CentOS - Apr 2018 - [Marketing Mail] Re: [External] Re: [Marketing Mail] Create CentOS 6 system as "clone" of another - with LVM and different disk sizes

On 13/04/18 15:32, Lange, Markus wrote:
> Hi,
>
> You can simply boot a live system to create your partition layout and copy
it
> over the existing system with rsync. Once your system is copied, you will
need
> to customize all hardware-dependent configuration files such as
{crypt,fs}tab,
> network configurations, bootloader and so on depending on your setup.
>
> Don't forget to install the bootloader afterwards!
>
> You can also install a minimal system and use a live system to copy the
files
> from the existing server to the new one (e.g. with rsync -a). This way you
do
> not have to create the partition layout and bootloader manually.
>
> Using clonezilla would only replace the part of copying the files and
installing
> the bootloader, all other settings still have to be made.
Actually, I don't believe that's quite true. I've "cloned"
to dissimilar
hardware in the same manner before, and found that there was special 
handling of various hardware dependent config files, so that I didn't 
get set-up? for the "wrong" type.

- Toralf
>   Rsync should be much
> faster for data transfer.
>
> Best regards,
>  ?- Markus
> On Fr, 2018-04-13 at 14:46 +0200, Toralf Lund wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I just found myself having to set up a new CentOS 6 system with a
nearly
>> identical configuration to an existing host, so I thought I would just
>>
>>  ?1. Do a minimal install to set up partitions etc. on the new system.
>>  ?2. Create an image of the existing system using Clonezilla
>> 
????(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.clonezilla.org&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=7DzBbYmBU7fUsxgvVL-59HG_y2uuwR1jxcbXX5skfGM&e=
)
>>  ?3. Run a Clonezilla restore on the new system.
>>
>> - as I though it would be a lot simpler than replicating the exact
>> package selection, installing the same users, doing the same manual
>> config edits (which are required) etc.
>>
>> It turns out that it wasn't quite as easy, though. The problem is
that
>> the system use LVM2 volumes for the filesystems, and the new host has a
>> slightly smaller disk than the other, and Clonezilla seems unable to
>> restore to a volume that's smaller than the one that was cloned -
even
>> if the actual data fits.
>>
>> I guess I could temporarily reduce the LVM volume sizes on the existing
>> units and clone again, but I'd rather not if I can avoid it. Just
>> copying file-by-file could be an option, too, but I somehow feel less
>> comfortable doing that than the above; there is something about the way
>> I could end up with a mixture of my "minimal install" and the
"cloned"
>> data, I suppose.
>>
>> Does anyone have any other ideas about how I might achieve what I want?
>>
>> - Toralf
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> CentOS mailing list
>> CentOS at centos.org
>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mailman_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=qjiIy57nu_S3OjTO1LYJjQmDFY6GkzLkKvn2F5IrUqo&e>
_______________________________________________
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>
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Hi,

I could be wrong, but afaik clonezilla makes bit-accurate copies of the file
system like dd does. Therefore, no configurations should be adapted. Usually
Linux doesn't care where it runs, as long as the underlying
'hardware' (or
virtual hardware) architecture matches.

However, there are a number of configuration files that need to be modified for
such clones, including network settings (local or on your dhcp server),
{crypt,fs}tab (if no bit-accurate copy of the filesystem was used),
/etc/host{s,name} depending on your network setup.

best regards,
?- MarkusOn Fr, 2018-04-13 at 15:45 +0200, Toralf Lund
wrote:
> On 13/04/18 15:32, Lange, Markus wrote:
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > You can simply boot a live system to create your partition layout and
copy
> > it
> > over the existing system with rsync. Once your system is copied, you
will
> > need
> > to customize all hardware-dependent configuration files such as
> > {crypt,fs}tab,
> > network configurations, bootloader and so on depending on your setup.
> > 
> > Don't forget to install the bootloader afterwards!
> > 
> > You can also install a minimal system and use a live system to copy
the
> > files
> > from the existing server to the new one (e.g. with rsync -a). This way
you
> > do
> > not have to create the partition layout and bootloader manually.
> > 
> > Using clonezilla would only replace the part of copying the files and
> > installing
> > the bootloader, all other settings still have to be made.
> Actually, I don't believe that's quite true. I've
"cloned" to dissimilar?
> hardware in the same manner before, and found that there was special?
> handling of various hardware dependent config files, so that I didn't?
> get set-up? for the "wrong" type.
> 
> - Toralf
> 
> > 
> > ? Rsync should be much
> > faster for data transfer.
> > 
> > Best regards,
> > ??- Markus
> > On Fr, 2018-04-13 at 14:46 +0200, Toralf Lund wrote:
> > > 
> > > Hi,
> > > 
> > > I just found myself having to set up a new CentOS 6 system with a
nearly
> > > identical configuration to an existing host, so I thought I would
just
> > > 
> > > ??1. Do a minimal install to set up partitions etc. on the new
system.
> > > ??2. Create an image of the existing system using Clonezilla
> > >
?????(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.clonezilla.o
> > >
rg&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCI
> > > iJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
> > > Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=7DzBbYmBU7fUsxgvVL-
> > > 59HG_y2uuwR1jxcbXX5skfGM&e= )
> > > ??3. Run a Clonezilla restore on the new system.
> > > 
> > > - as I though it would be a lot simpler than replicating the
exact
> > > package selection, installing the same users, doing the same
manual
> > > config edits (which are required) etc.
> > > 
> > > It turns out that it wasn't quite as easy, though. The
problem is that
> > > the system use LVM2 volumes for the filesystems, and the new host
has a
> > > slightly smaller disk than the other, and Clonezilla seems unable
to
> > > restore to a volume that's smaller than the one that was
cloned - even
> > > if the actual data fits.
> > > 
> > > I guess I could temporarily reduce the LVM volume sizes on the
existing
> > > units and clone again, but I'd rather not if I can avoid it.
Just
> > > copying file-by-file could be an option, too, but I somehow feel
less
> > > comfortable doing that than the above; there is something about
the way
> > > I could end up with a mixture of my "minimal install"
and the "cloned"
> > > data, I suppose.
> > > 
> > > Does anyone have any other ideas about how I might achieve what I
want?
> > > 
> > > - Toralf
> > > 
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > CentOS mailing list
> > > CentOS at centos.org
> > >
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mail
> > >
man_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ
> > >
&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
> > >
Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=qjiIy57nu_S3OjTO1LYJjQmDFY6GkzLkKvn2F5IrUqo
> > > &e> > _______________________________________________
> > CentOS mailing list
> > CentOS at centos.org
> >
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mailma
> >
n_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q
> > 0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
> >
Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=qjiIy57nu_S3OjTO1LYJjQmDFY6GkzLkKvn2F5IrUqo&e
> > > 
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS at centos.org
> https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos

On 13/04/18 16:36, Lange, Markus wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I could be wrong, but afaik clonezilla makes bit-accurate copies of the
file
> system like dd does. Therefore, no configurations should be adapted.
You are wrong. Not only is it unlike "dd" in that it will copy only
the
used space, and also let you to restore to a filesystem of a different 
size (while keeping that size), but it certainly changes config files, 
too - although I suspect it can only do simple edits to get around some 
obvious issues. I'll for instance get lines like

#HWADDR=<something> # Commented out by Clonezilla

after restoring ifcfg files that originally had just

HWADDR=<something>

- T

>   Usually
> Linux doesn't care where it runs, as long as the underlying
'hardware' (or
> virtual hardware) architecture matches.
>
> However, there are a number of configuration files that need to be modified
for
> such clones, including network settings (local or on your dhcp server),
> {crypt,fs}tab (if no bit-accurate copy of the filesystem was used),
> /etc/host{s,name} depending on your network setup.
>
> best regards,
>  ?- MarkusOn Fr, 2018-04-13 at 15:45 +0200, Toralf Lund wrote:
>> On 13/04/18 15:32, Lange, Markus wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> You can simply boot a live system to create your partition layout
and copy
>>> it
>>> over the existing system with rsync. Once your system is copied,
you will
>>> need
>>> to customize all hardware-dependent configuration files such as
>>> {crypt,fs}tab,
>>> network configurations, bootloader and so on depending on your
setup.
>>>
>>> Don't forget to install the bootloader afterwards!
>>>
>>> You can also install a minimal system and use a live system to copy
the
>>> files
>>> from the existing server to the new one (e.g. with rsync -a). This
way you
>>> do
>>> not have to create the partition layout and bootloader manually.
>>>
>>> Using clonezilla would only replace the part of copying the files
and
>>> installing
>>> the bootloader, all other settings still have to be made.
>> Actually, I don't believe that's quite true. I've
"cloned" to dissimilar
>> hardware in the same manner before, and found that there was special
>> handling of various hardware dependent config files, so that I
didn't
>> get set-up? for the "wrong" type.
>>
>> - Toralf
>>
>>>  ? Rsync should be much
>>> faster for data transfer.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>  ??- Markus
>>> On Fr, 2018-04-13 at 14:46 +0200, Toralf Lund wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I just found myself having to set up a new CentOS 6 system with
a nearly
>>>> identical configuration to an existing host, so I thought I
would just
>>>>
>>>>  ??1. Do a minimal install to set up partitions etc. on the new
system.
>>>>  ??2. Create an image of the existing system using Clonezilla
>>>> 
?????(https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.clonezilla.o
>>>>
rg&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCI
>>>> iJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
>>>> Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=7DzBbYmBU7fUsxgvVL-
>>>> 59HG_y2uuwR1jxcbXX5skfGM&e= )
>>>>  ??3. Run a Clonezilla restore on the new system.
>>>>
>>>> - as I though it would be a lot simpler than replicating the
exact
>>>> package selection, installing the same users, doing the same
manual
>>>> config edits (which are required) etc.
>>>>
>>>> It turns out that it wasn't quite as easy, though. The
problem is that
>>>> the system use LVM2 volumes for the filesystems, and the new
host has a
>>>> slightly smaller disk than the other, and Clonezilla seems
unable to
>>>> restore to a volume that's smaller than the one that was
cloned - even
>>>> if the actual data fits.
>>>>
>>>> I guess I could temporarily reduce the LVM volume sizes on the
existing
>>>> units and clone again, but I'd rather not if I can avoid
it. Just
>>>> copying file-by-file could be an option, too, but I somehow
feel less
>>>> comfortable doing that than the above; there is something about
the way
>>>> I could end up with a mixture of my "minimal install"
and the "cloned"
>>>> data, I suppose.
>>>>
>>>> Does anyone have any other ideas about how I might achieve what
I want?
>>>>
>>>> - Toralf
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> CentOS mailing list
>>>> CentOS at centos.org
>>>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mail
>>>>
man_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ
>>>>
&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
>>>>
Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=qjiIy57nu_S3OjTO1LYJjQmDFY6GkzLkKvn2F5IrUqo
>>>> &e>>>
_______________________________________________
>>> CentOS mailing list
>>> CentOS at centos.org
>>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mailma
>>>
n_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q
>>> 0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=LuCuhEh29vlP9l-
>>>
Vakjf6lKeZVlmfp_AaqPakYDOV1c&s=qjiIy57nu_S3OjTO1LYJjQmDFY6GkzLkKvn2F5IrUqo&e
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>> CentOS mailing list
>> CentOS at centos.org
>>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__lists.centos.org_mailman_listinfo_centos&d=DwIGaQ&c=KV_I7O14pmwRcmAVyJ1eg4Jwb8Y2JAxuL5YgMGHpjcQ&r=Q0oqxzgUp3xCCIiJDwS-RbNDndQ-KZDhj8wwveNoqU4&m=hBL1h5rjxowWLKA5frJdxxdj6KpX3_Zg0DwyXtungr0&s=4D7qR0_OGLXo-T_IIKDZAfm70VMLD8TFXKtd0cz-qJw&e>
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