PBA Alternatives?

[ceayuso]

I've had problems with pba with each of our 3 Windows XP boxes. PXE boot from the hda does not work from my boxes with Intel boards and pba often aborts with error 4 or 22 on all of them. So, I looked for alternatives. Two that appear similar to pba are Ghost4Linux and ntfsclone from the command line.

1. Ghost4Linux (g4l).
a. Download the g4l .iso image and burn to CD (http://downloads.sourceforge.net/g4l/g4 ... g_mirror=0).
b. Set the appropriate permissions for your desired backup directory on the hda.
c. g4l requires an ftp server running on the hda. Fedora installs with vsftpd. Use vsftpd.conf to configure the server. Start vsftpd from the command line with "service vsftpd start". You can check the ftp server from a Windows client before booting with the g4l CD (http://www.referpages.com/reference/com ... xpftp.html). vsftpd is not a secure ftp server so if security is a concern, "yum search ftp" for other options. proftpd can work with xinetd for a more secure alternative.
d. Boot the client with the g4l CD. There is a g4l tutorial here: http://www.howtoforge.com/back_up_resto ... host4linux
e. Make sure the ethernet port, client ip address, and server ip address are correct. Set the username and password if necessary. Give your image file a name. Toggle the desired compression. I use the "NTFSCLONE Backup" option to back up only the used space on the partition.
f. Select the desired partition to backup (with the space bar) then press "Enter." The results should be a compressed backup similar to a pba backup except the entire partition will be in one file, not multiple files.
g. Reboot the client and remove the g4l CD. If security is a concern, stop vsftpd on the hda ("service vsftpd stop").
h. Use the appropriate g4l options to restore a backed up partition.

2. NTFSClone from the command line
a. Download the SystemRescueCd .iso image and burn to CD (http://www.sysresccd.org/Download)
b. This option will use smb to transfer the backup image file. Set up the desired backup directory on the hda as an smb share. Set the permissions as needed. You can check whether the smb share is set up by mapping the share from a Windows client and uploading a file.
c. Boot the client with the SystemRescueCd. Hit "Enter" when prompted to accept the default boot options.
d. At the command line, acquire an ip address from the hda:
"dhclient eth#"
Substitute the appropriate network interface number, usually "0" ("eth0")
e. Make a directory to mount the smb backup share:
"mkdir mybackups"
f. Mount the smb share:
"mount -t cifs -o username=<username>,password=<password> \//hda/Backups /mnt/mybackups"
Substitute the names of your hda and backup smb share.
g. Check the partitions on your client:
"fdisk -l"
h. Backup the desired partition, using lzop compression:
"ntfsclone -s -o - /dev/sda# | lzop > /mnt/mybackups/<filename>"
Don't miss the extra dash between "o" and the partition. Use a filename that is easy to identify. Some boards suggest using "ntfs", "lzop" and "img" in the filename to easily remember how the image file was built ("mybackup_01.ntfs.lzop.img"). The backup should be similar to pba except for only one image file instead of multiple files.
i. To restore the partition from the image file:
"lzop -d < /mnt/mybackups/<filename> | ntfsclone -r -O /dev/sda# -"
Again, note the dash at the end of the command.
j. To make a backup image without compression:
"ntfsclone -s -o /mnt/mybackups/<filename> /dev/sda#"
k. Someone more conversant in Linux may be able to script some of the steps.

Hope this helps someone. Again, I'd prefer to use pba but it has not been reliable for me. These two alternatives allow me to back up my Windows clients to our hda. I apologize in advance for any errors caused by typos or lack of technical expertise.

[jfrenc14]

clonezilla, its what i use, works great http://clonezilla.org/

[cogneato]

Thanks for this. From what I can tell, WHS gets raves for its backup services, and so-so reviews as a file server. It's too bad PBA isn't working out as it should for many people, as its inclusion in Amahi is what got me interested in the first place. Doesn't work for my Windows clients either unfortunately. I'm just kind of waiting to see what updates come along. Until then I'm just sticking with my FreeNas box, and checking out alternatives in the meantime, so thanks again for not only pointing them out, but adding some how-to info as well.

[Blueracer]

jfrenc14,
Do you use the server edition of Clonezilla? Is it relatively easy to use? Can it back up Vista & XP computers on a network also?
Thanks for any info you can supply!!!

[relrobber]

System Rescue CD also contains two other backup alternatives: Partimage and FSArchiver. I've only personally used Partimage, but FSArchiver looks like it may be the more powerful of the two.

[jfrenc14]

jfrenc14,
Do you use the server edition of Clonezilla? Is it relatively easy to use? Can it back up Vista & XP computers on a network also?
Thanks for any info you can supply!!!

I didnt realize there was a server edition, i will have to check that out, and yes it is very simple to use, it can copy any operating system