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clone a linux drive

What is the best way to clone a mirrored drive?

I have a server built that runs on mirrored drives. I have 10 more servers that I want identical to it? Should I pull the drives out of the extra 10 and put them in my first system, then run dd? Will dd let me copy a drive that I'm running from?

http://www.backuphowto.info/linux-backup-hard-disk-clone-dd

That is what I'm thinking of trying. Is this the best way to do it? The OS is Ubuntu.

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robthewolf

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torimar

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madunix

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md168

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I tried DD, but it won't boot from the new drives.

I will try clonezilla next.

thanks!

torimar

I tried DD, but it won't boot from the new drives.

What went wrong?
I could think of two possible issues:

1. Grub errors
Unfortunately, Grub uses unique identifiers (UUID) to denominate partitions. On a new hard disk, these identifiers will change. So if your Grub refuses to boot and dumps you to the Grub prompt, you will have to manually boot the system and update Grub.

2. Problems with RAID
If encountering RAID problems, I'd suggest to test MondoRescue first (I linked to it above) because it supports both hardware and software RAID. Clonezilla, as far as I know, supports only hardware raid.

md168

ASKER

I don't know why DD failed. It wouldn't boot from the drives.

Clonezilla is working.

thanks for the help everyone!