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#1 2009-12-26 14:15:53

commander_keen
Member
From: europe
Registered: 2009-12-26
Posts: 14

syncronizing several installations

hello there,
I am currently using i386 arch linux on my desctop pc. I also have an asus eee Pc 900a and have successfully been running arch linux on it. I basicly like the idea of declaring the desctop pc as a kind of "master" and the eee pc as a "clone".
What I am wondering now is:
Is there an easy way to sync both systems. Just syncing the hard drives might work fine for identical hardware, but this is not the case now.

Since the basic i386 installation is done on the eee at laest low level configurations like hostname and graphics module should be set. But is there an easier way to sync the rest of the settings than exporting a list of installed pacman packages from the desctop machine and feeding this list to the eee.
Is it possible to have a clone just by syncing e.g. several directories? If yes, which ones?

Thanks a lot,
keen

PS: If this topic has been discussed before and I just did not find it, I am terribly sorry and would love to get a link.

Last edited by commander_keen (2009-12-26 14:18:13)

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#2 2009-12-27 03:04:12

x33a
Forum Fellow
Registered: 2009-08-15
Posts: 4,587

Re: syncronizing several installations

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#3 2009-12-27 06:33:09

commander_keen
Member
From: europe
Registered: 2009-12-26
Posts: 14

Re: syncronizing several installations

that looks quite good, thanks a lot!
but am I right, this only applies to the home directory?

Last edited by commander_keen (2010-01-02 11:45:41)

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#4 2009-12-27 12:19:19

ninian
Member
From: United Kingdom
Registered: 2008-02-24
Posts: 726
Website

Re: syncronizing several installations

In addition to x33a's suggestion, get to know and love the command:

rsync -av --delete /mnt/master/ /mnt/slave/

Or, if you're wanting some luxury, look at Grsync (see http://www.opbyte.it/grsync/) available from the Arch community repo.
tongue

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#5 2010-01-02 11:49:02

commander_keen
Member
From: europe
Registered: 2009-12-26
Posts: 14

Re: syncronizing several installations

Am I right rsync is just a tool to clone file systems like mirrordir or unison? But is there a comprehensive list of system files or directories that need to differ on different machines?
Using such a list seems to be essential to me in order to clone whole systems.
/lib/modules e.g. must be part of this list. But I am pretty sure there must be a dozen directories or files you really have to leave out.

Last edited by commander_keen (2010-01-02 11:51:17)

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#6 2010-01-02 11:57:28

ninian
Member
From: United Kingdom
Registered: 2008-02-24
Posts: 726
Website

Re: syncronizing several installations

The rsync -av option is pretty smart regarding what to copy - check the man page.
I've cloned dozens of systems with differing hardware using rsync, and usually you only need to tweak:
- /etc/fstab
- /boot/grub/menu.lst
- /etc/rc.conf
- /etc/X11/xorg.conf (if you really need one)
- /etc/hosts
Of course, you may have to install particular drivers for wireless interfaces, video, etc if they're non-standard.
The hardware auto-detection of Arch & Linux is so good now, mostly things "just work" after cloning.
wink

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#7 2010-01-02 12:12:28

commander_keen
Member
From: europe
Registered: 2009-12-26
Posts: 14

Re: syncronizing several installations

very good!
Thanks a lot. I have been looking for this quite a while.
keen

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#8 2010-01-02 13:00:35

jelly
Administrator
From: /dev/null
Registered: 2008-06-10
Posts: 714

Re: syncronizing several installations

i would use unison, you can set it up with ssh and check wich stuff is updated and merge and diff it .http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unison

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