Backing up data and restoring a crashed computer are two of those "I wish I hadda" moments in the life of every computer user. When you maintain a collection of computers for your job or organization, those tasks can be critical. One of the fastest and most reliable ways to restore an afflicted computer is to copy its previously saved image onto the hard drive. This is particularly useful when the cure for what crashed your computer is a failed hard drive.
You're probably familiar with the popular proprietary commercial package Norton Ghost®. The problem with these kind of software packages is that it takes a lot of time to massively clone systems to many computers. You've probably also heard of Symantec's solution to this problem, Symantec Ghost Corporate Edition® with multicasting. Well, now there is an OpenSource clone system (OCS) solution called Clonezilla with unicasting and multicasting!
- Pros: There are many advatages clonezilla has over its rivals but we can't go past the fact that it's open source and licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) Version 2.
- Cons: Clonezilla is one of my top choices for open source imaging solutions. But using it comes with a caveat: Its interface is intimidating.
- Available editions: Two types of Clonezilla are available, Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE (server edition). Clonezilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore. While Clonezilla SE is for massive deployment, it can clone many (40 plus!) computers simultaneously.
- Used for: GNU/Linux, MS windows, Intel-based Mac OS, and FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x86-64) OS.
- Installation: Clonezilla comes in two editions; live ISO file (for CD/DVD) or zip file (for USB flash drive or USB hard drive).
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