On Wed, Nov 15, 2000 at 01:09:07PM -0500, Rob Russell wrote:
>
> At the Ottawa Linux Symposium, I heard talk of a proof-of-concept version
> of diff rewritten to use the rsync algorithms to produce diffs across a
> network. Does such a beast still/actually exist?
>
> Background:
>
> I'm putting together a computer lab for use in operating systems classes,
> and the school has decided that the best way to do this is through the use
> of VMWare, where each student gets a VMWare disk image to do their work
> in. (Images average around 400MB)
>
> Right now, each student has to pick a box as theirs for the semester, and
> if another student comes along and trashes that box and loses their image,
> they're up the creek. I'd like to implement a way for the images to be
> stored server-side for central backups and so that students can go from
> machine to machine.
>
> The basic methodology here would involve having each box store a local
> copy of each default image (RH6.2, Win95, etc.) on disk, and have the
> server store a diff for each student. Flow would be similar to this:
>
> Student logs in to box:
> Box determines the target OS based on conf files
> Box contacts server and downloads checksum for the default image
> for that OS, and confirms that its local default image
> matches.
> If the checksum fails, rsync to server to ensure its default image
> is correct. (Maybe eliminate the previous step with this one)
> Download the differences between the student's latest working copy
> and the default image, and apply the differences to a local
> copy of the default image.
> Launch VMWare on the temporary image, student plays, saves to the image.
>
> Student exits VMWare to log out:
> Box reconfirms checksum of local image from server.
> Box builds diff file between local default image and local temporary
> image, and uploads that diff file to the server for archival.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on what I'm trying to accomplish? Would
> there be better tools for doing this than a diffing tool based on rsync?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --
> Rob Russell Professional Services Senior Systems Analyst
> Nitrosoft Linux [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1-877-OK-LINUX x322
I'm not a VMware user yet but my understanding is that VMware has its own
facility for storing changes against the standard image into a separate
file. Could you use that? I can't remember what they call it.
- Dave Dykstra
