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Re: Cult of Unix

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  Re: Cult of Unix Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2025-01-16 14:12 +0000
    Re: Cult of Unix Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-01-16 21:37 +0000
      Re: Cult of Unix "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-01-16 22:48 +0100
        Re: Cult of Unix Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2025-01-16 17:37 -0500
          Re: Cult of Unix Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-01-17 00:08 +0000
        Re: Cult of Unix Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-01-17 00:08 +0000
          Re: Cult of Unix "Carlos E.R." <robin_listas@es.invalid> - 2025-01-17 02:00 +0100
            Re: Cult of Unix Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-01-17 02:46 +0000
      Re: Cult of Unix Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> - 2025-01-17 11:09 +0000

#684129 — Re: Cult of Unix

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:05:34 -0600, Hank Rogers wrote:
> 
> > I think people are better off to get some type of imaging software ...
> 
> On Linux systems, rsync works well. It?s essentially a bulk file-copying 
> utility. That?s all you need to backup/restore Linux systems.

  (Partition/disk) Imaging software is for bare-metal restores, mostly
for restoring the OS, programs, settings, etc.. It's not file-level
backup [1]. Two completely different animals and one is no replacement
for the other.

  But indeed, you don't *need* imaging software, if you're willing to
re-install the OS, etc. if needed.

[1] But most imaging packages can also do file-level restores.

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#684157

File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing “bare-metal 
restores” on Linux.

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#684161

On 2025-01-16 22:37, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing “bare-metal
> restores” on Linux.

Not for restoring grub.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#684165

On Thu, 1/16/2025 4:48 PM, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2025-01-16 22:37, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>> File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing “bare-metal
>> restores” on Linux.
> 
> Not for restoring grub.
> 

Some people don't understand what a complete solution is.

A complete solution, these are some of the things it does.

   Record MBR
   Save boot track (first megabyte or whatever)
   Save ESP
   Save Microsoft Reserved (16MB, NoFS)
   Save all partitions.
   Disambiguate BLKID on Windows boot materials.
   Edit BCD file and place the new BLKID values in the menu.
     (This means two boot disks don't interfere with one another in any way).
   Macrium does not disambiguate EXT4 partitions, or edit GRUB, but it
     does back up enough of GRUB so it works. Beware of how Linux behaves
     on two identical disks, because of this (not the fault of Linux).
     Macrium is primarily a Windows tool, that just happens to back up EXTn.
   Back up primary and secondary GPT partition tables, restore to *correct* location on disk.
     (Even if destination disk is smaller, it puts the secondary table in the right place.)

After a bare metal restore, your Windows disk boots immediately.

If there was a structural flaw in the boot materials, when the stuff
was backed up, the Rescue CD also has a Boot Repair for the simpler
kinds of boot faults. It does not have a set of files for ESP, and
cannot "fake" all the details for you. The Windows repair does not have
that capability either.

   Paul

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#684171

On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 17:37:13 -0500, Paul wrote:

> A complete solution, these are some of the things it does.

Unnecessary.

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#684170

On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 22:48:10 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:

> On 2025-01-16 22:37, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>
>> File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing
>> “bare-metal restores” on Linux.
> 
> Not for restoring grub.

After the bulk file copy (with rsync or other tool), you need to fix up 
two things:

1) /etc/fstab with the new volume UUIDs
2) reinstall grub

That’s it. I have successfully migrated bootable systems many times using 
this procedure.

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#684178

On 2025-01-17 01:08, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Jan 2025 22:48:10 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> 
>> On 2025-01-16 22:37, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>
>>> File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing
>>> “bare-metal restores” on Linux.
>>
>> Not for restoring grub.
> 
> After the bulk file copy (with rsync or other tool), you need to fix up
> two things:
> 
> 1) /etc/fstab with the new volume UUIDs

No. I want the old UUIDs and labels.

> 2) reinstall grub

I don't want to.


And you forget rebuilding initrd, which holds a copy of fstab. And you 
forget that there are encrypted partitions.

> 
> That’s it. I have successfully migrated bootable systems many times using
> this procedure.


I know. Me too.

-- 
Cheers, Carlos.

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#684182

On Fri, 17 Jan 2025 02:00:51 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:

> On 2025-01-17 01:08, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>
>> After the bulk file copy (with rsync or other tool), you need to fix up
>> two things:
>> 
>> 1) /etc/fstab with the new volume UUIDs
> 
> No. I want the old UUIDs and labels.

I don’t care.

>> 2) reinstall grub
> 
> I don't want to.

I don’t care that you don’t.

> And you forget rebuilding initrd, which holds a copy of fstab.

No it doesn’t.

> And you forget that there are encrypted partitions.

Never bothered with that. These were servers on the customer’s LAN.

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#684205

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> File-copying software like rsync is quite sufficient for doing ?bare-metal 
> restores? on Linux.

  My apologies for breaking the thread (my earlier response has no
'References:' header). No idea how that happened.

  That's probably what you get for using vim to compose and a 'Unix'
newsreader to post! :-)

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