Replicator [1] is a set of Perl scripts meants to automate the replication of Debian GNU/Linux installations, ranging from Debian GNU/Linux Desktops to Cluster Computing servers.
It allows to install easily and in a few minutes the same software on various machines with potentially different hardware. Even further, it doesn't require any technical skills to do it.
To do this, it "copies" a running machine (called the "model") and adapts following a certain number of criterias you give it. This way, you only have to ensure the model is up-to-date and replicate it to the other PCs when needed. It can also just "update" the installation, not requiring a full installation.
It works by using rsync, and thus allows also for lightning-fast updates to the install, not full reinstallation needed when only a few changes took place since the installation.
[1] this page is pretty outdated, but the project is still alive, and we are still participating a lot
This article was first written in October 2003 for the BeezNest technical website (http://glasnost.beeznest.org/articles/79)
