I recently decided to implement an automated regime of backup
(I tended to favour manual backups previously quite simply because there
wasn't that much to backup). Below are some of my research notes.
BackupPC
Usability
issues obviously that are similar to some of the issues that I've been
facing working on a personal project. It feels like they've done a one
to one translation of what's in the configuration file to the web
interface and even though it works well it just feels a little rough
around the edges. My expectations of user interface design is such that
in most cases (especially consumer class applications) software should
not require you to read a manual. In this case, though it seemed as
though the some of the labels were confusing/contradictory and the only
way to debug was to resort to the CLI. Setup was simple. Install using
repo.
- chkconfig backuppc on
- service backuppc start
- service httpd start
- cd /etc/BackupPC
- htpasswd -cmb apache.users backuppc backuppc
- /etc/BackupPC/config.pl is actually a valid Perl file. Configure as required
- su -s /bin/bash backuppc
- ssh-keygen -t dsa
- ssh-copy-id -i .ssh/id_dsa.pub root@host.domain.com
It
uses DNS to resolve 'viable hosts' and NetBIOS multicast thereafter. If
all else fails though there is a fallback option to change the
resolution mechanism via the config file via changes in parameter for
the 'nmblookup' command. May need to change MAIL environment variable
since by default 'backuppc' account has no configuration files and
environment variables setup (I had to because I switched from ~/Maildir
to /var/log/mail/*). Use /etc/aliases to forward email to another
address. Documentation needs a bit of work. Some parts are skimmed over
while others are quite verbose. Had some protocol mismatch issues when
backup process was initiated. rsync man page indicated that it may be
related to configuration files that may have been located (ssh
remotehost /bin/true > out.dat to debug. If it contains non-zero
material than obviously there are issues that need to be fixed. You see
an error relating to only a certain amount of data being able to be
received in the /var/log/BackupPC/* log file/s which is also viewable in
the web interface.)
Massive performance issues on an i3
with 4GB once the backups started. The desktop environment actually
began to suffer significant latency issues with the mouse cursor
actually skipping halfway across the screen a number of times. Had to
kill process eventually. Looked at other options such as using a
different protocol and changing protocol (other than rsync). Thought
about using a solution based on cpulimit, http://cpulimit.sourceforge.net/
that I built a while back (to deal with a similar issues with bacula and other pieces of software) which would basically act like an ABS brake
on CPU utliisation and also automatically changing priority for the
process via scripts. Further research indicated that this issue has been
alleviated or fixed in subsequent revisions of BackupPC though.
Bacula
Prefer this solution over others because while its not
perfect its still not a full blown backup solution that can can be
unwieldly to deal with. I remember using bacula and there used to be
some inexplicable errors in the database catalogue as well as some
backup failures that couldn't be explained without delving overly deep
into logfiles. Over time I figured out how to deal with them and
achieved a perfect backup schedule but to be honest I just wanted a
guarantee to know that it would work. One thing I did like about it
though was the bconsole CLI interface. Single point from which to deal
with mount/unmount/restore/backup of data.
Lightweight Options
Considered other lightweight (and even desktop) options
such as rdiff-backup/backintime (basically a bunch of scripts) but a bit
unwieldly and also didn't have the logging and diagnostics that
BackupPC/bacula and other systems had.
Cloud/Filesystem Options
Have thought about cloud based and filesystem based
solutions but have backed away for security/bandwidth reasons and would
prefer to not to rely on the filesystem only.
http://freenuts.com/top-10-free-cloud-storage-services-for-you-to-back-up-and-sync-files/http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/cloud-computing2/top-ten-free-cloud-services
Amanda
Remember Amanda from
a while back. Had half configured it previously (basic setup in an
experimental environment for possible use in production). This time I
decided to do a more complete setup with 'virtual tapes/slots' in a
'virtual multi tape changer machine' setup. Installed using repos and
copied relevant xinetd.* file to xinetd.d and ran the following as
indicated in crontab sample file.
amcheck -m DailySet1
amdump DailySet1
Had "amanda client 10080 ack timeout fedora" errors. Packaging
was slack. Provisions weren't made in xinetd.d/* files in order to
properly locate amindex and other file/s causing port 10080 service not to be
started. Perhaps it was just the 64-bit version?
Need to create 'virtual tapes/slots' under '/var/amanda/vtapes/slot?'
/dumps/amanda used as temporary storage prior to dumping to (in this case virtual) tape.
amtape
amlabel
/var/lib/amanda/.amandahosts works in a similar way to .rhosts bypass file to control who and which servers can backup/restore.
'strings /var/amanda/vtapes/slot0/* | less' gives you
'dd if=* bs=32k skip=1 | gzip -dc | tar -xpGf -'
Not pretty, even if you're doing it the 'proper way'.
amrecover
amrestore
As
an aside, I restored to the /tmp directory. Somehow the permissions
were erroneous which led to issues with Gnome (dealt with by setting
correct permissions on /tmp directory). All the more reason to setup a
seperate restoration area.
Logging layout could be streamlined. Spread out over a many different
files and directories. Makes it easier to spot a particular time frame
but complicates things. 'ls -al/multitail' are your friends here.
Long in the tooth and it shows. However, there does seem to be an
effort to modernise judging by the website/Wiki. Zmanda (updated
version of amanda with a web based management console) should definitely
be at the back of your mind if you ever think of about using amanda.
http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch20_:_The_Apache_Web_Server
https://www.cloudwards.net/best-server-backup-solutions/
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/
https://www.cloudwards.net/best-server-backup-solutions/
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
http://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com.au/
