Hello,

thanks for your prompt reply.. i was leaving that option as a last resort... the problem is that this machine is a production machine so if i rsync, i need to turn off the services in order to copy files or else ill have permission denied errors...

any other way?

i;ll start the proccess of creating a fresh instalation today though i dunno how to do the followign:

1. backing up my mysql databases is it enough to cp /var/lib/mysql and /user/lib/mysql or i have to export them? and if thats the case how can i export? 2. anyway of copying user permissions and passwords? or i have to create them all over again ?

Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:49:21 -0400 From: gebser@mousecar.com To: centos@centos.org Subject: Re: [CentOS] Help! i want to clone my Centos machine to another box..

On 10/22/2009 04:06 AM RoLaNd RoLaNd wrote:

...

Hello all,

i've spent the last week trying to find something that will clone my existing Centos server to a more powerful box. i've used clonezilla though that resulted in a complete failure..

can anyone please guide me in the right direction? all i want to do is to clone my entire server and all of it's directories to a more powerful server so i start using it instead.. i dont want to get rid of the current server as i want both of them to run in parallel with the same backed up services/data on each of them..

can anyone please help! im honestly desperate!!

best,

Roland

Since the destination machine is "more powerful", the hardware is likely different, so cloning per se isn't an option. Instead, you should do a fresh install of the same version on the new (destination) box, then copy the data over from the weaker to the destination machine.

There are a variety of options for copying the data. Since it sounds like there's some pressure at the moment, the best way for you now is going to be the method you're most familiar with. Do you have good, recent backups of the source system? If so, you could restore that backup to the destination machine. Otherwise (if your two machines are both on the same network), you could use tar or rsync or yet other utilities.

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RoLaNd RoLaNd wrote:

thanks for your prompt reply.. i was leaving that option as a last resort... the problem is that this machine is a production machine so if i rsync, i need to turn off the services in order to copy files or else ill have permission denied errors...

any other way?

It is rare for files to be locked on Linux when in use, so you probably won't get permission denied errors. However, if files are changing while you copy them you will get a bad copy. One approach is to do one rsync with the machine running normally, then repeat with most of the services stopped. The 2nd pass will go very quickly since it only has to copy the changed files.

i;ll start the proccess of creating a fresh instalation today though i dunno how to do the followign:

1. backing up my mysql databases is it enough to cp /var/lib/mysql and

/user/lib/mysql or i have to export them? and if thats the case how can i export?

If mysql isn't running and you are copying to the same type of machine (32/64 bit) you can copy the files directly. Otherwise, msqldump is the way to export (and what you should be using regularly for backups).

2. anyway of copying user permissions and passwords? or i have to create

them all over again ?

You'll have to work through the files in /etc by hand, since some relate to the hardware and some to the configured software. If all the installed software is the same on the new system you can probably just copy /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group, and /etc/gshadow but a safer approach is to keep the uid's below 500 from the new system and edit in the higher ones from the old.

I'd either copy the old /etc tree to some other location on the new system so you can diff and pick out the useful parts or change the old system's name/IP so you can access it until the new one is completely working.

I've always thought that linux distos badly needed a 're-install' function to adapt a clone/backup copy to new hardware. Most of the knowledge of what has to change is buried in anaconda - although you have a fair chance of making it work if you boot a rescue CD and rebuild the initrd with the modules that are set up when you do an install on that machine.

-- Les Mikesell lesmikesell@gmail.com

Acronis, with a little SALT and PEPPER may do the trick.

However after running acronis you would have to do an OS Repair.

Sorry, that is for windows.

CentOS on the other hand should be able to CLUSTER.

Why not try to cluster it instead

On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 11:30 AM, R-Elists lists07@abbacomm.net wrote:

roland,

what i recently did was use this info and modified the backup-servers script slightly

http://www.jms1.net/code/rsync-backup.shtml

it was really simple to move a live centos4 from one machine to another after admin down services that would allow data to change on the final rsync pass.

one machine was an older compaq DL380 and the new machine was a HP DL360

basically i did a centos 4 load on the new machine and paid careful attention to what needs to be excluded as well as changed before and afterwards

things like /etc/modprobe.conf

then change ips and reboot.

the having two servers side by side thing is a different set of circumstances and setup...

we just cloned one to the other and took the original machine offline.

if you have a lot of linux experience and cannot figure out the step by step, post what you did to "try" and accomplish it and then we can help more later

please be specific in your postings

• rh

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