GNU/Linux

In a GNU/Linux system, the dd command must be used. This is a UNIX command that makes it possible to copy raw data, particularly adapted for copying on peripheral devices (in command line).

$ dd if=my_file of=my_USB_key bs=1M

The main options are as follows:

• if=input file: reads this input file. This may be a file or a peripheral device. In this case, it is the restoration disk image.
• of=output file: writes this output file. Likewise, this may be a file or a peripheral device. In this case, it is the USB drive.

For any further information:

$ dd –help
$ man dd

First, identify the destination USB drive for the copy. USB drives are generally mounted in Linux using the name "sdX" where X corresponds to a letter. The first USB drive connected and detected is named "/dev/sda". The second drive is named "/dev/sdb", and so on.

Other peripherals may also be mounted under this name – SCSI or SATA disks, for example. As the “dd” command makes raw copies, use it with caution.

IMPORTANT
Select the destination peripheral carefully - it must match the target USB drive. In our example, the USB drive ID is "/dev/sda". Replace this ID with your own.

Step 1: clear data on the USB drive

Erase all data from the USB drive.

$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=1M

This command will fill the USB drive with zeros.

Step 2: start copying

Start copying the downloaded disk image to the USB drive. Locate the path of the disk image. This is the input file to be written on the drive.

EXAMPLE
home/user/Desktop/USBKEY2.img
- or -
home/user/Desktop/usb-recovery-sn3kxa94f0035a8.img

Next, copy the disk image.

EXAMPLE
$ dd if=/home/user/Desktop/USBKEY2.img of=/dev/sda bs=2M
- or-
$ dd if=/home/user/Desktop/usb-recovery-sn3kxa94f0035a8.img of=/dev/sda bs=2M

Once the copy is complete, the USB drive is ready to be used; unplug it.

Continue to the section Cabling SNS firewalls and booting on a USB drive.