Tiny Core Linux/Reversion

A procedure for reverting an XO to pristine filesystem configuration, as if it had just been installed, using Tiny Core Linux.

Requirements

• an XO to act as a server,
• any number of XO to act as client to undergo reversion,
• a Tiny Core Linux bootable USB drive,
• a wireless or wired network.

Setup for Server

• install the required build but do not boot into it,
• boot into Tiny Core Linux,
• configure wireless:

iwconfig eth0 essid NETWORK

• install rsync:

su -c 'tce-load -wi rsync' tc

• mount the filesystems:

mount /mnt/mmcblk0p1
mount /mnt/mmcblk0p2

• create an rsyncd.conf file:

cat << EOF > /etc/rsyncd.conf
[p1]
        path = /mnt/mmcblk0p1
        uid = root
        gid = root
[p2]
        path = /mnt/mmcblk0p2
        uid = root
        gid = root

• start rsync daemon:

rsync --daemon

• identify IP address:

ifconfig eth0

Setup for Clients

• boot into Tiny Core Linux,
• configure wireless:

iwconfig eth0 essid NETWORK

• install rsync:

su -c 'tce-load -wi rsync' tc

(this step may be omitted by rebuilding Tiny Core Linux with rsync already installed)

• mount the filesystems:

mount /mnt/mmcblk0p1
mount /mnt/mmcblk0p2

• restore the filesystem to pristine state:

rsync --archive --compress --delete rsync://IP/p1 /mnt/mmcblk0p1
rsync --archive --compress --delete rsync://IP/p2 /mnt/mmcblk0p2

(where IP is the IP address or host name of the server)

Timings

Reversion of an XO-1.5 that had been booted once into 10.1.3 os860 cost 1m 30s.