Linux

This may be true but it misses the heart of the matter, the ability to create a bootable backup of a linux system allowing the complete restore of the system to the same as it was when the backup was taken. Disks do not last forever and not everyone has the ability to install 2 disks and run a mirrored configuration. I can not speak for other versions but Fedora Core does provide an excellent raid 1 setup at the time of install. Its what I run only because there is no mksysb equivalent that I am aware of. If one disk fails then the system will continue to run and I can replace that disk at a time that is convenient to me. This is something that the developers or creators of the various versions of linux should consider doing and imbedding into their releases or adding as an update to existing releases. In AIX, its a script. I believe it is do-able but I don't have the skills. The linux community should push the developers for such a tool with both tape and dvd as the backup media. In AIX, I can create a bootable backup to either tape or DVD. I usually use tape but I can use both, boot from DVD and then point to tape for the restore of the OS. I might add that the same mksysb boot stops at a menu and one option will allow some repair work to be performed if there is filesystem corruption or jfs2 log problems that prevent a system boot. Linux has done a lot of maturing in the last 15 years and its making inroads into the windows community (its even become windows like). In order to become the dominant operating system, it needs more user friendly tools. One has to remember that the vast majority of windows users are computer illiterate and knowledgeable on a few applications which they use all the time. (Browser, video player, look at photos etc) Few can actually do anything of value at an OS level so linux has to be the same. You can not create a bootable backup of windows that I am aware of so a tool like this becomes a real plus. In discussions about Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, two of the positive comments that people say about AIX are SMIT and mksysb. (IBM, btw, has licensed SMIT to other vendors). I push this mksysb idea because its the right direction to be headed.

Bundling the ability to do bare metal restores with an enterprise Linux is unlikely, hence the existence of products like storix, syncsort, etc. There's a reason you pay more for AIX.

Perhaps this is the case yet Linux has a lot of great utilities built into it which AIX does not have. Every release of linux gets better and better going from a command line only os to something which is very windows like. It had to become windows like if it ever had any ambitions to displace MS products. Being open source, there are many outside developers who could add this added value to any of the linux variants. I am of the belief that the inside developers are best equipped to do this as they know their OS inside out. Also, there is no shortage of backup solutions for AIX like tsm and veritas and these are outside AIX and cost lots of $$$.
If the linux community pushes for utilities like linux mksysb, they will be created by the owners of the variant. If one does it, the others will follow.

I don't see how 'windows-like' relates to making disk images, Windows can't do it by itself. I also think you mean a GUI interface, not actual Windows behavior, with all the bugs, security holes, bad designs that implies, not to mention a lot of Windows interfaces are a very bad fit to a UNIX system.

But making disk images in UNIX is about as simple as it can get. Drives are files. You can copy from wherever you want, to wherever you want, with dd.

You are absolutely right in saying that being windows like has nothing to do with the point I asked. I was merely expanding on the fact that linux has matured from a command line interface to a Windows like interface (GUI as you prefer) and it had to do so if it has any ambitions to displace MS products. dd is a useful tool but it has limitations. I might ask how you would
dd to a dvdrw device (scd1 in my case)? I know it can be done to tape or to
another disk but this thread deals with dvd devices. My current backup strategy is to use tar to tape but tar has a 2.0 GB file size limitation and if I
ever have a file that is larger, I would have to use pax.
Let me reitterate that I believe that the ability to create a bootable backup to DVD of a linux system (the same as mksysb is to AIX) would be a real value add to any linux distribution and would help move linux one step closer in displacing MS operating systems. The fact that Windows can't do it is a drawback to Windows and not a comparison point. Think outside the box....

X-window GUI system has existed for years on *Nix. Windows did not invent it. Also, Linux' goals (they have none, it is a kernel, with the "GNU" userland) are not to displace anything. You have something free to modify to meet your needs. You can use it as you see fit. If you like it better than Windows, then great, it meets those needs. I see no reason to bring MS or Windows into this discussion about AIX and Linux

I do think there is something like this on sourceforge, but the name escapes me for the moment.