Image Clone vs. Disk Cloning: Choosing a Professional Disk Backup Tool for Comprehensive System Backups

17. november 2023

Ensuring the stable operation of workstation operating systems and applications is a prerequisite for normal device functioning. Once a failure occurs, it can range from system crashes and temporary loss of control to complete machine failure and data loss. Therefore, timely backups of workstation systems are particularly important.

Index

1.Image Clone: Backup and Restoration

2.Comparison of Common Image Backup Tools(including Image Clone)

3.UReach PP281 makes it easy for you to back up with disk images!

4.Conclusion-Image Clone is a better way to backup system.

1.Image Clone: Backup and Restoration

In the following scenarios, image backups can be useful:

System Crash Recovery: If your system experiences a crash or fails to boot, image backups allow you to quickly restore the entire system to the state it was in at the time of the backup. This means you don't need to reinstall the operating system, applications, and configurations; simply restore from the image backup, and your system will be up and running again, saving you time and effort.

Protection against Virus Attacks: When facing a virus attack, your system and files may be severely damaged. Image clone backups can help remove infected system files during recovery and restore them to an uninfected state. This ensures that your system and data remain safe from virus damage, allowing you to work securely.

Dealing with Hardware Failures: When a hard drive or other hardware components fail, image backups can help you recover to the state of the backup. You can restore the image backup to a new hard drive or computer, allowing your system to operate again without the need for reinstallation and reconfiguration.

Quick System Migration: When you need to migrate a system to a new computer or hard drive, image cloner backups greatly simplify the migration process. Just restore the image backup to the new hardware, and your old system environment will be completely replicated on the new system, saving you the hassle of reinstalling and configuring everything.

Convenience for Large-Scale Deployment and Recovery: For businesses or organizations, image cloner backups can be used for large-scale deployment and recovery. You can create a system image and deploy it to multiple computers, saving time and cost. Similarly, when multiple systems need to be recovered, simply use the image backup instead of reinstalling and configuring each system individually.

Overall Efficiency Improvement: Image clone backups significantly improve the efficiency of backup and recovery. Compared to backing up and restoring files one by one, image backups only require one backup and one restore operation, saving a significant amount of time and effort. Additionally, image backups can be automated by setting up regular backup schedules to ensure continuous system protection.

Overall System Protection: Image clone backups not only restore the system itself but also protect applications, configurations, user data, and more within the system. This comprehensive backup approach ensures that no important elements are missed during recovery, maintaining system integrity and consistency.

Risk and Loss Reduction: Image clone backups are an important measure for preventing and dealing with data loss or system failures. They provide a reliable backup solution, reducing the risks and losses associated with data loss and downtime. Whether due to human error, hardware failure, or catastrophic events, you can rely on image backups to quickly recover and minimize losses.

Example:

Let's say your company has a critical production server in Beijing, while your branch factory is located in the Philippines. The server runs vital production systems and applications, including configurations, databases, and important work files.

One day, due to hardware failure or other issues, your server malfunctions and cannot operate normally. This leads to a halt in production, impacting production schedules and delivery times. To address this issue, you can rely on image backups and image clone:

Before the incident, regularly back up the server's image, including the operating system, applications, and databases.

When the server crashes or fails to boot, you can contact the branch factory in the Philippines and inform them of the issue.

From your remote location, you can send the most recent backup image file to the branch factory in the Philippines.The branch factory can then restore the image backup to a new server or a replacement hard drive.

Once the restoration process is complete, the server in the Philippines will have an exact replica of the original server, including the operating system, applications, and databases.

Production can resume without the need to reinstall and configure everything from scratch, minimizing downtime and ensuring continuity.

This example highlights the importance of image backups in critical situations. By having a reliable backup solution in place, businesses can quickly recover from system failures and minimize the impact on operations.(As shown in the figure below)

2.Comparison of Common Image Backup Tools(including Image Clone)

GHOST

GHOST is a typical file-based backup tool. It is a hard disk backup and restoration tool developed by Symantec Corporation in the United States for Windows/DOS environments. It supports various hard disk formats such as File Allocation Table (FAT) 16, FAT32, and New Technology File System (NTFS), allowing complete and fast backup of partitions or hard disks. As long as the hard drive is not damaged, any device running Windows/DOS can use GHOST for backup. GHOST is user-friendly and has become an essential tool for engineers to maintain devices. However, it has several drawbacks. GHOST does not back up free space, and it only supports recognized file systems, not special file systems like JFS or VXFS. It also cannot back up hard disk data managed by non-MBR partition table. Additionally, it cannot copy encrypted hard disks with features like password protection or disk encryption, nor can it recognize hard disks that use non-WINDOWS operating systems.

DDCOPY

DDCOPY is a professional hard disk cloning tool that operates in DOS mode under the Windows environment. It supports hard disks such as Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), Enhanced IDE, and Small Computer System Interface. By reading and writing the physical sectors of a hard disk, it achieves complete duplication between multiple hard disks, independent of the file system used by the hard disk or partition. When copying a hard disk using this method which backup image of hard drive, if the capacity of the source disk and the target disk is the same, there will be no data differences. If the models of the source and target disks are different, the smaller disk's capacity will be used as the reference.

Hard Disk Duplicator(Image Clone)

A hard disk duplicator refers to a device used for complete duplication of a hard disk, backing up all the data on the hard disk through physical replication. It can be used independently from a computer and directly connected to the hard disk's IDE or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment interface. Once the source and target disks are properly set, a full disk copy can be performed. Common copy methods include disk-to-disk, partition-to-partition, disk-to-partition, partition-to-disk, disk-to-file, and partition-to-file. The U-Reach PP281 Hard Disk Imaging Dual Interface Duplicator is a high-speed duplicator with a copying speed of 9 GB/min. It is recommended to use a hard disk with the same capacity for duplicating. If not available, a larger capacity hard disk than the one being copied can be used.

	PP281	Ghost	DDCOPY
Speed（MB/min）	24000	<1000	<1000
Convenience	Easy and convenient	Average	Average
Efficiency (Backing up a 30GB system)	A minute	Approximately 5 minutes	Approximately 120 minutes
Hardware Requirement	Standalone operation, no computer needed	Requires a computer	Requires a computer
Evaluation	Versatile	Widely used	Slow

For large imaging devices using UNIX systems, considering device stability and security, it is recommended to use a hard disk duplicator which is Image Clone. By directly copying a hard disk, in case of software failure or inability to access the system, you can simply replace the disk, resulting in higher efficiency.

3.UReach PP281 makes it easy for you to back up with disk images!

◉ Multi-source image management system

Built-in image management mode allows connection to a computer to create disk images through the duplicator. Multiple image files can be stored and centrally managed within the master disk, enabling operations such as accessing master source contents, modifying image file names, or deleting individual image files directly on PP281.

◉ Goblin Manager

Goblin Manager is the computer-based image file management software that comes with PP281. It allows you to extract GOB image files from the disk images or transfer GOB files from the computer to the disk images. It also enables the direct creation of GOB image files on the computer.

//PP281 backup and restore process//

Step 1: Backup the machine system with PP281 by creating a GOB image file.

Step 2: Connect PP281 to the computer.

Step 3: Transfer the GOB image file to the computer.

Step 4: Upload the GOB image file to the cloud via the network.

Step 5: Download the GOB image file from the cloud.

Step 6: Transfer the GOB image file to PP281.

Step 7: Restore the image file to the desired disk using PP281.

Step 1: Backup the machine system with PP281 by creating a GOB image file.

1.Select the first option of “Copy” “HDD->Image”

Create GOB image file for imaging.

2.Creating a GOB image file for a 30GB system in progress.

3.The production process is completed and took approximately one minute. The machine will generate a CRC verification code that can be used to check if the copy is correct.

Step 2: Connect PP281 to the computer.

1.Proceed to the 8th option "Link To PC" and press "OK" to confirm.

2.The screen will display "Link to PC" indicating that it is currently connecting to the computer.

Step 3: Transfer the GOB image file to the computer.

1.Open Goblin Manager (the image file management software for PP281) and select the hard drive.

2.Click on "Capture an image file" to start transferring the 30GB GOB image file to the computer.

3.Completed time : 4:22

Step 4: Upload the GOB image file to the cloud via the network.

1.Open Goblin Manager (the image file management software for PP281) and select the hard drive.

2.Upload completed in 20:00

Upload speed during the transfer.

Step 5: Download the GOB image file from the cloud.

1.Download the GOB image file from cloud storage.

2.Download completed in 10:00

Upload speed during the transfer.

Step 6: Transfer the GOB image file to PP281.

1.Open Goblin Manager and click on "Add an image file", then select the downloaded system GOB image file.

2.Start transferring the system GOB image file to the hard drive.

3.Completed time 4:00

Step 7: Restore the image file to the desired disk using PP281.

1.Select the second option of “Copy” “Image->HDD”

Restore system from GOB image file to HDD.

2.Choose the downloaded system GOB image file for restoration.

3.The production process is completed and took approximately one minute. The machine generates a CRC verification code to ensure that the data is 100% identical to the source.

4.Conclusion-Image Clone is a better way to backup system.

Image backups play a vital role in safeguarding your systems and data. By creating full system snapshots, image backups enable quick and comprehensive recovery in the event of a system failure, data corruption, or other critical incidents.

Investing in a professional backup tool that supports image-based backups, following best practices for backup management, and regularly testing your restoration process will help you maintain the integrity and availability of your systems.

Remember, prevention is key. Don't wait for a disaster to occur before taking action. Implement a robust backup strategy that includes image backups, and make it an integral part of your overall data protection plan. With proper image backups in place, you can face unexpected challenges with confidence, knowing that your systems and data are well-protected.

The most common failures in equipment workstations are application software failures and hard disk failures. Software failures occur more frequently and are often caused by user errors, software bugs, or other reasons that result in operating system crashes or loss of application program files, rendering the machine unable to function properly. The machine can be restored to normal operation by recovering the system.

Considering the stability and security of equipment operation, it is recommended to use a disk duplicator. By directly copying a disk, in case of software failures or inability to access the system, the disk can be replaced, resulting in higher efficiency.

We hope this tutorial will make it easy for you to back up with UReach PP281 disk images, especially for those who require system integrity. It can save you valuable time.