Install BackupPC on CentOS
Source: https://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/BackupPC
System Setup
Setting up repos
The first thing to do is to install the CentOS testing repo, along with the yum-priorities plugin.
# cd /etc/yum.repos.d # wget http://dev.centos.org/centos/5/CentOS-Testing.repo # yum install yum-priorities
Follow the guide on the wiki for setting up [http://wiki.centos.org/PackageManagement/Yum/Priorities?highlight=(yum)|(priorities)|yum-priorities].
If you have RPMForge's repo installed, you'll want to make sure all the
CentOS Base items are priority 1, RPMForge's items priority 2, and
CentOS testing repo is priority 3. If you don't have RPMForge's repo
installed, then all the Perl packages will be downloaded from the
testing repo, otherwise, they will come from RPMForge. To setup the
RPMForge repo, follow the guide on the wiki for the [repo].
Install BackupPC
Next, install the BackupPC RPM, Apache, and mod_perl. All the Perl dependencies will be collected automatically.
# yum --enablerepo=c5-testing install backuppc httpd mod_perl
Configure Apache
As
mentioned, the BackupPC user created on the system when installing the
RPM has to run Apache in order for everything to work properly with the
CGIs and mod_perl. Go ahead and setup the appropriate values in
httpd.conf.
# vim /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf ## Change User apache to User backuppc User backuppc Servername backuppc.domain.com:80
Save and quit the file, then change the backuppc.conf file that was created under the conf.d directory.
# vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/backuppc.conf ## Change Allow from 127.0.0.1 to all Allow from all
Save and quit this file, and then create the user and password that you are going to allow access to the web interface.
# htpasswd -c /var/lib/backuppc/passwd/htpasswd your_user New password: your_password Re-type new password: your_password Adding password for user your_user
Last,
start and configure Apache to start up at boot time. Then browse to
your machine and make sure Apache is dishing out a test page.
# service httpd start # chkconfig httpd on
Browse to http://your_server and make sure Apache is working ok.
BackupPC Server Configuration
BackupPC Main Config
The
initial configuration needs to be edited on the command line with a few
parameters, and then later on the rest can be either done from the
command line, or from the web interface. To start, open up the main
BackupPC configuration file, and set the following parameters. The TopDir
path is where the actual backup data resides. The default is
/var/lib/backuppc. I have an encrypted partition used to store backups,
so my path is /srv/backuppc. Change to suit your needs.
# vim /etc/BackupPC/config.pl
## Default transfer method BackupPC uses.
$Conf{XferMethod} = 'rsync';
## Path to where actual backup data is stored.
$Conf{TopDir} = '/var/lib/backuppc';
## Path to init.d which is used to to start server.
$Conf{ServerInitdPath} = '/etc/init.d/backuppc';
$Conf{ServerInitdStartCmd} = '$sshPath -q -x -l root $serverHost$serverInitdPath start';
## Allowed user that you created using htpasswd.
$Conf{CgiAdminUsers} = 'your_user';
BackupPC Sudo Setup
The
backuppc user needs to have sudo access to run the gtar and tar
commands. Otherwise, BackupPC won't run correctly. Sudo should already
be installed on your system, so you can change what you need using the
visudo command.
# visudo ## Comment out Defaults requiretty ## Add the following two lines. Defaults !lecture backuppc ALL=NOPASSWD:/bin/gtar,/bin/tar
Save and quit the file, then restart Apache, start and configure BackupPC to start and turn on at boot time.
# service httpd restart # service backuppc start # chkconfig backuppc on
Open up a web browser and go to the BackupPC web interface at http://your_server/backuppc.
You'll need to sign on using the username and password you created
earlier, then you should be displayed a general server information page
about BackupPC. If not, retrace your steps and make sure Apache and
BackuPC are configured correctly.
BackupPC SSH Keys
Since
concentrating on rsync backups, you'll want to create passwordless keys
used for the backuppc process to connect remotely to your hosts being
backed up. As root create the hidden SSH directory under
/var/lib/backuppc and change the permissions accordingly.
# cd /var/lib/backuppc # mkdir .ssh # chown backuppc.backuppc .ssh # chmod 700 .ssh
Next,
drop in as the backuppc user. You'll have to specify a shell because by
default the backuppc user has no shell assigned to it. Then create the
passwordless SSH keys using ssh-keygen.
# su -s /bin/bash backuppc bash-3.2$ ssh-keygen -t dsa Generating public/private dsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_dsa): Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter same passphrase again: Your identification has been saved in /var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_dsa. Your public key has been saved in /var/lib/backuppc/.ssh/id_dsa.pub. The key fingerprint is: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx backuppc@host.domain.name
Server Key to Client
For
each client you're going to configure backups for, you'll need to copy
the key you created from the server over to the client. To do so,
continue from the last step, and run the ssh-copy-id command while still
logged in as the backuppc user on the server.
bash-3.2$ ssh-copy-id -i .ssh/id_dsa.pub root@host_to_backup
It should have copied the key over to the host, and then also logged you into the host with SSH.
Client Setup
BackupPC Basics
Before
you start using the web interface, let's explain a few basics about the
configurations and options used with hosts. Most other guides I read
left me bewildered from this aspect. The main configuration file you
edited earlier, located at /etc/BackupPC/config.pl, is where all the
defaults for BackupPC reside. This configuration file can either edited
on the command line, or through the GUI where documentation is linked in
to the options. When you log in to the web interface, you should see an
Edit Config tab on the left-hand side. When you click this, you're
actually editing the /etc/BackupPC/config.pl file. Until you read the
documentation, pretty much leave alone all the defaults options or
you'll find a non-working backup system pretty quickly.
While
the main configuration file is what sets all the defaults, you can
actually override these settings on a per-host basis. After you add a
host to the web interface, any configurations you add to the host
overrides the default. This then creates a separate directory,
/etc/BackupPC/pc/host_name.pl, file. This file contains all the settings
that are either changed, or different than what the defaults are from
/etc/BackupPC/config.pl. So for instance, what would be displayed in
these files would be the directories or excluded directories that are to
be backed up for the host that you set.
Unless
you are backing up the identical directories on all hosts, you'll want
to use the override feature to setup the directories after you create
the host. This is done on the Xfer tab with the RsyncShareName. Right below this setting, is the BackupFilesExclude where directories like /var/cache can be excluded from being backed up.
Under the main BackupSettings tab, you'll find the DumpPreUserCmd.
This allows you to use any kind of script to be specified, which is run
before the actual rsync of directories. For instance, if you have
databases that need dumped and included in the backups, they are
specified here. There already exists an AutoMySQLBackup from SourceForge, so this will be explained in the next section. The DumpPostUserCmd allows you run a command after the backup occurs, and the DumpPreShareCmd and DumpPostShareCmd allow you to runs scripts before and after the share of a dump. NOTE:
A lot of people seem confused about parameters in these settings. You
cannot treat the fields as command prompts or shells. Shell syntax is
not passed here, so if you have multiple commands or scripts to run, put
them in one script on the client side where they can be executed one
after the other.
Last,
the Schedule tab is where you setup how full and incremental backups
happen. You can either set this up at the default level in Edit Config,
or you can again override settings on a per-host basis. The default
setting is to keep only one full backup, and 6 incrementals. This gives
you a week's worth of backup. The FullPeriod is set for 6.97, which means every 7 days a full backup dump occurs. IncrPeriod is set to 0.97 which means that every day an incremental dump will occur. The IncrKeepCnt is set to 6 which gives you 6 days of incrementals and the other day of a full backup. You can also setup BlackoutPeriods, or times you don't want backups to occur. Every setting in here is explained by the documentation, so read up.
Add Client in Web Interface
Next,
add the client and all the configurations from within the web
interface. Click on the Edit Hosts tab and then the Add button. Fill in
the host's name that you want to backup, and then under the User
section, put backuppc as the user. This needs to be backuppc, because
the backup is launched as this user. It won't work otherwise. When
you're done, click the save button at the top. Click on the Host Summary
link on the left, and you should see your new host. To start
configuring the host settings, click on the host name, then a new
section at the top opens. Click on Edit Config at the very top left-hand
side under the host's name.
From
here, everything you setup will override the default settings thereby
storing them in the /etc/BackupPC/pc/host_name.pl file. Click on the
Xfer button, and start adding directories under the RsyncShareName. Below this setting in the Include/Exclude area, enter anything in BackupFilesExclude
that you want excluded. When finished, make sure you click save at the
top. This is pretty much it for adding a host. If you select the host,
you can then manual start and stop backups to see if they work.
By
default, BackupPC wakes up every hour around the clock to see if hosts
need queued up for a backup. To change this behavior, look under the
Server configuration tab under EditConfig. Change WakeupSchedule to suit your needs.
Dumping Databases
To
include a database dump in BackupPC on the host being backed up, you
have two choices. First, write your own script that is run on the host
prior to the dump. Second, you can use the AutoMySQLBackup script
project found on SourceForge
to dump your MySQL databases. With some basic editing to the script,
you can easily make it work for PostgreSQL databases too. To get
started, download the script from [http://sourceforge.net/projects/automysqlbackup|SourceForge].
Copy the script to somewhere like /usr/local/bin on the host you are
wanting to backup. I generally rename the script to reflect the host
name for which the dump is going to take place. This step isn't
necessary, and only done for logic's sake. You do have to make sure that
the script is executable, however.
# scp automysqlbackup.sh.2.5 host_name:/usr/local/bin # ssh host_name # mv automysqlbackup.sh.2.5 mysql_hostname_dump # chmod +x mysql_hostname_dump
The
script is heavily documented for what all the options do. Make sure to
go through and read it once so you understand what the script is doing.
AutoMySQLBackup connects to and dumps all the databases you specify to
/backups, e-mails you if you set it up, and also does rotational steps
to make sure you have a set of database dumps.
Make
sure to fill in USERNAME, PASSWORD, and the DBNAMES. If you want
mailing setup, configure it as the directions state in the script. It's
pretty basic to configure, so once you have the options set up
correctly, go ahead and run the script once manually on the host being
backed up. You can then see if the /backups directory was created, and
whether or not the dump occured.
# cd /usr/local/bin # ./mysql_hostname_dump ....tons of output...or errors...fix accordingly. # cd /backups # ll
You
should see a directory structure as daily, weekly, and monthly with all
your database names in a directory of their own inside these. You can
traverse these to locate the actual .sql.gz files which are your
databases.
Add DumpPreUserCmd to BackupPC Host
Now that the dump script is set up physically on the host, configure the DumpPreUserCmd
in BackupPC's web interface with the command to SSH to the host being
backed up and execute AutoMySQLBackup. Select a host in the web
interface, and then choose the EditConfig tab at the top left-hand side. Choose the BackupSettings tab and go down under the User Commands section. The very first line is DumpPreUserCmd. Add the following line in this section.
$sshPath -q -x -l root $host /usr/local/bin/mysql_hostname_dump
Choose save at the top, and then head over to the Xfer tab for the host. Make sure you add the /backups directory to the RsyncShareName,
otherwise the dumps will never be copied off the host. That's it, now
your host's MySQL databases are being dumped prior to the BackupPC rsync
of directories. As mentioned, you can easily edit AutoMySQLBackup to be
a AutoPostgreSQLBackup script. Just replace all the MySQL syntax with
PostgreSQL commands and options.
BackupPC's Other Capabilities
As
mentioned, BackupPC can also backup SMB shares, use tar for backups,
and archive backups to other media. The appropriate documentation of
BackupPC explains each.
$Conf{XferMethod} = 'rsync';
The valid values are:
- 'smb': backup and restore via smbclient and the SMB protocol.
Easiest choice for WinXX.
- 'rsync': backup and restore via rsync (via rsh or ssh).
Best choice for linux/unix. Good choice also for WinXX.
- 'rsyncd': backup and restore via rsync daemon on the client.
Best choice for linux/unix if you have rsyncd running on
the client. Good choice also for WinXX.
- 'tar': backup and restore via tar, tar over ssh, rsh or nfs.
Good choice for linux/unix.
- 'archive': host is a special archive host. Backups are not done.
An archive host is used to archive other host's backups
to permanent media, such as tape, CDR or DVD.
If
you're looking to backup Windows hosts, then you'll want to use either
SMB, creating shares on the Windows machines, or search the Internet for
how to use rsync and Cygwin on Windows. That is beyond the scope of
this article. Otherwise, have fun backing up machines.
Backing up Windows Hosts with autofs
An
alternative way to backup Windows hosts would be use autofs, which is a
tool for automatically mounting and unmounting filesystems. If you're
looking to do remote backups, then this isn't the way for you, since
this would be best used on a local trusted network. Passwords are stored
on the BackupPC server in files. If you have Windows PCs and servers
internally on your networks, though, this method works great since it
doesn't require installation of software or clients on the Windows
machines. Instead it uses Samba shares on Windows machine to
automatically mount filesystems when asked.
Configure autofs
The
autofs package should already be installed on your Linux server. The
first thing to do is add a seperate file to handle the Windows hosts,
along with the options you want passed along when automounting Windows
hosts. Open up /etc/auto.master and add these.
# vim /etc/auto.master /windows /etc/auto.windows --timeout=30 --ghost
These
options tell autofs to use /windows as the base mount point, get all
Windows autofs hosts from /etc/auto.windows, use an inactivity timeout
of 30 seconds, and create ghost (empty) directories of the mount point.
This means that after 30 seconds of inactivity on the mount point, it
will unmount the share, and since the empty directories will be there,
you can't remove them when they are not mounted.
Next, add a host to the auto.windows file with the appropriate options you need.
# vim /etc/auto.windows machinename -fstype=cifs,ro,credentials=/etc/.autofs.smbpasswd ://machinename/C\$
This
line means mount "machinename" using cifs with read-only access.
Generally, you probably don't want anything other than read-only access,
since you're only backing up files. The key file stores the samba user
name and password allowed to make the mount. Last, use the C drive as
the mount point. If you have Windows installed on another drive, or you
have data on another drive letter, just use it.
Add
the key file with the proper credentials needed to mount samba shares.
You probably don't have to have the domain name added in, as it should
still work without it.
# vim /etc/.auto.smbpasswd username=DOMAIN/username password=password # chmod 600 /etc/.auto.smbpasswd
That's
pretty much it to configuring it. Restart the autofs daemon and try
mounting your share now. When you navigate to the directory it will
automatically mount your samba share on your Windows machine. As long as
you're in the mounted directory, it will stay mounted. As soon as your
leave the directory, the timeout of 30 seconds will start, and then your
share will unmount itself.
# service autofs restart # cd /windows/machinename # mount //machinename/C$ on /windows/machinename type cifs (ro,mand)
Configure BackupPC to use autofs host
Go
ahead and add a host the way you already have been doing within
BackupPC's web interface. There aren't many differences between adding
normal Linux hosts and the autofs Windows hosts. Basically, the big
difference is that you don't need to use SSH to access the host, since
you're mounting the Windows filesystem locally on BackupPC.
After you add the host, navigate to Edit Config -> Xfer. Change the following rsync commands:
RsyncClientCmd = $rsyncPath $argList RsyncClientRestoreCmd = $rsyncPath $argList
Now,
under your share names to backup, you can use the same formatting as
with normal Linux servers being backed up. If you wanted to backup a
directory with spaces in them, type them as you see them. Removing the +
at the end of $argList+ deals with handling escaping better since this
is locally backing up, and not backing up across SSH, at least that's my
understanding.
RsyncShareName = /windows/machinename/backup RsyncShareName = /windows/machinename/Documents and SettingsThat should be it. You should start to see your Windows directories being backed up now.
Source: https://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/BackupPC
