¶ Clonezilla for Disk Imaging and Cloning
- Introduction to Clonezilla
- Key Features of Clonezilla
- Downloading and Booting Clonezilla
- Clonezilla Modes
- Creating a Disk Image with Clonezilla
- Restoring a Disk Image with Clonezilla
- Cloning Directly Between Devices
- Advanced Clonezilla Features
Clonezilla is an open-source solution for disk imaging and cloning, offering a range of features for efficient system backup, deployment, and recovery.
- Support for Various File Systems: Clonezilla supports a wide array of file systems, making it versatile for different environments.
- Efficient Data Handling: It only clones the used blocks of the disk, significantly speeding up the cloning process and reducing the image size.
- Bootable Media Creation: Clonezilla can be used from a CD/DVD or USB flash drive, making it a flexible tool for various situations.
- Multicast Cloning: Enables simultaneous cloning to many machines, saving time and effort in large deployments.
¶ 3. Downloading and Booting Clonezilla
Clonezilla is available in two editions: Clonezilla Live and Clonezilla SE (Server Edition). Clonezilla Live is suitable for single machine backup and restore, while Clonezilla SE is designed for massive deployment.
- Download the appropriate Clonezilla ISO from the official website.
- Create a bootable USB drive or burn the ISO to a CD/DVD.
- Boot the target computer from the Clonezilla media to start the process.
Directly clone one disk or partition to another. Ideal for upgrading disks or replicating configurations across multiple machines.
¶ 4.2 Device-Image (Save and Restore)
Create an image of a disk or partition to store on a server or external drive. This image can then be restored to the same or a different disk.
- Boot from Clonezilla media and select "Start Clonezilla".
- Choose "device-image" mode for disk-to-image cloning.
- Select the source disk or partition and the destination for the image.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the imaging process.
- Boot from Clonezilla media and choose "Start Clonezilla".
- Select "device-image" mode and then choose to restore an image.
- Locate the saved image and select the target disk for restoration.
- Complete the process by following the prompts provided by Clonezilla.
- Boot from Clonezilla media and select the "device-device" mode.
- Choose the source and target devices.
- Follow the instructions to start the cloning process.
Clonezilla SE supports multicasting, allowing the simultaneous cloning of the same source disk to multiple targets, significantly reducing the time required for large deployments.
¶ 8.2 Encryption and Compression
Clonezilla offers options to compress and encrypt disk images, ensuring efficient use of storage space and the security of data.
Though Clonezilla primarily focuses on complete disk cloning, differential backups can be managed through scripting and third-party tools to capture only changes since the last full backup.