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Problem:

How to do a 1:1 copy of a disk on linux?

Solution:

dd bs=4k if=/dev/SOURCE of=/dev/DESTINATION conv=noerror,sync

This will make a 1:1 copy directly into the destination device, you should be aware that both devices should have the same size, so make sure you know which one is the source and destination in order to avoid catastrophic fail.

For your enjoyment, you can also make a iso image:

dd if=/dev/SOURCE of=/path/to/image.iso

Source:

E-How (Spam Warning)

Problem:

How to know if the disk i/o is too high?

Solution:

There’s a couple of tools you can use for this, mainly:

vmstat , iostat, svmon, lslv, filemon

More Info:

IBM