On Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 8:54 AM, kevin <k@kevinkevin.com> wrote:
> I have a quick question regarding moving freebsd from one server to
> another.
> I have read and am exploring several methods for efficiently migrating one
> freebsd server to newer hardware.
>
> Without getting into too many details, it is preferable to migrate each
> partition/slice in their entirety. I have read methods where utilizing
> dump/restore in single user mode seems to be the way to go, however I would
> like to know if anyone has any recommendations or has a tried & true
method
> (dd over ssh?) for accomplishing this kind of a task that may save me any
> headaches, since the servers in question are production systems.
>
> Both systems will be 7.1-PRERELEASE. And I am unable to physically mount
> the new server's disk in the old server, unfortunately.
>
> Any help / suggestions is greatly appreciated.
>
In the past, we've used cpio piped through SSH to image servers booted from
a Linux LiveCD.
We've also used DAR (the Disk ARchiver) to do the same.
Recently, we've switched to using Rsync over SSH. On the FreeBSD side,
it's
as simple as:
- boot from Frenzy LiveCD
- partition/format disk(s)
- mount filesystems under /root/mnt/ (or wherever)
- rsync from other server (be sure to use --numeric-ids, --archive, and
--hard-links)
- install boot blocks
- reboot
We also use rsync to backup all our Linux and FreeBSD servers to a single
backup server (ZFS+Snapshots was made for this). And then use that as the
source for imaging new harddrives.
--
Freddie Cash
fjwcash@gmail.com