Question, question...
 

Hi Reader(s),

I gotta say Fedora 7, linux, open software, GPL, WOW! I wish I'd switched long ago.

I'm trying to establish a good backup system. I would like to make automatic backups to a removable SATA hard drive, and have a CD/DVD that will let me restore with a click or two. For worst case I would see my three SCSI drives fried. Unfortunately I just don't have the background to understand the possibilities from reading the faqs and howtos of the diverse tools and methods.

Do you know of a system that can do this?

Aside from wasting drive space, is copying all the files, mbr(s) and boot sectors a practical way for backup/restore?

Is linux like DOS and the early Windows in that if you copy all the files to another partition and fix the BIOS and partition boot flag, it would start and work fine; and in general, can a linux system be restored to another computer ignoring the hardware differences if identical mbr(s) and boot sectors can be established?

How identical would the new or other drive setup have to be? Could I restore from scsis to SATAs or from 3 drives to 1 or two.

I am not using LVM but have separate (9) partitions for separate folders.

I would be grateful for any comments or answers.

You use the dd command to make and copy an image of a hraddrive

You don't need to waste space. Works with any two networked computers:

on the server: >netcat -l -p 1234 | bzip2 > /mnt/sdb/hda_lappy.img

1. >enter

on the lappy: >dd if=/dev/hda bs=16065b conv=notruc,noerror | netcat 192.168.0.5 1234

2. >enter

This is a bitstream method of backup using compression on a mostly empty 100 GB drive, and yields a 6 GB image file, but I don't think you could mount this image, so it needs to be restored in its entirety, or not at all.

To restore, on laptop: >netcat -l -p 1234 | dd of=/dev/hda bs=4k conv=notrunc,noerror

>enter

on server: >bunzip2 /mnt/sdb/hda_lappy.img | netcat 192.168.0.6 1234

>enter

where 192.168.0.5 = server, 192.168.0.5 = lappy, 1234 = tcp port to use.

bzip2 uses an error checking algorithm that is machine, and especially memory intensive. If it bugs out, try turning the AC to a lower temp. in the room where the server is, or get some powerful chassis fans.