Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
Ed Heron wrote: ... I think so. I use rsync to synchronize samba shares and web sites between servers so I've gotten used to using it for other things. It also looks more like a copy, which might be easier to understand for those less familiar. I was considering adding the tar option. How does tar handle hard links? It just works. I habitually use rsync for incremental updates across directories or systems, but tar is often more robust for this type of job, just because of things like needing to remember to use -H. Both rsync and cpio will work if used properly, just like tar. Like I said, largely a matter of preference. ... Thanks. Writing documentation is always a balancing act between not putting enough detail in because it seems intuitive to the person who does it every day and putting too much in with the effect of it being too pedantic. ++1 Do you have a source for round tuits? I can only find finite sided ones... They are quite rare and valuable. :-P Regards, Phil ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 08:20:07AM -0400, Phil Schaffner wrote: Ed Heron wrote: ... Thanks. Writing documentation is always a balancing act between not putting enough detail in because it seems intuitive to the person who does it every day and putting too much in with the effect of it being too pedantic. After years of cursing out documentation, I always go with the better too much than too little information. Depending of course, upon what you're documenting, it should allow someone without experience of the software to use it, and not have to google to figure out what you meant. I think of it as being considerate of the reader's time. Often, I find the difference between BSD docs and Linux docs, the difference between something written for the busy sysadmin and something written for the hobbyist who has all day to go searching around for the missing pieces. (The above of course, is a BROAD generalization, but I try to keep in mind that the reader probably has better things to do than research something I wrote, which is, no doubt, something they discovered while trying to understand something in the official docs.) :) -- Scott Robbins PGP keyID EB3467D6 ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 ) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6 Giles: Might I have a word? Buffy: Have a sentence even. ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 09:02:00AM -0400, Scott Robbins wrote: Often, I find the difference between BSD docs and Linux docs, the difference between something written for the busy sysadmin and something written for the hobbyist who has all day to go searching around for the missing pieces. (The above of course, is a BROAD generalization, but I try to keep in mind that the reader probably has better things to do than research something I wrote, which is, no doubt, something they discovered while trying to understand something in the official docs.) :) I should have specified that I'm not referring to the wiki, which is, generally speaking, one of those areas where documentation does NOT send the reader searching all over the place. I was referring more to the man pages. Again, it was a generalization--there are plenty of excellent Linux man pages and obscure BSD man pages. -- Scott Robbins PGP keyID EB3467D6 ( 1B48 077D 66F6 9DB0 FDC2 A409 FA54 EB34 67D6 ) gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys EB3467D6 Angel: Buffy. Buffy: Angel. Xander: Xander. ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
From: Phil Schaffner, Wednesday, May 13, 2009 6:20 AM It just works. I habitually use rsync for incremental updates across directories or systems, but tar is often more robust for this type of job, just because of things like needing to remember to use -H. Both rsync and cpio will work if used properly, just like tar. Like I said, largely a matter of preference. I read somewhere that tar doesn't save extended attributes. Is this still the case or did I read old news? Should we submit a bug report somewhere for rsync not correctly copying SELinux attributes? Or is it some mistake of mine that it didn't appear to work? ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
Ed Heron wrote: From: Phil Schaffner, Wednesday, May 13, 2009 6:20 AM It just works. I habitually use rsync for incremental updates across directories or systems, but tar is often more robust for this type of job, just because of things like needing to remember to use -H. Both rsync and cpio will work if used properly, just like tar. Like I said, largely a matter of preference. I read somewhere that tar doesn't save extended attributes. Is this still the case or did I read old news? --xattrs this option causes tar to store each file’s extended attributes in the archive. This option also enables --acls and--selinux if they haven’t been set already, due to the fact that the data for those are stored in special xattrs. Should we submit a bug report somewhere for rsync not correctly copying SELinux attributes? Or is it some mistake of mine that it didn't appear to work? What happens when you set --xattrs in rsync, too? Their manual page does not mention SELinux, though. Cheers, Ralph pgprZ7pyxjhu2.pgp Description: PGP signature ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
From: Ralph Angenendt, Wednesday, May 13, 2009 9:42 AM What happens when you set --xattrs in rsync, too? Their manual page does not mention SELinux, though. That's the X that I added to the rsync command. It does not successfully copy SELinux attributes. That's why I had to set the relabel flag. I'll have to try the process again with the --xattrs in tar and see if the system is functional without re-labeling. Thanks. ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
haven't yet, but will do so later today. And if nobody complains, hey, it probably is a good article :) Ralph Either that or I've hit a target nobody is interested in... OK. It's a great article and nobody has any suggestions or problems... I'm batting 1000... yeah, that. Thanks. ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
Ed Heron wrote: Has anybody had a chance to look at this? Moving it up on my to-do list... When cloning the root partition need to add H to the rsync flags to preserve hard links. Don't think /boot uses hard links, but wouldn't hurt to use it there also. An often-recommended alternative is to use tar: tar -C /mnt/boot.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/boot.new -xf - tar -C /mnt/root.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/root.new -xf - Probably a matter of preference. At step 6, since everything has already been cleanly unmounted, should just be able to hit the power button. Add something to the effect of Remove the rescue media before rebooting. That's all the comments I have without actually going through testing the procedure. Will try that later if I get a round tuit. :-) Nice job. Will reference it from the HowTos/SoftwareRAIDonCentOS5 page when it goes live. Phil ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
From: Phil Schaffner, Tuesday, May 12, 2009 2:11 PM Ed Heron wrote: Has anybody had a chance to look at this? Moving it up on my to-do list... Thanks. When cloning the root partition need to add H to the rsync flags to preserve hard links. Don't think /boot uses hard links, but wouldn't hurt to use it there also... I'm not sure how well it would do that, but it won't hurt to add. I'll have to put in a hard link and copy across devices and see if the hard linked files are hard linked on the dest dev. Thanks for catching that. I don't use hard links much... ... An often-recommended alternative is to use tar: tar -C /mnt/boot.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/boot.new -xf - tar -C /mnt/root.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/root.new -xf - Probably a matter of preference. I think so. I use rsync to synchronize samba shares and web sites between servers so I've gotten used to using it for other things. It also looks more like a copy, which might be easier to understand for those less familiar. I was considering adding the tar option. How does tar handle hard links? At step 6, since everything has already been cleanly unmounted, should just be able to hit the power button. Add something to the effect of Remove the rescue media before rebooting. I've added the cleanly unmounted / power switch aspect and moved the 'remove rescue media' to the booting back up portion of the testing step. Does that look better? I debated briefly with myself over suggesting they could simply power it off and had discarded it as not best practice. I'm reasonably happy with the compromise. I'll have to check if install / rescue has a shutdown command available... That's all the comments I have without actually going through testing the procedure. Will try that later if I get a round tuit. :-) Nice job. Will reference it from the HowTos/SoftwareRAIDonCentOS5 page when it goes live. Thanks. Writing documentation is always a balancing act between not putting enough detail in because it seems intuitive to the person who does it every day and putting too much in with the effect of it being too pedantic. I like that the contents becomes a checklist for repeatable processes. Do you have a source for round tuits? I can only find finite sided ones... Phil ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
Re: [CentOS-docs] Comments? HowTos/CentOS5ConvertToRAID
On 05/12/2009 11:11 PM, Phil Schaffner wrote: Ed Heron wrote: Has anybody had a chance to look at this? Moving it up on my to-do list... When cloning the root partition need to add H to the rsync flags to preserve hard links. Don't think /boot uses hard links, but wouldn't hurt to use it there also. An often-recommended alternative is to use tar: tar -C /mnt/boot.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/boot.new -xf - tar -C /mnt/root.old -cf - . | tar -C /mnt/root.new -xf - Probably a matter of preference. find /path/to/source -xdev -print0 | cpio -pa0V /path/to/destination is also an alternate option... but I prefer rsync usually ___ CentOS-docs mailing list CentOS-docs@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos-docs
