Is cloning to a new OS possible?
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This is more of a curiosity question than anything, but I was wondering how hard it would be to clone an MM install with dependencies to a new machine with a different OS.
I’m trying out a few Linux distros, as I have a media server that’s currently running Windows 10. Windows is regularly updating, and the updates need more and more computing power. This obviously slows the server down for no benefit to me, so a switch seems to be in order.
I have my existing MM installations running on my main PC through virtualisation, so every time I need to reboot or shut down, my mirrors get shut down too. Again, this obviously isn’t helpful.
I’m thinking of switching to one of the Debian or Ubuntu variants (probably Xubuntu), and cloning my mirrors would be the easiest way to keep my existing setup.
Has anyone done anything like this in the past, or have any thoughts on the process, or the Linux options etc?
While help and advice would be welcome, I’ve put this thread in general discussion so that it can be used for a chat about the ideas, rather than focussing on how to do it.
Let me know what you think
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@tippon clone is ok, but. you will have to do npm install in all the places where there is a package.json file
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@tippon To speed reinstall - I have my config.js and custom.css symlinked to a common location outside the MagicMirror tree, and a bash script setup to clone and npm install every module I use, and reinstall the symlinks.
easy peasy…
My system backs that up nightly to a private github repository, and bam quick and dirty way to get my system back running when my pi crashes.
The "E" in "Javascript" stands for "Easy"
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@sdetweil said in Is cloning to a new OS possible?:
@tippon clone is ok, but. you will have to do npm install in all the places where there is a package.json file
I had a feeling it would be something like that. At that point I may as well do a fresh installation and just copy the config.js over. No chance of missing a module’s dependencies then, or adding in a module that’s been commented out but not removed, for example.
@bkeyport said in Is cloning to a new OS possible?:
@tippon To speed reinstall - I have my config.js and custom.css symlinked to a common location outside the MagicMirror tree, and a bash script setup to clone and npm install every module I use, and reinstall the symlinks.
easy peasy…
My system backs that up nightly to a private github repository, and bam quick and dirty way to get my system back running when my pi crashes.
That’s a good point, I didn’t think about using it for a backup. I’ve got Github set up, but I haven’t got into the habit of using it properly yet.
A symlink would be really helpful for the MMM-Cryptocurrency module too. Someone’s made some mods to the MMM-Cryptocurrency.js to add functionality. It’s not merged yet, and that’s beyond me for now, so keeping the modified file outside of the folder would stop me from accidentally wiping it.
I might try for a best of both worlds approach - fresh installations on the Xubuntu system, then set up some scripts.
Thanks both
