HOW TO GHOST LINUX - Overview of the issues and a brief comparison of Acronis TrueImage

HOW TO GHOST LINUX - Overview of the issues and a brief comparison to Symantec Ghost.

Date: 09-06-05, 09-09-05.

Linux Distribution or Distro: Mandriva 10.1 or Mandrake 10.1 http://www.mandriva.com/products/10/isv/backup

Hardware: Intel Pentium 4 system and Ultra PATA or Parallel ATA or ultra DMA IDE hard drives, not SATA or serial ATA.

Supported Filesystems: EXT3, Linux SWAP, Microsoft FAT32.

ERRORS: I used Dragon Dictate Naturally Speaking v8 to write this and it sometimes chooses an entirely wrong word.

CHOICES:

Commercial: Acronis TrueImage v 8.0 (for Windows), COST: $50.00 (it says "for windows" but will it clone Linux? YES,
do I have to have windows installed on the system to use it? NO, it will do it all from the bootable CD! that it
makes!). Symantec ghost 7.5 + & partition Magic version 8.
Acronis: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/faq.html#1

Free / Open Source etc: G4L (g4l) ghost for Linux, http://sourceforge.net/projects/g4l

LINKS: http://www.pcquest.com/content/linux/2005/105041202.asp (displays the basics of ghost imaging).

CAN ACRONIS TRUEIMAGE v8 (for Windows) BE INSTALLED AND RUN UNDER LINUX? No it cannot. This version is for Windows but you can create a bootable rescue CD or floppy disks which can then be used on any computer to back up Linux or Windows. If you need to be able to install and run the program in Linux you must buy the $600 version of the program. This version allows administrators running a Linux server to do a backup without needing to restart.

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF BACKING UP THE LINUX OPERATING SYSTEM? When something goes wrong it can be a real nightmare trying to figure out the problem. Power users in the Microsoft Windows world have become used to the comfort and security provided by Symantec Ghost. I have used Symantec Ghost for years hoping for the day it would work on Linux as easy and well as it does for windows. The Linux world is just beginning to wake up to the power peace of mind, and time-saving offered by ghost images. Ghost is one of the critical steps to getting Linux on more desktop computers.

Occasionally, I have thought how nice it would be to install Linux for friends in situations where their computing needs are very basic. For example, one friend only wants to browse the Internet and watch movies. He had battled viruses and spyware under Windows XP, but with Linux he wouldn't have any worries. I chose not to install Linux at the time because I was afraid of something going wrong with this system. I would be facing the possibility of spending an unknown amount of time to resolve the problem or having to reinstall everything all over again. With a product like Acronis or G4L I can now say: "let's restore your system from the backup ghost image. It still didn't work I would then look at the hardware for the source of the problem. This same scenario could easily play out in a small office. Someone just needs to type simple letters and that's it. One day the hard drive fails and Linux along with it. Now and it is restore the backup image on a new hard drive and were done.

ACRONIS TRUEIMAGE (for Windows) vs NORTON SYMANTEC GHOST: I've been using Symantec ghost since 1997. Naturally, it was the first place I turned when I thought about ghosting Linux. Support for Linux is a complex mix of various ghost versions only partially supporting various Linux versions and kernels. Some versions only support EXT2 and not the EXT3 filesystem. I semi successfully cloned Mandriva 10.1 to a hard drives of the same size using ghost version 7.0 Pro. The partitions and files copied okay but the system would not boot even after reinstall the Linux boot sector.

Check out the ghost support chart for yourself: http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/docid/1999021909463125?Open&src=&docid=2000033111503625&nsf=ghost.nsf&view=docid&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=

Ghost has been around for years and has proven itself in many situations. I believe Ghost failed because Symantec doesn't want people in large corporations running around with the ghost disk and not paying a fee for every machine they ghost. Remember, it's thereby worked the way Acronis does the same disk that ghost's Linux could be used to ghost windows and Symantec doesn't want that. By not supporting EXT3 filesystem they essentially wash their hands of the whole affair.

THE TEST:

Test1: Ghost for Linux or G4L. Copy / Clone one "identical" (make/model/brand/size) hard drive to another hard drive. Both drives were traditional PATA or parallel ATA Western Digital 120GB drives.

RESULTS: Removed original source drive and booted from the clone drive with no noticeable problems for over a week. Creating the CD was easy. I downloaded and burned the ISO image with Nero. From there the program was menu-driven. I was unsuccessful in creating an image file so I decided just to try to copy disk to disk to keep things simple. It worked.

Test2: Acronis TrueImage v8.0 (for Windows). It is very unclear on their web site whether this version will ghost Linux. They just say it works EXT2 and EXT3 filesystem's. Can I make a Bootable CD and avoid installing Microsoft Windows My choices were to spend $50 on the home product or $600 on the full-blown Linux server product. The trial version disabled the rescue disk part of the program. I took a chance and purchased the $50 home version (that price is for download only). I installed the disk on a Windows 2000 computer in during the install the program asked me if I wanted to create a rescue disk in the form of a bootable CD or several floppy disks I chose the CD.

Please take note of the fact that I ran the bootable CD on a computer that only have Linux on it, so I did not rely on having Windows installed in order to backup Linux.

RESULTS: it worked!!! I cloned a 120GB drive with Linux installed on multiple partitions such as the swap partition and using EXT3 filesystem and even having a FAT32 partition down to a 40GB drive. The program warned me that if I resized the partition that Linux boots from I would have to reinstall the Linux boot loader. When I rebooted I got an error message: "no active" I believe this was a result of resizing the Linux boot partition.

This is probably the Linux equivalent of no partition being marked as active. When I examine the partition with partition Magic DID SHOW the partition was marked active from a Windows world perspective. I followed the instructions which told me to boot the computer from the Linux install DVD and reinstall the boot loader. After that everything worked perfectly and I have been running my Linux install for more than a week from the 40 GB hard drive with no problems at all. Below, I have written detailed step-by-step instructions of exactly what you must do to run Acronis TrueImage v8. I will write more about G4L as I learn more.

CONCLUSION: I highly recommend Acronis TrueImage v8 (for Windows) because it only costs $50 and will save you from wasting hours of time and frustration trying to get G4L to work. The interface on the bootable CD is the same as working under Windows. USB is fully supported, although I have not tested this yet. I think as G4L improves it will be great for the Linux community.

COMMERCIAL vs FREE: commercial software really does have a place providing that the developer really offers value such as a product that is more highly finished and thus easier to use so while a cost you money you say to a lot of time and aggravation. Linux has the right idea because it offers commodities and staple items which hardly would make it a developer any money for free and then leaves developers free to create specific products that help the customer earn more money in their business and may not be of interest to the general public.

CONS: Acronis could beef up its staff it's hard to get hold of a live person or get a response to e-mail. You have to be prepared to download this product, and have some technical knowledge.Expect that you will buy the program and be on your own. As more people use the product, documentation and knowledge should increase rapidly.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACRONIS TRUEIMAGE v8 (for Windows), step-by-step install and general use.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATED: 09-02-05

TITLE: My first ghost of a Linux workstation with Acronis TrueImage v 8.0 (for Windows)

COST: $50,
PURCHASED: 09-02-05

A straight copy of 1 HD of the same size to another of the same size is the easiest since
no partition resizing is going on. A more complex issue is resizing. The most complex
is resizing the boot partition and that is what is listed here. It is important since
it proves the flexibility of the product to move to a larger HD and also if you made
a backup image and restore it later after a disaster you may not have the exact same
sized HD and also even if you do ... it is nice for testing purposes to ghost your
linux to a smaller older HD for test purposes.

1.) Installed program under windows and chose to make a bootable rescue disk.
2.) Added a 40GB hard drive to a Mandrivia 10.1x Linux box.
3.) booted from the cd and performed a disk (WD 120GB) to disk (Maxtor 40GB) copy,
program asked if I wanted to do a perportional copy where all partitions are
copied and are resized proportionally so theare are all proportional. Example,
if the first partition is 20% of a 120GB drive then it will be smaller but still
take up 20% of the 40GB drive. A message said after resizing the boot partition
I would need to reinstall the linux boot loader.
4.) Next, I tried booting and got the message "no active". I then inserted the mandriva
linux install DVD and booted, chose F1 for more options and then entered a repair vs
install mode. I type rescue and pressed <Enter> then I choose to Install a boot loader.
5.) I removed the CD and rebooted. The first time failed and I repeated the instructions above.
I don't think I needed to choose "Install windows boot loader". When things worked correctly
I noticed three items listed after I selected install boot loader - the same three things
that are noramlly listed on the GUI boot screen.
6.) I pressed esc during boot and observed 2 errors on eth0 - could be dup IP issue? But everything
worked as normal: internet, and I accessed my windows SMB share with absolutely no problems.

This is cool. Even though this is the Acronis TrueImage (for Windows) it ghosts / images Windows and
Linux (it claims all versions) with no problems. Seeing is believing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------