Backup to ISO

[brakim]

Hi, i would like to create a full systembackup to a ISO/IMG-file.
I've been searching and found mondorescue.org, but something is wrong with package for debian 6.

Any other idea what might do the trick? Point me in the right direction.

[golinux]

Try refractasnapshot and installer. I have used it on both squeeze and wheezy. I set up a /home directory specifically for taking snapshots that only has essential data to make the iso a workable size. Look carefully at the configuration and exclude files.

[Wanderer]

I recommend you Systemback. You can make a Live media with it. If you want it to get the latest you have to add an Ubuntu repository for it. (sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemh/systemback)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/systemback/files/

[Issyer]

What's the problem? Use rsync to put everything into a folder, then use genisoimage to create an ISO.

Code: Select all

$ rsync -av --delete /Directory1/ /Directory2/
$ genisoimage -o image.iso /Directory2/

[golinux]

I recommend you Systemback. You can make a Live media with it. If you want it to get the latest you have to add an Ubuntu repository for it. (sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemh/systemback)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/systemback/files/

Adding 'buntu ppas to a Debian install is a recipe for disaster. Do so at your own risk. (Maybe this is just first-post spam.)

[golinux]

What's the problem? Use rsync to put everything into a folder, then use genisoimage to create an ISO.

Code: Select all

$ rsync -av --delete /Directory1/ /Directory2/
$ genisoimage -o image.iso /Directory2/

But will that create a bootable iso? I don't think so. Maybe the OP doesn't need to have it bootable.

[Issyer]

What's the problem? Use rsync to put everything into a folder, then use genisoimage to create an ISO.

Code: Select all

$ rsync -av --delete /Directory1/ /Directory2/
$ genisoimage -o image.iso /Directory2/

But will that create a bootable iso? I don't think so. Maybe the OP doesn't need to have it bootable.

AFAIK, he hasn't mentioned any bootable. If he wants bootable, clonezilla.

[Wanderer]

I recommend you Systemback. You can make a Live media with it. If you want it to get the latest you have to add an Ubuntu repository for it. (sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemh/systemback)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/systemback/files/

Adding 'buntu ppas to a Debian install is a recipe for disaster. Do so at your own risk. (Maybe this is just first-post spam.)

It works for me! I don't have any trouble with it. And don't have to add ubuntu repo. You can install it from th .deb.

[brakim]

I recommend you Systemback. You can make a Live media with it. If you want it to get the latest you have to add an Ubuntu repository for it. (sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemh/systemback)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/systemback/files/

Does it come with some sort of web-interface or is it just commandline?

What i want to achieve just to be clear.
I would like my server to backups its entire systemdisk "/" every night to a image file.
So incase that my systemdrive dies, i can just burn my iso or make a bootable usb-drive from it and reinstall the whole system on a new disk.

[dasein]

I would like my server to backups its entire systemdisk "/" every night to a image file.
So incase that my systemdrive dies, i can just burn my iso or make a bootable usb-drive from it and reinstall the whole system on a new disk.

Given what you say your goal is, the solution you're imagining is do-able but oppressively inefficient.

The guts of the OS and your applications typically don't change much from day to day (particularly on a server). You'd be backing up the same several gigabytes over and over for no good reason.

A smarter solution would be to do an initial install-and-config, and then create an .iso of that fully configured installation using the refracta widget that golinux pointed you to. The only time that that image would need to be updated would be when you installed new software or performed a security update.

Routine data backups are another matter, and can be performed using whatever backup utility you most like. (Personally, to save time, I'd use rsync, but there are other perfectly good options available as well.)

[golinux]

@dasein . . . exactly.

[Wanderer]

Does it come with some sort of web-interface or is it just commandline?

What i want to achieve just to be clear.
I would like my server to backups its entire systemdisk "/" every night to a image file.
So incase that my systemdrive dies, i can just burn my iso or make a bootable usb-drive from it and reinstall the whole system on a new disk.

It has a GUI and command line too. It's easy to use with the command line too.

[golinux]

Wanderer's location is Hungary. The maintainer of Systemback is Kendek whose languages are coincidentally English and Hungarian. Wanna bet that Wanderer and Kendek are one and the same and he's just pimping for his 'buntu app here? It wouldn't surprise me if he is also brakim who got the ball rolling so Wanderer could come to the rescue.

[Wanderer]

Wanderer's location is Hungary. The maintainer of Systemback is Kendek whose languages are coincidentally English and Hungarian. Wanna bet that Wanderer and Kendek are one and the same and he's just pimping for his 'buntu app here? It wouldn't surprise me if he is also brakim who got the ball rolling so Wanderer could come to the rescue.

I don not know what is your problem with me but I don not care. Brakim asked for a backup app and I got him an option. I'm not Kendek, I just use his app, and I like it. If you don't wanna use it don't use, but I think until you didn't try it out do not say any negative opinion about it.

[stevepusser]

I'll resurrect this thread, since it's the only mention of Systemback here. The application was recently backported for the MX and MEPIS Wheezy and Squeeze-based community repositories, and has received nothing but praise by the users. As well as being able to create a bootable and installable remaster of your installed system, it also allows for the creation of system restore points (as seen in the screenshot above),
However, on Squeeze and Wheezy, the application is not "just installable from the deb", since the GUI requires a minimum of gambas3 >= 3.5.1, and those had to be backported for both the Wheezy and Squeeze based MEPIS versions from Jessie (testing). The Ubuntu PPA also has a backported gambas3, but I'd trust that only on Ubuntu.

There does not seem to be any real "How-To" on how to use the program, but it's simple, barring a few things to remember: http://forum.mepiscommunity.org/viewtop ... 94&t=36546

There's also a few Youtube videos without narration, such as this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzKdn_0M0Kk

Offtopic--the new release of the simplescreenrecorder application http://www.maartenbaert.be/simplescreenrecorder/ is pretty great. I've ported it over to the Wheezy-based MEPIS 12 repos, but here's the debs and sources if you want to rebuild it yourself. I built it against the latest libav 10.1 in wheezy-backports, so am not sure on how it performs with an older libav, but I did a test with video and openGL KDE effects to see how it worked, using a fairly low-powered laptop by today's standards, and with the laptop's webcam mic for sound input in a busy Starbucks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1UMhs ... sp=sharing

download the mp4 for full 1366 x 768 resolution video that it created.

MEPIS debs and sources: http://main.mepis-deb.org/mepiscr/testr ... nrecorder/

[rijnsma]

Wanderer's location is Hungary. The maintainer of Systemback is Kendek whose languages are coincidentally English and Hungarian. Wanna bet that Wanderer and Kendek are one and the same and he's just pimping for his 'buntu app here? It wouldn't surprise me if he is also brakim who got the ball rolling so Wanderer could come to the rescue.

But it IS the right way. I experimented with it in Ubuntu-likes and it works fantastic (better than Remastersys).
It is a pity he has not yet made the Debianversion of Systemback full for Debian (?). Or for all Linux. It is THE solution. And it is simple although full of options... Great job!

[golinux]

Wanderer's location is Hungary. The maintainer of Systemback is Kendek whose languages are coincidentally English and Hungarian. Wanna bet that Wanderer and Kendek are one and the same and he's just pimping for his 'buntu app here? It wouldn't surprise me if he is also brakim who got the ball rolling so Wanderer could come to the rescue.

But it IS the right way. I experimented with it in Ubuntu-likes and it works fantastic (better than Remastersys).
It is a pity he has not yet made the Debianversion of Systemback full for Debian (?). Or for all Linux. It is THE solution. And it is simple although full of options... Great job!

Please correct the quote attribution. It was not me who recommended Systemback. I use refractasnapshot and refractainstaller.

[rijnsma]

Wanderer's location is Hungary. The maintainer of Systemback is Kendek whose languages are coincidentally English and Hungarian. Wanna bet that Wanderer and Kendek are one and the same and he's just pimping for his 'buntu app here? It wouldn't surprise me if he is also brakim who got the ball rolling so Wanderer could come to the rescue.

But it IS the right way. I experimented with it in Ubuntu-likes and it works fantastic (better than Remastersys).
It is a pity he has not yet made the Debianversion of Systemback full for Debian (?). Or for all Linux. It is THE solution. And it is simple although full of options... Great job!

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=528991#p528991
It is this one and my comment on it.

Original:
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=571010#p571010

It is very important for Linux and for the user when he/she in a simple way can make a bootable ISO of his/her system, which can be put on cd/dvd/pendrive... or else no installation on another pc with other architecture or smaller partition or own system on pendrive maybe with persistance like I have of a full day-to-day install of Mint Qaina or ...
And Systemback can do a lot more than that. Together with a good cloneprogram safety is perfect in my opinion.

[stevepusser]

I should also mention that the newer version of Systemback (also in the MEPIS test community repo) has switched to building against QT5 (in wheezy-backports) instead of Gambas. So they are now compiled binaries, and those usually have the effect of making the Ubuntu builds even more likely to be incompatible with Debian. The MEPIS builds are built against the wheezy and wheezy-backports provided libraries.

[rijnsma]

Btw. it IS possible to make a full version of Systemback for Debian or Debian-like systems.
Some effort, but it can be done.