[TriLUG] usb boot a storage server

[John Jones]

>a regular distro doesn't make special provisions 
>to accommodate frequently written files (like in /var) which will eventually 
>kill flash memory.


Very true.  Some time ago, I downloaded Slax linux, which is based on Slackware.  It is specifically made to run on a USB key, and it looks fantastic.  It boots off of a bootable CD and has an installation program that allows you to install it to the USB key.  It has modules that you can download and install onto the key to run certain services, I think I had to do this to install Samba on the system that I installed it on.

The early version that I used had a few glitches that were not too difficult to get around.  And if you really want to customize it, I found that I had to mount the compressed volume (it works like Knoppix) and edit the file system from there, then unmount and recompress the volume.  The interesting thing about this setup is that it adds an extra layer of protection in case the system ever got hit by something.  If a root-kit were installed, it would only affect the ramdisk file system, and would most likely not go after the compressed volume.  After a reboot, it would be gone.

I went with this system after a user here "roasted" her hard drive by having a space heater aimed at her feet, which happened to be right in front of her machine.  After a few days/weeks of this heat-treatment the hard drive decided to give up the ghost.  Now the usb key is up on the table, thanks to a usb cable and is out of harms way.

The system has worked well for nearly a year now.  The only service it has running is Samba in order to share her printer.

About every six months, I make a backup of the USB key.  IIRC, you can simply boot up on the USB key and add another USB key to the system before booting up.  Then select the install feature.  The install feature will copy itself (your modified USB key) to the new key.  The only glitch is that my version does not correctly add the boot program, so I had to run my own syslinux on it after performing the install.  Also, creating it on the same hardware you are going to be using really helped a lot.

http://slax.linux-live.org/

HTH.

-John Jones