How to backup the remote files in Linux / UNIX
Q. How do I make remote backups under Linux? I’ve CentOS 5 Linux server located in remote data center and I’d like to backup it to local or another server?
A. Both Linux / UNIX come with handy tools to make secure remote backups. You can use tool called rsync for automating remote backups of your Linux, UNIX, Windows server, Mac OS X and BSD systems. rsync is a program with many more options and uses the rsync remote-update protocol to greatly speed up file transfers when the destination file is being updated.
Task: Copy files / backup files from remote Linux server
Let us say you would like to backup files from remote server called server.nixcraft.in and directory called /home/vivek to local directory called /backup, type the command as follows on local system:
$ rsync -avz -e ssh vivek@server.nixcraft.in:/home/vivek/ /backup
You need to supply password for vivek user.
Task: Exclude files from backup
You can also skip few files from backup. Let us say you don't want to backup all C source code file, enter:
$ rsync --exclude '*.cpp' -avz -e ssh vivek@server.nixcraft.in:/home/vivek/ /backup
Task: Automatic backup using a shell script
SSH always prompts for a password. To automate process via a shell script you need to remove password using SSH key i.e. generate passphraseless keys, enter (type at local system):
$ ssh-keygen -t dsa
When asked for to enter passphrase, just press [ENTER] key twice. Now copy public key to remote server:
$ scp ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub vivek@server.nixcraft.in:.ssh/authorized_keys
Now you can login without a password. For more information see - howto setup SSH with DSA public key authentication and RSA key authentication for password less login.
Now create a simple shell script as follows:
$ vi backup.sh
Append code:
#!/bin/bash
rsync --exclude '*.cpp' --exclude '*.log' -avz -e ssh vivek@server.nixcraft.in:/home/vivek/ /backup
Setup executable permission using chmod command:
$ chmod +x backup.sh
Use cron to command to backup remote server:
$ crontab -e
Make a backup everyday:
@daily /path/to/backup.sh
Save and close the file.
Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter or RSS feed to get all updates.
You can Email this page to a friend.
Related Linux / UNIX FAQ:
- How To Use rsync Command To Backup Directory Under Linux
- Howto install duplicity rpm under RedHat / CentOS / Fedora Core Linux
- Can I use tape drive with XEN VPS / Guest oses?
- Debian / Ubuntu Linux Install and Configure Remote Filesystem Snapshot with rsnapshot Incremental Backup Utility
- FreeBSD Install Applications
Discussion on This FAQ
Leave a Reply
We encourage your comments, and suggestions. But please stay on topic, be polite, and avoid spam. Please do not use the comment form to ask for help / question. Ask your question on the excellent Linux tech support forum. Thank you very much for stopping by our site!
Tags: authentication, backups, backup_files, crontab_command, dsa_public_key, files_backup, linux_server, remote_server, rsa_key, rsync, rsync_command, setup_ssh, shell_script, ssh_key, UNIX, vi_command ~ Last updated on: August 24, 2007
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Hello,
Does using rsync to back up Linux/Unix allow open files backup?
Margie