Image Format
Version 3 (Nikos Skalkotos, 10/21/2011 12:51 pm) → Version 4/39 (Nikos Skalkotos, 11/23/2011 02:17 pm)
h1. Image Format
Right now we support 4 different types of images:
* 2 image formats: extdump
* ntfsdump
* diskdump
* custom
h2. extdump & ntfsdump
and ntfsdump. Those two formats are raw copies (using dd) of partitions hosting Linux systems on ext{2,3,4} and Windows systems on ntfs filesystems respectively.
Partitions hosting a Windows windows or linux system that are suitable for dumping should have the following properties:
* Be the first partition in the filesystem
* The OS they host shall not depend on any other partitions
* Start at sector 2048
* Have a bootloader installed in the partition
* Have the root device named through UUID in /etc/fstab (for extdump only)
h3. h2. Known Issues
* For linux systems, having grub installed in the partition is fragile and things can go wrong when resizing the partitions, especially when shrinking.
* Swap space is not supported.
* More complicated partition schemes are not supported.
* We only support linux and windows images
h2. diskdump Future Work
Diskdump is a newer We are considering changing the {ext,ntfs}dump format in order to overcome the known issues.
* Extend extdump to contain the first 2048 sectors.
+) Overcame the grub problem
+) Easy to deploy, with only few changes
-) The extdump image won't be directly mountable any more. We will have to use the device mapper before mounting the image.
* Ιnclude an additional file that overcomes most has rules on how the image should be deployed.
+) Support more complicated partition schemes.
+) Customize settings like the number of users accounts their password will change.
-) This can dramatically increase the aforementioned issues
_(expand)_
complexity of the image format.
-) This can dramatically increase the complexity of the bundling tool.
* Use a diskdump format (a raw disk copy)
+) Run different OS's
Right now we support 4 different types of images:
* 2 image formats: extdump
* ntfsdump
* diskdump
* custom
h2. extdump & ntfsdump
and ntfsdump. Those two formats are raw copies (using dd) of partitions hosting Linux systems on ext{2,3,4} and Windows systems on ntfs filesystems respectively.
Partitions hosting a Windows windows or linux system that are suitable for dumping should have the following properties:
* Be the first partition in the filesystem
* The OS they host shall not depend on any other partitions
* Start at sector 2048
* Have a bootloader installed in the partition
* Have the root device named through UUID in /etc/fstab (for extdump only)
h3. h2. Known Issues
* For linux systems, having grub installed in the partition is fragile and things can go wrong when resizing the partitions, especially when shrinking.
* Swap space is not supported.
* More complicated partition schemes are not supported.
* We only support linux and windows images
h2. diskdump Future Work
Diskdump is a newer We are considering changing the {ext,ntfs}dump format in order to overcome the known issues.
* Extend extdump to contain the first 2048 sectors.
+) Overcame the grub problem
+) Easy to deploy, with only few changes
-) The extdump image won't be directly mountable any more. We will have to use the device mapper before mounting the image.
* Ιnclude an additional file that overcomes most has rules on how the image should be deployed.
+) Support more complicated partition schemes.
+) Customize settings like the number of users accounts their password will change.
-) This can dramatically increase the aforementioned issues
_(expand)_
complexity of the image format.
-) This can dramatically increase the complexity of the bundling tool.
* Use a diskdump format (a raw disk copy)
+) Run different OS's