Remote rsync host (superseded)¶
Superseded by newer technology
Rsync has been superseded by newer cloud backup destinations, and we strongly recommend using one of them instead (see Cloud Backup). Customers with older environments can continue to use rsync with the version of BackupAssist they have, but without technical support, which ended in November 2023.
File Protection jobs can use rsync hosts as a backup destinations. This allows you to back up across the internet to a remote host set up by yourself or a service provider. This section explains the rsync destination options available when you edit an rsync backup job. These options are on the Destination screen: to show it, edit your backup job and then select Destination from the list on the left.
For more rsync options, see Edit Job : Rsync options (superseded)
Rsync host options¶
Below is a list of the settings sections that are available for the rsync host.
Rsync Server options¶
Rsync server
Input the Rsync server name or IP address directly in the Rsync Server field.
When backing up to a NAS device you need to specify both the server name of the NAS, as well as the backup path where the backup files should be stored.
Server type
Choose the Rsync Server type using the available drop-down menu:
BackupAssist supports three types of Rsync server modes:
- Rsync over SSH – encrypts all communication “over the wire”
- Rsync Daemon – non-encrypted transfer for servers running Rsync in Daemon mode.
- Rsync daemon over SSH tunnel - provided for backups to certain standalone NAS devices.
Where possible, we recommend Rsync over SSH. Rsync Daemon mode is only provided for compatibility reasons, in order to support devices or Rsync Servers that do not have SSH enabled.
For SSH communication, we use a public / private key method of authentication meaning that you will only be asked for your password once (when registering with the server), and your public key will be uploaded to the server, enabling BackupAssist to log into the server in the future in a secure, password-less manner. For more information on public / private key authentication, visit the following Wikipedia article.
For Daemon mode, your password is stored in encrypted format by BackupAssist and provided every time the backup runs. When running in Daemon mode, traffic will be unencrypted. For this reason, we recommend that you only use this closed network environments, such as LANs or WANs connected by a secure VPN. Note that VPNs inherently encrypt communication between nodes, so using Rsync in Daemon mode over a VPN is still secure.
Port
This field is for the Port number for your Rsync Server
Path on server
This field is for the backup path by typing it directly into the Path on server field.
Username
This field is for the Rsync username and password (Rsync daemon connection only) generated when setting up your Rsync server and click Register with server.
For instructions on how to set up a Rsync Server, see Rsync host setup
Register with server
If you change your host details, you will need to re-register the backup job with the rsync host . You will be prompted to enter the password. BackupAssist will then create a public/private key pair to authenticate you to the data host.
Seed backup
Seeding is the process of performing your first (and full) backup to your Rsync Server. Rsync backups are in-file delta incremental backups, where only data that has changed since the last backup is transferred to the Rsync Server.
The first time an Rsync backup runs, no data will exist on your data host so a full backup of all selected data is required. Performing a full backup via a slow Internet connection, however, may not be practical, so you may want to use this option to “seed” your data via a USB HDD, which can be physically transported to the data host and uploaded locally from there.
Once the initial seed to the data host is complete, each successive backup will be an in-file delta incremental backup of only data that has changed.
To seed the your data to a portable media
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Connect a USB HDD or an equivalent portable media to the machine running BackupAssist.
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Click the Seed backup button and select the location of an empty folder on your portable media.
Once the seed is complete, your portable media should contain a:
- Directory with the backed up data
- README.txt file containing instructions on how to copy the backed up data to your Rsync server
- .sh script file, which is used to complete the copy of data to your Rsync server:
Transport the USB HDD containing the seed to the site where your Rsync server is located and connect the device to this machine.
For a Windows server (assuming the seed is located on E:\SeedFolder)
To copy the seed to your Rsync server:
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Go to Start menu > CopSSH > Start a Unix BASH shell
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Enter the following command: bash "
/cygdrive/e/SeedFolder/seed.sh"For a Linux or Unix server (assuming the seed is located in /mnt/usbdrive/SeedFolder)
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Run the following command in your shell: bash "
/mnt/usbdrive/SeedFolder/seed.sh"
A complete seed of your data should now be copied to your rsync server. Each successive backup from now on will be an in-file delta incremental backup of only data that has changed.
Note
If you enable or disable encryption for your Rsync job using the Manage > Rsync options section, BackupAssist will need to "re-seed" your backup to the Rsync backup destination with a full set of data (i.e. the next backup will be a full backup regardless of how many files have changed).
Note
These instructions are contained in the README.txt file located on your USB HDD
Test connection
Click Test connection to ensure that your Rsync server has been correctly configured
Single instance store¶
Enabling Single Instance Store
Single Instance Store is enabled by default, which is the recommended setup. To disable/enable Single Instance Store:
Uncheck or check Use the Single Instance Store.
Note
Single Instance Store is disabled a duplicate of each file will be stored in every backup set and each duplicate will take up separate disk space. Backups will take longer to complete and use more disk space.
About Single instance store
Single Instance Store is only available in the File Protection engine. If Single Instance Store is enabled only one unique copy of each file will be stored on your backup device. Single Instance Store is similar to an incremental backup, because only new or modified files are actually copied to your backup device each time a backup runs after the initial full backup. This saves both time and disk space.
The powerful difference of Single Instance Store, however, is that the process is totally transparent. If no previous backup exists on the backup device BackupAssist will first perform a full backup of the selected files and folders; but for future backups, if files are modified or new ones created, such changes will be merged into a new and complete backup set on your backup device, rather than the creation of a smaller set of just the modified and new files. So you will see a complete list of all files selected for backup within each backup set, even though only one unique copy of each file actually exists in terms of disk space on your backup device. In other words, the same file can appear within four different backup sets, but still only be stored once on the backup device.
With each backup set looking like a complete full backup, restoration is easy and does not require any proprietary software. If Single Instance Store is enabled you can potentially keep hundreds of day's worth of backup history with minimal storage requirements; and because each backup only copies new or modified files, backups are extremely fast.
Media Usage Report options¶
The media usage report is part of the overall report generated for each backup. It outlines how much disk space has been used by backups on the backup destination and how much free space is available using totals and percentages.
Depending on the destination you are backing up to as well as the number of backup sets that are present, the media usage report can take several minutes to generate.
The Warn when backups exceed [90%] of the total capacity of the destination setting allows you to set a threshold that will add an additional condition to the backup report if the backup usage goes over that value.