Bootcd Backup FAQ

Contents
1. General Backup Questions
2. Create an online backup
3. Create an offline backup
4. Restore a backup
5. Known Bugs

1. General Backup Questions

1.1
Q: Can I use bootcd to backup and restore redhat or suse?
A: You can create a bootcd which contains a backup (<bootcd-with-backup>) of
   almost any linux system (<source-system>).

   You can either do this backup online, or offline.
   Online is good, if you do not want to stop the <source-system>. but be aware
   of the fact, that the backup of a running database may be corrupt.
   If you want to be sure, that everything is stopped, you may prefer to create
   an offline backup.

1.2
Q: Why should I create a <bootcd-with-backup>, mentioned in the above question,
   How can I use it.
A: The <bootcd-with-backup> can be used to recover the <source-system>, even if
   it is not bootable anymore.

   The <bootcd-with-backup> can be used to restore the <source-system>
   if the harddisk has been changed to another, maybe larger, harddisk.

   The <bootcd-with-backup> can also be mounted from the <source-system>
   to restore only specific files.

   The <bootcd-with-backup> can be used to reinstall the <source-system>, with
   a changed filesystem layout.

1.3
Q: What is the difference between the commands bootcdwrite and bootcdbackup
A: The bootcdwrite command creates a life-cd with your actual debian system.
   This life-cd can be restored with bootcd2disk. If you created a life-cd
   of your system with bootcdwrite you do not need bootcd-backup.

   Bootcdbackup needs an existing debian bootcd and creates a
   <bootcd-with-backup> which has the actual backup of
   your system in directory /backup. Also the harddisk configuration of
   your system is described in /backup/bootcd2disk.conf. You can also have
   non debian backups in /backup.

2. Create an online backup

2.1
Q: How can I create a <bootcd-with-backup> with an online backup ?

A: Here is an example to create a bootcd which contains a backup
   <bootcd-with-backup> of a linux system <source-system>.

   You need a previous with bootcdwrite created bootcd <previous-bootcd>.
   You need space to hold an image of the backup on the <source-system>.

   In the following example it is assumed there is much space in
   <source-system>:/var/space.

   1. mount the previous created bootcd to <source-system>:/mnt/cdrom/

   2. on the <source-system> run bootcdbackup
      /mnt/cdrom/usr/bin/bootcdbackup --VAR /root/space/bootcd

   3. Find the new created bootcd at <source-system>:/root/space/bootcd/cdimage.iso

3. Create an offline backup

3.1
Q: How can I create a <bootcd-with-backup> with an offline backup ?

A: Here is an example to create a bootcd which contains a backup
   <bootcd-with-backup> of a linux system <source-system>.

   You need a previous with bootcdwrite created bootcd <previous-bootcd>.
   You need space to hold an image of the backup on the <source-system>.

   In the following example it is assumed there is much space in
   <source-system>:/var/space.

   1. shutdown the <source-system> and boot it from the <previous-bootcd>

   2. login to the life bootcd and mount the <source system> to directory /mnt/alien
      <life-previous-bootcd>: mkdir -p /mnt/disk
      <life-previous-bootcd>: mount <source system> /mnt/disk

   3. start the backup
      <life-previous-bootcd>: bootcdbackup -- --yes --SRCDISK /mnt/disk --VAR /root/space/bootcd"

   4. Reboot the <source-system> from hard disk

   5. Find the new created bootcd at <source-system>:/root/space/bootcd/cdimage.iso


4. Restore a backup

4.1
Q: How do I reinstall from a <bootcd-with-backup>

A: To install a new system with the <bootcd-with-backup>, boot the
   new system from the <bootcd-with-backup> and run

   1. bootcd2disk -c /backup

   Before you run this command you can set specific configuration options
   in /backup/bootcd2disk.conf

   The RESTORECMD defined in bootcd2disk.conf defines how the backup is
   restored. Because we restore a backup no files will be modified.
   If you restore your backup to another hardware, this may require changes
   in the files included in the backup (/etc/fstab).

5. Known Bugs

5.1
Q: Does bootcdbackup support selinux
A: Yes, but it is not well tested.
   If selinux is activated, the backup is done with tar and option --selinux
