Comments on: Need to convert Linux machine to Virtual

By: David Szpunar

David Szpunar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:42:48 +0000

Just an update on this: I didn’t end up having the time or energy to do the transition for my box, which is now gone. I just kept a backup of everything I wanted. But thanks for the tips everyone, I know the links here will help others in the same situation and probably me in the future!

By: David Szpunar

David Szpunar — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:50:50 +0000

Thanks Pyro. I thought Whitebox Linux was based on RHEL and maybe is is as well, but it's good to know that about CentOS! I'm still debating whether or not I want to go to the trouble of replicating the system for posterity or not, or if I can bear to just toss it after I get the important stuff off (which is what I'm focusing on now). If I do go ahead and try the virtual-conversion route, I'll probably install CentOS 3 in a VM and then try an rsync with the server. That should cut way down on bandwidth and transfer time if CentOS is essentially RHEL, since most files will be the same! I love rsync :-) (There's a program called DeltaCopy for Windows that purports to be a Windows GUI Rsync, trying it is on my to-do list as it would be more efficient than robocopy!)

By: Pyro

Pyro — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 12:16:31 +0000

Dave,
You have enough processes. Just reminded you that CentOS is a one for one binary compile of RHE. So starting with CentOS 3 would give you the best compatibility without buying RHE IE good place to start.

By: David Szpunar

David Szpunar — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 04:27:49 +0000

Hi Micah,

Thanks for the link! I definitely picked up some good info from a quick skim through, and I’ll be back to your post when I’m ready to transfer for some more in-depth guidance! That’s a good cpio walkthough you linked as well!

By: Micah Webner

Micah Webner — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:39:57 +0000

David,

FWIW, I blogged my first Linux P2V experience, which was a hot copy of an old Fedora Core 2 system, now running happily on the free VMware Server. Maybe you’ll find these notes useful:

http://chacadwa.com/blog/micah/2007_11_09/my-first-linux-p2v

As you can see from the blog posting, I was able to resize partitions, and that I gave up on hardware detection and just stuffed values from a known working VM.

HTH,
Micah

By: David Szpunar

David Szpunar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 03:02:06 +0000

“Why you thieving rapscallion” comes the reply from my appreciative self :-)

Now maybe I can back up some music to Mozy with all my important stuff, and still be cheap…

By: Justin Moore

Justin Moore — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:56:00 +0000

Not only did I steal your topic, I used your referrer code when I signed up for MozyHome earlier, so consider that extra bump in storage as payment for thieving your ideas. :)

By: David Szpunar

David Szpunar — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:39:52 +0000

Thanks Justin–are you trying to steal my future topics? ;-)

I did discover that DreamHost offers free non-profit hosting, after setting up an account for the church, and they were kind enough to give me a refund for our prepaid account and make it free! We are still paying for Private Servers ($24/mo for both, including a 20% discount for having one of each type), but the basic account is free.

I maintain a separate DreamHost account for personal use, which is the one I mentioned in this post, but the church site that was on my server–it’s officially on the church’s DreamHost account as of today!

By: Justin Moore

Justin Moore — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:28:02 +0000

David,

Dreamhost will give non-profits a free hosting package. Just in case you didn’t know.