Disk cloning

[Cris Rhea]

> My questions:
> 
> 2.  After cloning, must sdb be disconnected so as not to cause booting
> problems?

Only if you've used FS labels rather than real disk names
(LABEL=/boot rather than /dev/sda1 in /etc/fstab and grub.conf).

I've used this technique for years on Sun/Solaris systems-- I typically:

1. Partition the drives to be identical.

2. Install the boot block.

3. Use "dd" to copy each partition (skipping things like swap and /tmp-- 
   but obviously use newfs/mke2fs to put a file system on /tmp).

4. Since the "dd" was on a live system, I run fsck on each partition
   to make sure it's OK.

I cron this to run on the first of every month-- this is a great way to 
get a system back up and running quickly after a boot disk crash
or a fatal admin mistake (something mirroring does not cover). Going to 
backups picks up the changes since the first of the month (or keep the 
OS/boot disk separate from the data/application disks).



-- 
 Cristopher J. Rhea                     
 Mayo Clinic - Research Computing Facility
 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN 55905
 crhea at Mayo.EDU
 (507) 284-0587