What to back up?

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27 Jan 2017 18:18 #86797 by jordandoe
What to back up? was created by jordandoe
I am new to Linux and LinuxCNC, and I am using a setup that was set up by someone else. I need to back up our system so that we can recreate it as easily as possible on another computer if anything happens to this one. I was hoping you all could help me figure out what files would need to be backed up. I have already backed up the home directory, but I don't know if there's anything else that should be backed up.

Here are the details of our setup. We are:
  • controlling a Shopbot with motor ASM98AA-T7.2 Vexta and driver ASD30A-A
  • using a Mesa 5i25 with a 7i76 daughtercard
  • using LinuxCNC v2.5
  • running Ubuntu 10.04
  • using the Axis GUI
Please let me know if more information is needed. Thanks for your help!

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27 Jan 2017 19:35 #86799 by andypugh
Replied by andypugh on topic What to back up?
You should be able to get back to where you are with just a clean reinstall from the LiveCD and the contents of the Linuxcnc directory, assuming that there are no custom HAL components involved.

You might find that the upgrade from your current configs to a newer version of LinuxCNC needs a few tweaks to the config files, but those are documented in the upgrades page.
linuxcnc.org/docs/html/getting-started/updating-linuxcnc.html

I would actually recommend doing that now anyway. 2.5 is rather old and no longer getting fixes (in fact, 2.6 is no longer getting fixes).
You can upgrade your current system to 2.7.8 on 10.04 (Ubuntu Lucid), so no need to change the OS at the moment.

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27 Jan 2017 20:03 #86801 by jordandoe
Replied by jordandoe on topic What to back up?
Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to back up the LinuxCNC directory.

I'm not sure if there are custom HAL components. It looks like HAL is used in the setup. How can I determine if there are custom HAL components that would complicate things?

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27 Jan 2017 20:17 #86802 by andypugh
Replied by andypugh on topic What to back up?
Look in all the HAL files for "loadrt" lines, and see if there is anything that doesn't exist here:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.7/html/
Under "realtime components" or "Commands and Userspace components"
The chances are that there won't be.

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30 Jan 2017 17:48 #86983 by jordandoe
Replied by jordandoe on topic What to back up?
By this do you mean that I should do the following:
1. Find all files on computer that end in ".hal"
2. View the contents of those files and find all lines that are "loadrt" followed by some word
3. Compare those words to the lists under "Commands and userspace components" and "Realtime components and kernel modules" on the page that you linked to
4. If there is a word that appears in one of my files but not on those lists, then there are custom components that will complicate things. If all the words in my files appear on those lists, then things are uncomplicated.

Is that right?

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30 Jan 2017 18:41 #86990 by andypugh
Replied by andypugh on topic What to back up?
That's right.

For many setups it will be one HAL file and about 5 loadrt statements. But it can also be many more depending on the complexity of the system.

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30 Jan 2017 19:07 #86991 by TurBoss
Replied by TurBoss on topic What to back up?
Hi:

you can save the whole disk into an image by using clonezilla, redobackup or something similar

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30 Jan 2017 19:10 #86992 by jordandoe
Replied by jordandoe on topic What to back up?
There are dozens of .hal files in "File system," and several in the user folder. The very first file I checked (which wasn't in the user folder) had a "loadrt ________" word that is not on those lists (5axiskins). Any idea what I should do now?

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30 Jan 2017 19:17 #86993 by jordandoe
Replied by jordandoe on topic What to back up?

Hi:

you can save the whole disk into an image by using clonezilla, redobackup or something similar


Thanks. I'll also look into that and see if it's suitable for our needs.

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30 Jan 2017 19:30 #86994 by TurBoss
Replied by TurBoss on topic What to back up?
make sure that you select the right origin and destination to not wipe the disk :whistle:

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