The Network Security Toolkit includes the dvd-rw-tools package which allows you to burn DVDs using the dvd+rw-format and growisofs commands. This brief section will demonstrate how one can use these two commands to backup data from a Windows system (my wife's laptop).
For this experiment, the following equipment will be used:
Table 4.1. DVD Burning Equipment
| Component | Manufacturer | Model |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | vpr Matrix | 200A5 |
| DVD+RW | Lite-On | 4X LDW-451S |
| USB 2.0 Enclosure | MWAVE? | USB2.0 3.5"/5.25" DEVICES EXTERNAL (AA17570) from http://www.mwave.com/ |
In this experiment, we will also be testing the USB 2.0 capabilities of the Network Security Toolkit distribution. Trust me. You don't want to think about burning much data with a USB 1.1 interface.
Note
At the time of this writing, it is assumed that the Network Security Toolkit CDROM will be booted from a drive other than the one used to burn the DVD. Were this not the case, the necessary executables and libraries would need to be copied from the Network Security Toolkit boot CDROM to the RAM disk so that the Network Security Toolkit boot CDROM could be ejected from the drive. This process involves the use of the ldd command on the dvd+rw-format and growisofs commands to determine what needs to be transferred. Eventually, a script will be provide for this situation - but the developers don't currently have the equipment to try it out on yet.
After booting the Network Security Toolkit and logging in, the DVD burner is plugged into a USB 2.0 port on the laptop and the following commands are issued:
Figure 4.2. Burning a DVD with growisofs
[root@probe root]#insmod ntfs
[root@probe root]#mount -t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/ntfs
[root@probe root]#du -s /mnt/ntfs/Documents\ and\ Settings/876751 /mnt/ntfs/Documents and Settings
[root@probe root]#cdrecord -scanbusCdrecord 2.0 (i686-pc-linux-gnu) Copyright (C) 1995-2002 J?rg Schilling Linux sg driver version: 3.1.24 Using libscg version 'schily-0.7' scsibus0: 0,0,0 0) 'MATSHITA' 'CD-RW CW-8121 ' 'AZ20' Removable CD-ROM 0,1,0 1) * 0,2,0 2) * 0,3,0 3) * 0,4,0 4) * 0,5,0 5) * 0,6,0 6) * 0,7,0 7) * scsibus1: 1,0,0 100) 'LITE-ON ' 'DVDRW LDW-451S ' 'GSB6' Removable CD-ROM 1,1,0 101) * 1,2,0 102) * 1,3,0 103) * 1,4,0 104) * 1,5,0 105) * 1,6,0 106) * 1,7,0 107) *
[root@probe root]#growisofs -Z /dev/scd1 -R -J -m "Temporary*" \ "/mnt/ntfs/Documents and Settings"... Lots of output ...
[root@probe root]#
| This command makes sure the NTFS file system module is loaded. |
| This command mounts the NTFS file
system on the laptop and maps it to
|
| This command checks to see how much space is used by
the directory we plan to back up. The
|
| This command helps us locate the device name to pass
to the growisofs command. The first
device found is the
DVD/CDRW drive built
into the laptop (this would be
|
| This command actually forms the ISO
image and burns it to the DVD. The
|
Now that we've burned the DVD, let's check that we can read it. We'll do this by mounting it and checking to see if we see the names of the users of this computer in the top level directory.
[root@probe root]#mount -t iso9660 -o ro /dev/scd1 /mnt/cdrom1[root@probe root]#ls /mnt/cdrom1All Users erik megan pkb BB443B11-7D12-450c-9F85-2D32804655F9 Guest NetworkService rr_moved Default User LocalService Owner [root@probe root]# du -s /mnt/cdrom1 654717 /mnt/cdrom1[root@probe root]#umount /mnt/cdrom1[root@probe root]#eject scd1[root@probe root]#
If you've just removed the shrink wrap from your new DVD+RW disk, its likely that you'll need to format it prior to using growisofs. The following demonstrates they type of error message the growisofs command may issue if you attempt to use it on a unformatted disk, followed by the dvd+rw-format command necessary to format the disk:
Figure 4.3. Formatting a DVD+RW Disk
[root@probe root]#growisofs -Z /dev/scd1 -R -J /mnt/ntfs/tmpExecuting 'mkisofs -R -J /mnt/ntfs/tmp | builtin_dd of=/dev/scd1 obs=32k seek=0' :-[ LBA=0h, SENSE KEY=5h/ASC=30h/ASCQ=10h ] :-( write failed: Input/output error[root@probe root]#dvd+rw-format /dev/scd1* DVD?RW format utility by <appro@fy.chalmers.se>, version 4.2. * 4.7GB DVD+RW media detected. * formatting 73.3/\[root@probe root]#
This section has only touched on some of the capabilities of the dvd-rw-tools package. Hopefully its enough for those of you with DVD burning equipment to get started.
While writing this section, several discoveries were made and additional questions asked:
The laptop used in the experiment was able to boot the Network Security Toolkit CDROM directly from the USB 2.0 enclosure. This is sure to be system dependendent, but opens up some future possibilities.
It was possible to burn the Network Security Toolkit ISO image to a DVD+RW disk and boot from the DVD.
The dvd-rw-tools package allows one to "grow" (add to) an existing DVD. This warrants future investigation as to whether it would be possible to burn the Network Security Toolkit to a DVD+RW disk such that one would have the option of saving settings.
We only backed up the
Document and Settingsdirectory on the Windows XP system in question. This seemed like a reasonable thing to do - the majority of user documents seemed to be found under this directory (similar to /home in the Unix world). There may be other critical directories and files on a Windows box that should be backed up.We only experimented with DVD+RW media. Would using DVD+R, DVD-RW, or DVD-R media present any issues?