[CentOS] [Slightly OT] Data Preservation

[Les Mikesell]

Scott McClanahan wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-10-02 at 13:15 -0700, John R Pierce wrote: 
>> ML wrote:
>>> HI All,
>>>
>>> So I have 5 1U servers (running Windows) that have Ultra 320 SCSI  
>>> Drives in them.
>>>
>>> The owner of these boxes wants the drives captured in their current  
>>> states to .iso or .cdr or something where if the need arises the data  
>>> can be viewed, used again, etc.
>>>
>>> So what is the best approach? Boot from a Live CD, hook up a USB  
>>> external HD and do what? Can I create a .iso or .cdr (or some other  
>>> portable format) and have it created on the external USB?
>>>
>>> Thoughts on this process would be appreciated.
>>>   
> 
> Maybe not the right tool for the job but I always like using
> physical-to-virtual tools for archiving installed images.  It frees up
> the hardware for me and I can have access to the data if I need it again
> by spinning up the VM.

Vmware has a free download that is pretty good at this.  I'm not sure 
when they switched but the current version (vCenter Converter 
Standalone) is much nicer than the p2v tool from a few years ago.  It's 
still a one-way trip, though, where with clonezilla you can restore back 
to the hardware.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
     lesmikesell at gmail.com