I want to clone my linode server to a local vmware, I planned on using rsync to copy all the data into a vmware which runs a live cd of ubuntu onto the partition.
Does anyone recommend folders i should skip etc... since i want to keep the original boot info on the vmware not linodes.
I want a local copy of my linode to beat up on.
any other suggestions?[/quote]

These threads have raised the issue, but it seems like you are likely to have more success trying to run a local copy of your Linode under Xen.