[arch-general] Ubunto to Arch complete data migration
I want to move all my files, localhost services like Apache configuration and application (web server) files and folders from a Ubuntu laptop to another brand new computer (Arch OS). My questions 1- what is the easiest way to do this? 2- do I need to partition hard-drive of new PC exactly as old one? 3- will root and other user credentials stay the same? Any other suggestion appreciated, -- Cheers, Matt Zand Cell: 202-420-9192 Work: 240-200-6131 High School Technology Services <https://myhsts.org/> DC Web Makers <https://dcwebmakers.com/> Coding Bootcamps <https://coding-bootcamps.com/>
On Mon, 12 Aug 2019, at 21:02, Matt Zand via arch-general wrote:
1- what is the easiest way to do this?
rsync -aAXv --progress --human-readable $source $destination
2- do I need to partition hard-drive of new PC exactly as old one?
No.
3- will root and other user credentials stay the same?
No, because I wouldn't recommend overwriting the default shadow and passwd files without fixing and matching UIDs/GIDs for system accounts already present in Arch. Yes, because of course you can set passwords and secrets as you see fit. Treat data and system configuration as different entities; the rest will follow.
On Mon, 12 Aug 2019 at 21:58, Jens John <lists@2ion.de> wrote:
On Mon, 12 Aug 2019, at 21:02, Matt Zand via arch-general wrote:
1- what is the easiest way to do this?
rsync -aAXv --progress --human-readable $source $destination
2- do I need to partition hard-drive of new PC exactly as old one?
No.
3- will root and other user credentials stay the same?
No, because I wouldn't recommend overwriting the default shadow and passwd files without fixing and matching UIDs/GIDs for system accounts already present in Arch.
Yes, because of course you can set passwords and secrets as you see fit.
Treat data and system configuration as different entities; the rest will follow.
Unfortunately, for some software packages the configuration files are not positioned in the same place. Take for example httpd (apache), while Arch keeps its configuration files in the commonly used directory /etc/httpd, Ubuntu uses /etc/apache2. So a simple rsync will not put everything in the exact place you need. My workflow when I did change my laptop from Fedora to Arch was to simply check for each package I installed (because you will have to install them) the correct configuration path, and manually merge the configuration files from my old laptop with the default ones provided with the package. It's a bit of work, but in the long run will familiarize you with the "right" places in which those configurations should go.
On 08/12/2019 02:02 PM, Matt Zand via arch-general wrote:
I want to move all my files, localhost services like Apache configuration and application (web server) files and folders from a Ubuntu laptop to another brand new computer (Arch OS).
Whoa.. Before you just start moving things, make sure the version of the server you are moving from is the same as you will have on Arch (Arch will be current with the upstream released version and can be several versions ahead of what you are used to) Assuming your versions of apache, etc.. are the same, copy your existing config to a temporary directory on your new Arch box. I would recommend starting with the default config provided by Arch and ADDING your specific config items to the default config while you have the wiki page open, e.g. Apache HTTP Server https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Apache_HTTP_Server That way if there are any differences in the Arch config due to the way things are packaged or the way the config is split between the main file in /etc/httpd/conf/ and files included from /etc/httpd/conf/extra/ you will automatically incorporate the changes by starting with the default config provided.
My questions 1- what is the easiest way to do this?
Move your content from your Ubuntu laptop to your new Arch install. Do not blindly copy server config files, copy your existing config to a temp directory and incorporate any specific config in the default config files provided by Arch (while you have the appropriate wiki.archlinux.org page open)
2- do I need to partition hard-drive of new PC exactly as old one?
No, how things are partitioned does not matter to the various servers.
3- will root and other user credentials stay the same?
No, you will need to create the Linux root and other users on you Arch box. You may also need to add, map or adjust GID (group ID numbers) as the group and GID the server runs under on Arch may not match what it ran under on Ubuntu.
Any other suggestion appreciated,
The Arch wiki page for each utility or server are probably some of the best on the net -- use them to help you accomplish whatever you are doing on Arch. -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
participants (4)
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David C. Rankin
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Jens John
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Leandro Papi
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Matt Zand