From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Feb 15 15:07:21 2011 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id EA9D1106564A for ; Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:07:21 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (gizmo.acns.msu.edu [35.8.1.43]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AC2378FC08 for ; Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:07:20 +0000 (UTC) Received: from gizmo.acns.msu.edu (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id p1FF131J091375; Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:01:03 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from jerrymc@gizmo.acns.msu.edu) Received: (from jerrymc@localhost) by gizmo.acns.msu.edu (8.13.6/8.13.6/Submit) id p1FF132N091374; Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:01:03 -0500 (EST) (envelope-from jerrymc) Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:01:03 -0500 From: Jerry McAllister To: Xn Nooby Message-ID: <20110215150103.GC91208@gizmo.acns.msu.edu> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.4.2.2i Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: What is the best way to image copy a FreeBSD system? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:07:22 -0000 On Tue, Feb 15, 2011 at 01:53:44AM -0500, Xn Nooby wrote: > On Linux I use clonezilla, which understands the EXT3 filesystem, and > it can skip unused space (I'm using about 3GB out of 1TB). > > On FreeBSD, I have to fill the 1TB drive with zero-filled files, then > delete them, on each partiton, since CloneZilla uses DD+gzip on the > entire drive. > > I like to make image copies of new systems, so I can revert back to my > starting point in case I break it, but CloneZilla is taking 9 hours to > image the drive. I can re-install a lot faster than that. My suggestion would be to do the slicing/partitioning on the copy and then use dump/restore on each partition from the new drive to the copy drive. A dd image is not really all that good a way to do it. It just produces a sector by sector copy which is not efficient. The dump/restore produces what you want which is an efficient runable system on the copy disk. Once you get the dump/restore finished, you could use rsync periodically to keep it up to date. Actually you could use rsync to do all the copying on to the prepartitioned copy drive, but I would prefer dump/restore. > I normally store my image copies on a Samba share on another system, > they are stored as files. I am not copying to another raw drive. In that case, use dump(8) to create those files and store them where-ever you wish. > > Is there an image-copy backup program that understands the UFS > file-system? Or perhaps there is a better solution on FreeBSD? As mentioned above, dump(8)/restore(8) is made for that. ////jerry > _______________________________________________ > freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list > http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions > To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"