Storix Software SBAdmin Linux System Recovery Guide - Manual (Page 9)

Storix System Backup Administrator 9 Version 8.2 Linux System Recovery Guide
Block Devices:
Loopback device support: Module
RAM disk support: Built into kernel
Default RAM disk size: 32768 (This will allow up to a 32MB ramdisk to be created)
Initial RAM disk (initrd) support: Built into kernel
System Memory
The SBAdmin System Installation process requires that the system have at least 64 MB of memory to
operate, although a minimum of 256 MB is recommended.
UEFI Firmware Support Requirements
Performing recovery to a system that boots from UEFI firmware requires that you boot from UEFI firmware
using SBAdmin boot media, and then restore from a backup that supports UEFI firmware. SBAdmin
determines that a system has support for UEFI firmware based on the following requirements:
UEFI Support Requirements:
x86_64 systems (output of uname -m command)
2.6.21 kernel level or later (output of uname -r command)
CONFIG_EFI support enabled in kernel (typically found in /boot/config-RELEASE)
Support for creating VFAT filesystem (mkfs.vfat command)
Programs for Creating and Writing Bootable CDROMs
The program “mkisofs” or “genisofs” is a free program that must exist on the system from which you will
create the bootable CDROM. This program is included on most distributions but may not be installed by
default. If you receive a message that this program is missing, you will need to install it from your
distribution media or download a copy from the internet. This program will be used to generate the “ISO”
image, which is a CDROM format compatible with many operating systems.
To create a bootable CDROM, this software will generate the CDROM image file. It is then up to you to
copy that image to a CD Writer device using your own CD Writer software. On most Linux systems, the
“cdrecord” program exists. If not, then you can usually install it from your distribution media or download a
copy from the internet. You will need to refer to the instructions or “man” pages that accompany that
program. If you choose any other program to copy the CDROM image to the CD Writer, then you must be
sure to specify, if necessary, that this is an ISO image.
The Device Filesystem (Devfs)
The Device Filesystem is a function implemented on some Linux systems for management of devices. It
has, however, been replaced in more recent Linux distributions by Udev. Devfs is not a requirement of
SBAdmin, but its existence or use can pose certain problems, so it deserves mention here. Its function is to
provide a consistent naming convention for devices based on their physical location, rather than allowing
the system to name the devices (possibly differently) each time the system is booted based on their order
of detection.
Unfortunately, this presents many problems for products designed to work with the “classic” Linux device
naming conventions, and also creates quite lengthy filenames and symbolic links between old and new
names that are more difficult to manage. A classic partition name such as “/dev/hda1”, for example, will be
named “/dev/ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0/part1” under Devfs. Devfs often creates another link to this file
“/dev/hd/c0b0t0u0p1”.
SBAdmin must be able to scan for devices on the system, and does so by looking for devices of the classic
Linux convention, as this is most widely used. To look also for Devfs filenames would probably result in
detecting the same physical devices under multiple different names, so SBAdmin will only recognize
devices my the known “classic” device names.