On 05/26/2010 12:30 AM, Allan Gottlieb wrote:
> For quite a while I have used the following steps to perform a
> "single-user backup"
> 
> 1.  Boot to single user mode via the grub command
>         kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda6 single
> 
> 2.  Type in the root password.
> 
> 3.  Execute a single command
>        /usr/local/sbin/ajg-backup-init-3
>     which does the backup and then executes
>        init 3
> 
> 4.  This gets me to multi-user mode.
> 
> I would like to automate this so that booting directly to multi-user
> mode via
>         kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda6
> 
> All I need to do is to execute the single command
>        /usr/local/sbin/ajg-backup-init-3
> at the right moment.
> This didn't seem hard; I want it after everything in boot but before
> everything currently in default.  So I was going to put it in
> default with a "before *" in depend()
> 
> Reading the gentoo handbook chapter B4.d "Writing Init Scripts"
> I find two comments criticizing this approach
> 
> 1.  "You can also use the "*" glob [argument to before] to catch all
>     services in the same runlevel, although this isn't advisable".
> 
> 2.  "Note: Make sure that --exec actually calls a service and not just a
>     shell script that launches services and exits -- that's what the
>     init script is supposed to do."
> 
> I can see problems with multiple "before *" directives, but no other
> script has one so I think I would be OK with my "before *".
> 
> Criticism 2 has me concerned since my backup routing is indeed a shell
> script that exits.  Indeed, my backup is not really a service so I am
> worried that I shouldn't be using an initscript at all.
> 
> Any advice/comments would be welcome.
> 
> thanks,
> allan
> 
> 
You could create a LVM-snapshot of the partition/data you wish to backup
at "before *" or inside "boot" and then later run the backup on the
mounted snapshot, removing it afterwards.

Bye,
Daniel

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