Marat, if you did some work and if you want to share it with us send a patch to [EMAIL PROTECTED] I'll be happy to adapt it to the latest release of systemimager.
Regards, -Andrea Marat Mukhitov wrote: > Hi Jason, > > I have used the same idea. So, I was able to use a SINGLE Golden Image > to backup/deploy systems running on different platform. > Also, it is good way to run an incremental backups as well. > > It was just a few changes I made, I have modified the getimage script , > so it is compare file with a SINGLE Golden Image, create list of files > to be deteted and extra files goes to OVERRIDE directory. > Then, in the install script just add "list of files to be deteted" to > --exclude-from= for rsync. > > > I have not checked if it is working with a latest version of systemimager. > I found ( just my opinion ) , that XCAT is better option to deploy > different hardware platform system running the same OS distribution. > Also, we are using cfengine ( www.cfengine.org ) to apply additional > changes/packages/configs . > > But, I am still using systemimager to backup important servers. > > > Actually, I have tried to ask about the same future to be in the > systemimager long time ago , here is a link : > http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=10373951 > > > > Thanks, > Marat > > Jason Knudsen wrote: > >> I just wanted to share my experience with SystemImager.. I may be doing >> something different than most of you and wanted to enlighten you to this >> technique I've sort-of established... >> >> Essentially what I've been attempting to do in our data center was to >> utilize SI in a proof-of-concept approach to see what I could do with it >> and if it were something better to replace our current method which is >> quite hacked up and uses pxeboot and kickstart et al. >> >> I wanted to use SystemImager because of it's great amount of >> functionality - Quick deployment of images, using bittorrent, rsync, >> flamethrower.. Monitoring.. Virtual Console.. among it's vast amount of >> tools to easily manage imaging and prepare the whole boot environment or >> just for the fact that it can be used with CDs, Floppys.. USB keys.. >> etc... I don't need to explain about how great and useful this product >> truly is! >> >> But my problem? A lot of different hardware platforms needed to be >> supported and I don't like the idea of using and maintaining several >> images for our development environment. The administration would become >> a headache to say the least. So what I've been attempting to do is >> establish a SINGLE Golden Image and use this across our different >> hardware platforms... I've been making my tests with RHEL4.0. >> >> My technique was such that I collected a Golden Image of each hardware >> platform with RH4.0 installed and then did a diff against my true Golden >> Image to see which files have changed. Those files I've then extracted >> from each hardware platform and placed them into their respective >> OVERRIDE directories. Then based on which platform used, it called a >> different master file which dictated such things are which network card >> to use and so on, so forth.. but ultimately each master file dictated >> which OVERRIDE directory to use. This has ensured that I have an easy >> method to implement new hardware platforms and reduced my administration >> / disk space requirements dramatically. Once I was sure that it was >> capable of installing on said hardware platform, I would then remove >> it's corresponding golden image to save space. It had served it's >> purpose (diff.) >> >> To tie all this together I built my own script that requires 2 inputs.. >> 1) OS type and 2) hostname. Based on this information it would reach out >> to a database (our asset database) to grab information of that hostname >> (hardware type... etc..) and based on this input I could automatically >> determine which master file to use which would then setup all of the >> proper stuff! Presto.. one command and we've got total automation. >> >> I've only spent time on 3 different hardware types.. Dell Poweredge >> 2650, Dell Poweredge 2850 and a HP DL380. They all worked perfectly with >> this system and reimaged with RH40 from a single golden image. >> Unfortunately this is as far as I can take it for the moment until >> management has decided whether this is a better approach - they love >> scalability and this is what they fear most of this software. >> >> As a side-note, in my previous email I managed to integrate a SSH daemon >> into the imaging host to better troubleshoot issues during imaging, and >> I've also used the XML/LOG files of si_monitor to produce much the same >> thing as si_monitortk onto a web page (which refreshes every 30 >> seconds.) I've already shared the SSH daemon instructions and will >> share my code for the PHP enabled website to do monitoring from the web >> (although we currently do not have provisions for the Virtual Console in >> place yet - but do have plans to tie the SSH client into a java applet >> to connect to an imaging host from the web. We love centralizing things >> here!) and the ultimate plan being managing and monitoring all of this >> from a single web page. I've attached a small jpg of the web monitoring >> (very basic so far.) >> >> Let me know of any similar experiences you all may have had in relation >> to this! >> >> Cheers, >> >> Jason >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> Take Surveys. Earn Cash. 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