> There have been addons to rsync in the past to do that but rsync really > isn't the correct tool for the job.
why not correct tool ? if rsync can greatly keep two large files in sync between source and destination (using --inplace), why should it (generally spoken) not also be used to keep two blockdevices in sync ? maybe these links are interesting in that context: https://lists.samba.org/archive/rsync/2010-June/025164.html https://github.com/dop251/diskrsync roland > Gesendet: Sonntag, 30. Dezember 2018 um 19:53 Uhr > Von: "Kevin Korb via rsync" <rsync@lists.samba.org> > An: rsync@lists.samba.org > Betreff: Re: rsync remote raw block device with --inplace > > There have been addons to rsync in the past to do that but rsync really > isn't the correct tool for the job. Neither is dd. > > The right tool is something that understands the filesystem within the > block device such as ntfsclone (what I use) or partimage (if you have > ever used Clonezilla this is what it uses). These will know how to skip > all the empty parts of the filesystem and will still be capable of > restoring a complete image in a bare metal restore. You can still use > dd to snag a copy of the MBR since that is outside of any filesystems. > > Also, if you do have to resort to a plain image use ddrescue instead of > dd. It has a status screen and it can resume as long as you used a log > file when you ran it. > > On 12/30/18 1:45 PM, Steve Newcomb via rsync wrote: > > It would be very nice to be able to rsync the raw data content of, e.g., > > a non-mounted disk partition, particularly in combination with --inplace. > > > > Our reality: several dual-boot machines running Windows during the day > > and Linux at night, during backups. Windows is very tedious and iffy to > > re-reinstall without a raw disk image to start from. Disks fail, and > > the ensuing downtime must be minimized. > > > > We're using dd for this. Most of the nightly work is redundant and > > wasteful of elapsed time and storage. Storage is cheap, but it's not > > *that* cheap. Elapsed time is priceless. > > > > Rsync refuses to back up raw devices, and even raw character devices, > > with the message "skipping non-regular file" (I think the relevant > > message is in generator.c). > > > > In Linux, anyway, the "raw" command allows a block device to be bound as > > a character device, and then even a "cat" command can read the raw data > > of the block device. So why does rsync refuse to copy such content, or > > why is it a bad idea, or what rsync doctrine conflicts with it? I agree > > there are security concerns here, but rsync already disallows some of > > its functions unless the super user is requesting them. > > > > > > -- > ~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._., > Kevin Korb Phone: (407) 252-6853 > Systems Administrator Internet: > FutureQuest, Inc. ke...@futurequest.net (work) > Orlando, Florida k...@sanitarium.net (personal) > Web page: https://sanitarium.net/ > PGP public key available on web site. > ~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._.,-*~'`^`'~*-,._., > > -- > Please use reply-all for most replies to avoid omitting the mailing list. > To unsubscribe or change options: > https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/rsync > Before posting, read: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html -- Please use reply-all for most replies to avoid omitting the mailing list. To unsubscribe or change options: https://lists.samba.org/mailman/listinfo/rsync Before posting, read: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
