>>
>> I am thinking that rsync might just do it, then I can dd the mbr to a file
>> and copy that over.
>
> rsync won't place the files in the same place, so the MBR is of no use.
> Reinstall the boot loader after the rsync on the target.
>
> Of course databases (if any) will most likely not be in a sane state
> after an rsync if they are open.  You might get lucky, but most likely
> you won't.
>
> Of course with a few rsync runs in a row, and hopefully not too active a
> set of changes, you might actually end up with something relatively
> sane.  And make sure it is rsync 3.x, since it is much faster for large
> sets of files than rsync 2.x was.
>
>> However, after all is said and done, I probably will just have to rely on
>> creating a reference Autoyast file from one of the machines, and then strip
>> out the stuff that does not travel well.
>>
>> Clonezilla though, is pretty darn cool looking.
>> We are presently implementing a solution that the Borg, has created,
>> therefore the Borg inisist us to use - namely (ready for this lovely product
>> name...) Tivoli Provisioning Manager for Operating System Deployment.
>>
>> I am really starting to think that most open source tools that stick to
>> common standards really just need a good web and scripting developer to
>> piece them together - creating the ultimate solution - one that works
>> exactly the way you need it to.
>>
>> I, however, can't script myself out a wet paper bag.
>
> --
> Len Sorensen
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-- 
Tyler Aviss
Systems Support
LPIC/LPIC-2
(647) 302-0942
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