Re: [PLUG] rsync + ssh question

[Will Dyson <will_dyson@pobox.com>]

epike@isinet.com wrote:
> rsync + ssh question:
>
> scenario:  
>
> 1. backing up an important server on the internet (server A);
> 2. server could potentially house huge amoutns of info (large disk!)
> 3. I have cable access at home, and I want to mirror
>    server A.

Do you really need a live mirror of the server, or do you only want a set 
of off-site backups? If the latter, I suggest this nifty little tool: 
<http://www.nongnu.org/duplicity/>. It takes incremental backups using the 
rdiff algorithm (same as rsync uses) and uploads them to a backup server 
via scp. I've been using it to backup my personal machine for a few weeks now.

The advantage over rsync is that since everything is kept inside tar 
files, you do not need root on the backup host in order to preserve the 
permissions, timestamps, etc. You only need to have a null-passphrase key 
for an unprivaleged user.

Of course, if you really need a mirror, then User Mode Linux is probably 
the ticket. Run a UML instance as an unprivaleged user, give out a key to 
the UML instance's root, not yours. The UML's filesystem is just a regular 
file on your disk.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and just a reminder. If someone malicious gets root on server A, they 
can still go and delete your mirror even if they can't do the same to your 
personal files. You already have some kind of offline backups somewhere, I 
hope.

--
Will Dyson
"Back off man, I'm a scientist!" -Dr. Peter Venkman

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