HDD and OS cloning?

[riscbroker]

I have a client wanting to clone contents of HDD (C to a separate HDD (D on the same machine for disaster recovery purposes. Contents would include OS (XP Home) and all data, the theory being that if default C: fails for whatever reason the client can elect to boot D: and then restore (clone back) to C:

Is this theory practical or would there be issues with 2 instances of XP on the same machine?
What bootloader/bootmanager app could be used?
Will clonezilla do the disk cloning job OK?
Other pitfalls to be aware of?

 

[MeNeZ]

Separate HDD is a good idea, alot easier when it comes to re-installing a machine.

You can copy all your stuff onto the other drive and use it as a storage drive.
If you need to re-install then you just wipe and re-install the C:, not touching the other one...
Then when its finished you will have a fresh installation on the C: and all your data will still be on the other drive.

 

[LFX]

it's called raid level 1

 

[riscbroker]

@MeNeZ
I've got the bit about using a separate drive for storage, I'm querying using a separate drive with data and OS on

 

[greggpb]

it's called raid level 1

+1 for a cheap SATA RAid Card 400 bucks

now worries about syncing and all the like

 

[riscbroker]

Thanks guys, I think I've got the idea. Can I implement RAID 1 in an instance where the disks in question are not identical?

 

[greggpb]

Thanks guys, I think I've got the idea. Can I implement RAID 1 in an instance where the disks in question are not identical?

yeah both drives will be as small as the smallest drive

 

[LazyLion]

http://www.cssi.co.za/

now carry the Areca range of RAID devices.

also see...

Disk Cloning is in the news...
http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iArticleId=4308383

that article is recommending Clonezilla...
http://clonezilla.sourceforge.net/

But here is another article looking at the best of the disk cloning tools...
(Clonezilla is top of their list too)...
http://packratstudios.com/index.php...ghost-who-a-list-of-open-source-alternatives/

They are as follows...
Ping...
http://ping.windowsdream.com/
PartImage...
http://www.partimage.org/Main_Page
g4u...
http://www.feyrer.de/g4u/
linbox...
http://lrs.linbox.org/
and FOG...
http://freeghost.no-ip.org/

Free Disk Imaging/Cloning Software...
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
http://www.clonezilla.org/
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/xxclone.html

 

[Arthur]

A professional commercial solution is Acronis True Image Echo Workstation. I couldn't live without it. Under R700 from local distributor Synapsys. They also do backup/DRP software for Windows and Linux servers.

 

[riscbroker]

So is it necessary to install a RAID card or could one get away with using clonezilla?

 

[ponder]

and FOG...
http://freeghost.no-ip.org/
[/url]

From what I've read FOG is actually better than Clonezilla. This from people that used to use Clonezilla. FOG is the lesser known one, maybe because it is newer. Both are free open source products though.

 

[graviti]

FOG is amazing... For network imaging. One installation, grab image, deploy to bazillions of machines at once, including multicast deployment.

For a single image of Hard drive to hard drive, Clonezilla is better. Load the live CD and follow instructions. There is two realistic scenarios here. One, he copies everything once off, and never touches the 2nd HD again, unless needed, or he is doing a regular backup say once a week. For the first option, Clonezilla works 100%. However, the second option is a bit more difficult. Commercial software, such as Acronis, is great for Windows making backups to a second HD. Windows Backup works OK as well. For me, the best solution is to have the Windows install on one partition, and the Data on another. Then, use Clonezilla to create an image of the Windows drive, and store as an image on the second drive. Then use Windows backup to backup the data from the second partition to the second drive.

i.e.
(aarrggghhh, this is killing me, trying to make this look like it should. Hopefully you can see what's going on, coz I ain't trying anymore)

.........................Drive 1.....................
...........Partition 1................Partition 2.
############################
#>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>#*************#
#.Windows partition..#***DATA******#
#>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>#*************#
############################
..........|..............................|............
..........|..............................|............
..........v..............................v............
.....Clonezilla.............Windows Backup...
....(Once off)...................(Daily)..........
..........|..............................|............
..........|..............................|............
..........v...........Drive 2..........v............
......Partition 1..................Partition 2....
############################
#>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>#*************#
#>>Windows Backup>#**Data Backup*#
#>>>>>>Image>>>>>#************#
############################

 

[riscbroker]

graviti, I like your plan. I guess the only additional thing one would need to do is to update the Windows image the at suitable intervals or after significant changes ie addition or removal of applications etc

 

[graviti]

Exactly. Not the most difficult thing to do either. Easy maintenance.

We do something like that at work. Data is stored on a network drive, and OS data is grabbed as an image once a month. We have 3 LANs to look after. We use FOG for the imaging of the OS. Grab image from one machine, and deploy to all. The one brilliant feature is that when I FOG, it automatically adds the machine to my domain, which is a decent time saver, and also less inconvenience.

1. Machine breaks
2. Schedule a re-install
3. Reboot machine
4. Come back in 2 hours and machine is working. Zero intervention.

One LAN is 200m away, and now no need to walk. Phone nearest person to broken machine, tell them to reboot, and voila, job done. 2 hours is the longest it's taken us. Usually around 45 mins for complete re-image, and all maintenance.

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Clonezilla is the way forward. Use it to clone the drive then use a little app called goodsync to keep them in step. Otherwise the raid1 idea is a good call, most boards support their own software raid out the bios. you can also tweak XP to support raid1 with dynamic disks which is pretty decent cos then its not chipset dependant.

 

[graviti]

Synching your Windows with Goodsync won't really work, because you need to sync your registry, and Windows won't just let that go for the sync program. Windows will keep it locked for exclusive access. So you would have a problem when you came to restore. Hence the fact I prefer a single image file, and then just restore that. Good Sync would work 100% for your data syncing though, in a situation like above

 

[riscbroker]

Would goodsync keep any changes to the OS synced?

 

[riscbroker]

thanks graviti you answered before i could post.....

 

[Rocket-Boy]

Graviti you are 100% there, I was referring to just the data for goodsync. The programs and registry stuff would be handled by imaging or raid.

 

[riscbroker]

I've burnt Clonezilla ISO and played with it a bit to get the hang of it, the plan is as such:

Disk 1 has 2 partitions; C partition with XP and F partition with Data. Disk 2 also has 2 partitions, with an image of XP on D partition, courtesy of Clonezilla, and Data Backup on G partition. The data backup part is handled by Cobian.

Assuming that XP on C fails or becomes unreliable at some point, what steps must be taken to recover the system? Use Clonezilla and recover the image on D to C, or will D be bootable? I can't quite get my head around this bit