Re: RootDevices

[Lars Kruse]

Hello,


Am Mon, 17 Aug 2020 08:28:42 -0400
schrieb Neo Web <neoweb@hackspherelabs.com>:

> I would like to use this tool to clone/copy over the network live...every
> period of time...an always running live rootfs/root device.

in order to create a backup of a running system, you need to ensure that the
block device does not change meanwhile.
This is easily possible, if you are using LVM. Here a snapshot can be created,
which allows a consistent backup at a specific moment in time. Please note that
the filesystem would still be mounted at that moment - thus the backup would
contain a filesystem that was not cleanly unmounted. Think of it as a system
that unexpectedly lost its power supply.

In other words: if your are looking for a file-oriented backup (with
multiple generations and so on), then you should choose a different tool on the
filesystem level.
But if you have to backup some kind of blackbox (e.g. non-linux VM images,
encrypted images), then bdsync (and bdsync-manager) could be useful for you.


> I read what the website said, but I am concerned because the drive is the
> root.

Thanks for the hint. I will add a comment mentioning these - probably not
obvious - drawbacks of a block device based backup.

I hope, this clarifies your questions.

Cheers,
Lars