[gentoo-dev] System Recovery - New Core Functionality request...

[Charles Marcus]

Hi all,

I am sending this to both the User and Dev lists because I think it
requires consideration from both the developers and users. I hope no one
minds...

I want to see how anyone/everyone else feels about such an enhancement
request before I submit it formally...

Something that I have always wished for, whether on a Windows system or
Linux distro, is the native ability to *easily* (think 'brain-dead
simple') make an emergency bootable Recovery CD/DVD.

I think this should be simple for a good programmer, since all of the
parts are available under the GPL. If I were a programmer, this message
would be an announcement of an ebuild for just this purpose, but alas, I
am not.

So, here is my suggestion:

Create an ebuild - call it 'SysRecover' or whatever - that simply allows
one to create an emergency, bootable CD/DVD of their system. It should
be flexible enough to allow selection of any or all partitions.

I know that one who is capable can already set this up themselves, but
what I am talking about is something that requires ZERO configuration by
the one doing the install. Just 'emerge sysrecover', then issue the
appropriate command:

mksysrec -all
mksysrec -mycustom (where 'mycustom' is simply a text file with a list
                      of the partitions to be included)
mksysrec -/boot
mksysrec -/boot -/etc
you get the idea

Ultimately, I think this should be made a part of the core
functionality, but an ebuild would work just as well for my purposes.

Yhink of it... someone spend hours, days, or even weeks getting their
system(s) just the way they want it(them). This would enable them to
make a bootable snapshot any time they wanted to a CD/DVD, ultimately
doing so once they have it just the way they want it. Then they could
simply make updates whenever they make major changes, as well as make a
recovery CD before they do anything major to a production system.

Comments? Flames?

Charles



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