Score:0

Ubuntu

Need to create an installable image backup of ubuntu server, with all the configuration and files

Raman Saini

3/27/24, 10:44 AM

I need to create an image of the ubuntu system with all the files and configurations. I need to create an exact clone of the same system on multiple servers, but all the configuration and moving all the files and directories take too much time.

All servers are in the office. In case there is any mishappening, I need to recreate the same setup with all the backups of files, databases, and configurations in minimum time, and creating the images and deploying them directly on other servers is what I want to achieve(Something like AMIs in AWS).

Can someone please tell, me how this can be achieved, is there any package, which can create images of the server, or if there is any other tool, which can help achieve create these images?

Note: Servers are on-premise and are running multiple technologies with different configurations, and the server will be always running, even when the backup image will be getting created.

1 + 7

server

backup

22.04

David

3/27/24, 11:04 AM

I see a statement of what you need to do but no clear question.

Raman Saini

3/27/24, 11:40 AM

I need a suggestion, how this can be achieved. I have seen nothing like this when going through google.

David

3/27/24, 11:46 AM

That would be someones personal opinion which would make this off topic. From the list of questions off topic. Opinion-based This question is likely to be answered with opinions rather than facts and citations. It should be updated so it will lead to fact-based answers.

Organic Marble

3/27/24, 11:54 AM

If I had to do this, I would use Clonezilla. https://clonezilla.org/

Raman Saini

3/27/24, 12:48 PM

Thanks for the suggestion @OrganicMarble but in the documentation, says "The partition to be imaged or cloned has to be unmounted." Which is something needed. I cannot unmount the disk when it's in a working state, and it's almost always in the working state.

Organic Marble

3/27/24, 12:54 PM

That is an important constraint that you should put in the question. No mind readers here!

user68186

3/29/24, 1:36 PM

Do all the servers have the exact same hardware? For example the same Ethernet card, or GPU? If I were you I would use VMs and or containers. Since you are asking for opinions, I am voting to close this question.

Score:1

Ubuntu

S. Nixon

3/29/24, 2:11 PM

@Raman, I asked the same question many moons ago, and there was no straightforward answer. In my case, I came from an AIX platform, where an O/S image can be saved in bootable format (known as mksysb backup). The idea was that if something bad happens to the server, I can quickly rebuild it with the last good image. The solutions I was given was to essentially use CloneZilla, but as you discovered the server has to be down and restarted to do this.

Create Bootable Ubuntu O/S Backups

What I ended up doing is making a backup of the critical files... /etc to get the hosts, fstab, cups configs, and so on. A copy of /home to get the user home directories. Anything that is customized on the server, you back up to a tar or gzip file. Anything that is base O/S packages, you just make sure you have a list of the "apt list --installed" so you know what to re-install on any new server.

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