time to come clean... .

[Howard Jones]

On 4 Sep 2006, at 05:35, Gary Kline wrote:
>
> 	How can I automate the backup via rsync to other servers?

If what you want is a backup to the disk on a remote system (rather  
than a tape drive or whatever), then have a look at rdiff-backup:

http://www.howtoforge.com/linux_rdiff_backup

It uses the rsync protocol for sending only changed blocks, but saves  
the sent data to one side as well to make a 'transaction log'. You  
end up with a full copy of the current data (as you would with rsync)  
and a command to construct any previous version by applying the  
changes in reverse as necessary. I run this on a couple of dozen  
machines, mostly freebsd, with no problems. For things like web  
servers and DNS, the increments are pretty much that day's logs, so  
it is quite effective at saving space/bandwidth. The actual software  
is in ports (sysutils/rdiff-backup, I think). It also has the benefit  
that no special actions are needed to restore a single file - you  
just grab what you want.

Even if you don't fancy the software, the article also has the info  
you need to get a reasonably safe root SSH (limited by IP, and the  
command that can be run, AND the public key) going with public key  
authentication, which will help for rsync as well.

Howie