On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 07:52:22AM -0600, Les Mikesell wrote:
> On 11/12/10 3:27 AM, McDonagh, Ed wrote:
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Luis Paulo 
> >> On Fri, Nov 12, 2010 at 01:39, higuita<higuita AT gmx DOT net>  wrote:
> >>>         i have a machine that have about 100GB of data to backup, via
> >>> ssh+rsync, but its network connection is about 1Mb, so it will take ages
> >>> to do even the first backup.
> >>>         i already have on the backuppc server one old backup of
> >>> that machine, done via plain rsync (not backuppc).
> >>
> >> I believe you may:
> >> 1- configure backup to make a backup of the 100MB on the
> >>    server. Do it once.
> >> 2- after that when you run the client machine's backup, files will be
> >> already on the pool (or cpool), and backup will be faster, smaller
> >> transfer.
> >>
> >> Yet to prove, though.
> > I think I am right in saying that this will only work if backuppc
> > thinks that both the local server and the remote one are the same
> > server. This is because backuppc/rysnc will only transfer files
> > that are different from the version it already has _for that
> > machine_. Once it has transferred the files, it later does a check
> > against the files it already has in pool or cpool, and if a
> > duplicate exists it creates a hard link and deletes the new copy.
> >
> > So just by having the files already in pool/cpool, you won't avoid
> > transferring anything.
> >
> > What you would need to do is set it up as if for the remote host,
> > then use the alias configuration option to point it at the local
> > one. Then once you have done a full backup, change the alias back
> > to the remote host.
> >
> > I think this is right, but it is only conjecture from reading
> > previous posts on here, so perhaps someone with better knowledge
> > can confirm or correct me!
> 
> Yes, the catch is that you have to make the files appear in the same
> location in the temporary host for the run and use the ClientAlias
> setting to make the backup access this host instead of the real
> target.  Once the initial copy is in place you can remove the
> ClientAlias and pick up with the differences from the real host.

Do you actually have to set them up at the same location? Can't you
just rename the directory on the backuppc server. E.G. if the backup
on the temporary host is taken from the directory /data/client/foo
that it should end up in:

  /backup-pc/pc/client.exeample.com/0/f%2data%2fclient%2ffoo

If that directory tree is located at /data/foo on the real client then
you should be able to rename that directory on the backup server to
be:

  /backup-pc/pc/client.example.com/0/f%2data%2ffoo

and have it work. Right?

As an aside it would be really nice to have a BackupPC_tarImport
command that takes a tar file on stdin and takes:

  hostname
  backup number
  directory path

that would put the contents of the tarball into:

  /backup-pc/pc/hostname/<backup number>/<encoded directory path>

and create the new file list and do all the cpool/pooling work.

That way this whole problem becomes:

   cd /data/client/foo
   tar -cf . | BackupPC_tarImport -H client.example.com -b 0 -s /data/foo

but alas no tarImport command yet. This would also work well for
importing other backup systems that can export their backups in tar
format. My guess is that the code for the tar path in BackupPC_Dump
could be adapted pretty easily to do this. Just need to find the time
to try it.

-- 
                                -- rouilj

John Rouillard       System Administrator
Renesys Corporation  603-244-9084 (cell)  603-643-9300 x 111

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