Re: [BackupPC-users] Backup backuppc pool with rsync offsite

Dennis Blewett <dennis.blewett AT gmail DOT com> wrote on 02/22/2011 10:17:29 PM: > 13,849 items, totalling 3.8 GB > > It would appear that I have a feasible number of files. I'm not sure > how many more files I will have by the end of April, though. > > I've read about that "rsync -H" would be a practical command to use > on the backuppc folder. > > What I'm also curious about is if I should be rsyncing any other > files, thus allowing me to restore from the offsite backup in the > case I lose everything and rebuild a backuppc configuration: I would > attempt to rsync back to my computer with the new backuppc > configuration and attempt to restore/recover said files.

Please Google this and read the results: this question has been asked dozens of times, and always boils down to the same points. I will sum it up *briefly*:

* For most people, rsync does not work to replicate a backup server effectively. Period. I think *no* one would suggest this as a reliable ongoing method of replicating a BackupPC server. Ever.

* The best methods for this boil down to two camps:
1) Run two BackupPC servers and have both back up the hosts directly
No replication at all: it just works.
2) Use some sort of block-based method of replicating the data

* Block-based replication boils down to two methods
1) Use md or dm to create a RAID-1 array and rotate members of this array in and out
2) Use LVM to create snapshots of partitions and dd the partition to a different drive
(I guess 3) Stop BackupPC long enough to do a dd of the partition *without* lVM)

You may have a dozen different comments on why you want to use rsync, how much better and easier it would be, why a block-based clone doesn't do what you want, how cumbersome and annoying it would be, etc. etc. That is *all* well and good, and nearly all of us would agree with you--except for the fact that an rsync of the pool just doesn't work in the vast majority of cases.

Tim Massey


Out of the Box Solutions, Inc. Creative IT Solutions Made Simple! http://www.OutOfTheBoxSolutions.com tmassey AT obscorp DOT com		22108 Harper Ave. St. Clair Shores, MI 48080 Office: (800)750-4OBS (4627) Cell: (586)945-8796

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