Disk Cloning - Golden Image Approach (Early DevOps Technique)
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The Golden Image approach uses a pre-configured master system (golden image) that is cloned to other systems for fast setup - but it has major limitations.
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- Before automation tools existed, setting up the same OS and app requirements on many machines meant configuring each one manually.
- Disk cloning solved this by copying the entire hard disk of a prepared machine to others.
- Golden Image = the master system with all software, updates, and settings pre-installed (a “template” machine).
- After creating the golden image, a disk cloning tool copies it to other machines.
Examples of disk cloning tools
- Clonezilla
- Norton Ghost
- Acronis True Image
- Macrium Reflect
Drawbacks of the Golden Image approach
- Hardware dependency - Cloned disks may fail if target machines have different hardware (driver and compatibility issues).
- Painful updates - Updating OS/software means re-creating and re-cloning the golden image.
- Slow provisioning - Preparing the golden image (initial setup) and copying it to each machine takes time.
- Hard backups & rollbacks - Managing many full disk copies is storage-heavy and inefficient.
