SUMMARY: making clones

From: <mader_at_cecam.fr>
Date: Thu, 11 May 95 11:57:45 +0200

----
Hi managers,
the worst case scenario arrived: my alpha 3000/300 motherboard AND disk had to 
be replaced due to hardware error.
Now I have to re-install completely from cd-rom.
My question: since we have several identical machines, is there a way to make 
a clone of another installation, so that I don't have to go through the full 
installation from scratch?
-----
UPDATE:
Thanks to all those who replied so rapidly! It's good to know you're around.
After several interventions of digital technicians, it turned out that the CPU was broken, and the disk still good (the I/O module did not work as a consequence of the CPU failure, so neither disk reading nor cd-rom reading worked.)
I am glad I don't have to re-install, but I will use the cloning very soon when we upgrade from OSF/1 2.0 to 3.0. Since cloning might be useful to others, I include here some of the messages I received. I omit those which contained identical information. (IMO, some of the information is worth to be put in FAQ).
Kurt
Thanks to:
bgk1142_at_bggfu2.nho.hydro.com
bungert <bungert_at_rhrk.uni-kl.de>
j_dubois_at_digital.ca 
luchini_at_siberia.ups-tlse.fr
 a.triulzi_at_ic.ac.uk
tpb_at_zk3.dec.com
warren_at_atmos.washington.edu
teh_at_chinook.phy.anl.gov
cyrmiche_at_sidoci.qc.ca
hagan_at_oec.com
alan_at_nabeth.cxo.dec.com
demarthe_at_alpha.cad.cea.fr
tenney_at_es.net
SUMMARY:
The basic idea is to physically move the virgin disk to another station, format and partition the new disk, do a dump/restore of the local / and /usr (and /var), move the disk back, boot single user, and edit the host-specific files.
For more details, I enclose the following answers:
(they were slightly edited to remove redundancies)



Hi Kurt,

I've never done it with DEC OSF/1 but have performed it often with ULTRIX
(I don't see why this would not work). I used to be Digital's UNIX
support and we did this to reproduce demo stations.

If you have a station you want to clone from:

1) Plug your empty disk on the machine to clone from
2) fix up your disk to your liking:
     a) edit the label (disklable -w -e /dev/rrz?a)
     b) create the file systems (newfs /dev/rz?a)
3) Mount the partitions you just created:
     mkdir /rz?a ; mount /dec/rz?a /r?g
     mkdir /rz?g ; mount /dec/rz?g /r?g
4) Now dump your information to the virgin disk:
     dump 0f - / | (cd /r?a ; restore rf -)
     dump 0f - /usr | (cd /r?g ; restore rf -)
    (suposing root is on ?a and /usr on ?g)
5) Before unpluging the disk copy /genvmuniv into /vmunix
6) Plug the cloned disk onto the previously crashed station and boot it
7) Fix up your kernel
   cd /sys/conf
   doconfig
8) reboot and change any network settins you had:
    netsetup
    bindsetup
    etc

Have fun

/jean

Return-Path: tpb_at_zk3.dec.com


You are probably better off just installing from CDROM. That way you will
be sure to get a clean install.

However, if you really want to clone a disk, take the disk from the system
where you've got the virgin disk and install it in the system you want to
"clone". Use disklabel and fsck (or the AdvFS utilities, depending on how
things are set up) to partition the "raw" disk and make file systems. Use
vdump and vrestore, or dump and restore, or tar and tar (with piping output
from the dump into the restore) to copy the appropriate file systems onto
the new "cloned" disk. Make sure you've got a valid /genvmunix in the root
partition of the "cloned" disk, and make sure you edit the /etc/fstab on the
new disk to match the way the SCSI IDs will be set in the target system.

Now move the disk back to the target system (changing the SCSI ID to work)
and boot the generic vmunix -- boot -file "genvmunix" -flag S dka0 or what-
ever disk ID is appropriate.

Do a mount -u /dev/rz0a / or whatever is appropriate depending on whether
your root partition is on rz0, to mount the root partition read-write. Do a
bcheckrc to fsck your file systems and mount them read-write. Now go into
the /sys directory (cd /sys) and rename the configuration file to match the
name of the system. Remove the old system's kernel build directory. Now do
the doconfig procedure. Or, to be safe, leave the old system's config file
intact, just remove its kernel build directory.

doconfig will prompt for your system name, offer you a menu of options for
the kernel, make all the special devices for the system, and build a kernel
for you.

Once you've got the custom kernel built, move it to the root partition and
reboot (after synching the disks).

Now you can log in as root and run the /usr/sbin/setup script and set up the
networks, etc. for the new system name (since they will all be set up wrong
from the old system's files that are still on the disk).

If you're not a pro, you're really safer doing a fresh install from CDROM.

Tom
 
 Dr. Thomas P. Blinn, UNIX Software Group, Digital Equipment Corporation
  110 Spit Brook Road, MS ZKO3-2/U20 Nashua, New Hampshire 03062-2698
   Technology Partnership Engineering Phone: (603) 881-0646
    Internet: tpb_at_zk3.dec.com Digital's Easynet: alpha::tpb

  Worry kills more people than work because more people worry than work.

     My favorite palindrome is: Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas.
                                         -- Phil Agre, pagre_at_ucsd.edu

  Opinions expressed herein are my own, and do not necessarily represent
  those of my employer or anyone else, living or dead, real or imagined.
 


>Using the tape, instead of moving the disks:



Return-Path: <_at_sun.rhrk.uni-kl.de:bungert_at_rhrk.uni-kl.de>

Hi Kurt,

I think I can help You, because we also make our backups on a remote tape.
You can get a lot of information out of the DEC OSF/1 Guide to System
Administration. (chapters 9.1.4 and 9.2.5)
But I try to explain to You how we made it (excuse my english).

It is easy to create a backup on a tape at a remote machine by using
rdump (see man-pages). If you have an AdvFS it is a little bit complicated.

To restore a system-backup is not so easy. You have to perform the
following steps:
1. Boot from your installation cd (e.g. at boot level: boot dka400

   the following screen apears: 1. basic installation
                                2. advanced installation
                                3. system management
   choose 3 (system management)
   --> A minimal-system will be created in your memory
2. change into the /dev directory: cd /dev
3. create a device file for your disk : e.g. MAKEDEV rz3
4. configure your network interface:
        ifconfig ln0 <ip-address> netmask <e.g. 0xffffff00>
5. insert name and address of your host and the host with the tape in /etc/hosts
        #cd /etc
        #echo "127.0.0.1 localhost" >> hosts
        #echo "<ip-address of remote host> <ip-name of remote host> <alias of remote host>" >> hosts
        #cd /
6. create a new root filesystem on disk:
        newfs /dev/rrz3a
7. mount the disk:
        mount /dev/rz3a /mnt
        cd /mnt
8. because rrestore (remote restore) is not available, you have to restore the
   backup like this:
        rsh <hostname of remote host> "dd if=/dev/rmt0h bs=10k" | restore -Yrf -
9. umount the disk
        cd /
        umount /mnt
10. create a new /usr filesystem
        newfs /dev/rrz3g
        mount /dev/rz3g /mnt
        cd /mnt
11. make the backup:
        rsh <hostname of remote host> "dd if=/dev/rmt0h bs=10k" | restore -Yrf -
12. reboot the system from disk :
        boot dka300 (e.g.)

The used commands are explained in the man pages, therefore I don't have to
explain them here.

If you have some problems during this procedure or if you want some things to
be expalined in more detail, please contact me again, you're welcome.

By, Andy

Return-Path: cyrmiche_at_sidoci.qc.ca

Bonjour ... Un petit message du Quebec (If you don't understand french,
let me know)

Il est tres facile de copier le systeme d'exploitation et ses diverses
composantes.

Procedure :

1- Installer le systeme d'exploitation de facon standard, par exemple
         sur rz8.

2- Utiliser ce disque (Master) sur un autre systeme pour creer des
   copies.

        ex.: Sur un equipement ou le systeme d'exploitation a ete
                installe (disons sur rz3), et ou les disques source
                (Master/rz8) et destination (Nouveay disque/rz9)

                Taper les commandes suivantes :


        disklabel -z rz9 ( Zap du label de disque )
                                     ( Necessaire puisque le bloc zero
                                       est en mode lecture seulement
                                       lorsque le label est present)

        dd if=/dev/rrz8c of=/dev/rrz9c bs=1024k

Et Voila

Si tu desire utiliser ce disque a une autre adresse que rz8, tu dois
modifier la configuration initiale de ce nouveau disque :

        Pour ADVFS : Modifier la structure de /etc/fdmns
        Pour UFS: Mofifier les entrees de /etc/fstab
        Ne pas oublier de creer les nouveaux "devices" dans /dev

Bonne chance !


Michel Cyr
SIDOCI enr.
IST-Integration inc.
(514)252-4333 ex 258
Michel.Cyr_at_sidoci.qc.ca


Return-Path: hagan_at_oec.com




2 methods:

        1 (fastest) requires that both disks be identical
        media (e.g. both are rz26L's).

                dd if=/dev/rrz1c of=/dev/rrz2c bs=1024

                replace 1 with the id of the source drive, 2
                with the id of the target disk

        2 (slower) works with any type of media (as long
        as the target is at least as large as the space
        used on the source:

        disklabel the target to have partitions which
        match the source.

        for each partition if ufs:

        newfs /dev/target
        mount /dev/target /mnt

        dump 0f - /dev/source | (cd /mnt; restore xf -)

        if advfs:

        mkfset target_dmn target_fset
        mount target_dmn#target_fset /mnt

        vdump 0f - /source | (cd /mnt; vrestore xf - )


-- craig
        

Return-Path: tenney_at_es.net


Kurt,

I have done this many times with both Ultrix and Digital Unix.

You will need to shutdown one of the old systems and attach the new
drive to it, then bring it back up and use the old system to partition
the new drive, newfs the partitions on the new disk.

Then mount the partitions on the new disk one by one on the old system
and clone them from the old system disk.

I use dump and restore to clone the disks, but you might be better off
using cpio or vdump and vrestore. I have heard rumors of problems
with dump and restore on Digital Unix.

Here are the commands I use to clone a partition. Say I want
to clone the / partition to the new disk. The new disk is rz2.

        mount /dev/rz2a /mnt
        dump 0f - / | (cd /mnt; restore -rf -)

You then have to change things like the fstab, hostname, etc.
Remember to change /mnt/etc/fstab, not /etc/fstab!

Then clone the other partitions.

Let me know if this is less clear than mud!

Craig Tenney
tenney_at_es.net
        

----
Kurt Mader                                   http://www.cecam.fr/~mader/
Centre Europeen de Calcul                                 mader_at_cecam.fr
Atomique et Moleculaire (CECAM)
Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon                  phone: +33 72 72 86 31
46, Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon cedex 07             fax: +33 72 72 86 36
 
Received on Thu May 11 1995 - 05:58:39 NZST

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