> The ntfs-3g module for NTFS read and write support is pretty good > although I can't speak to the specific task you're trying to achieve. > > I'm not sure why you're wanting to use a PXE setup, it seems as if > you're making this needlessly complicated but to each their own. If > that setup works for you, then that's great. Something like live > booting clonezilla just automates imaging the box to a remote > filesystem and accomplishes the same task as dd'ing without wasting > space copying empty blocks.
I prefer PXE over a CD plus a backup box or worse an external hard drive because: 1) Using network based booting and backup doesn't involve carrying hard drives or other media around that can get lost or dropped. 2) Keeping the backup source/destination drive off of the machine being backed up, it is less likely that one is going to accidentally: overwrite it, partition it, or erase it. 3) I don't have to potentially buy a hard disk for every single computer I want to back up. 4) I can back up multiple machines simultaneously, although this does slow my server down a lot. 5) I don't want to be forced into having a DVD drive on every single computer I want to back up and restore let alone a writer. The Alpha and the G3 Mac are probably not going to work with a single boot cd. I'm actually worried about whether or not PXE is available for these platforms. I'm after both a simple and powerful solution. Having a Linux command line and useful tools at your fingertips is a powerful approach. I can do more than just perform backups and do restoration work, I have network monitoring tools as well. I'm hoping that dd isn't the only way I can back up an NTFS volume and restore it. The best I can do if I'm forced to go the dd route is compress the resulting images with bzip2. The idea behind network booting is to run off a stable system that is not on the potentially messed up local hard drive. There is no need to find a boot disk/CD/DVD. This isn't entirely true, I have some computers that are going to need a PXE disk potentially. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
