rsnapshot

rsnapshot is a filesystem snapshot utility based on rsync. rsnapshot makes it easy to make periodic snapshots of local machines, and remote machines over ssh. The code makes extensive use of hard links whenever possible, to greatly reduce the disk space required. ¹

Installation

rsnapshot can be installed with the Pakfire WebGUI or via the console:

pakfire install rsnapshot

Usage

There is no web interface for this add-on. To run this add-on open the client console or terminal and access the IPFire box via SSH.

To obtain a list of possible commands, options, and arguments enter rsnapshot help. The output is similar to this:

$ rsnapshot help
rsnapshot 1.4.5
Usage: rsnapshot [-vtxqVD] [-c cfgfile] [command] [args]

rsnapshot is a filesystem snapshot utility. It can take incremental
snapshots of local and remote filesystems for any number of machines.

Options:
    -v verbose       - Show equivalent shell commands being executed.
    -t test          - Show verbose output, but don't touch anything.
                       This will be similar, but not always exactly the same
                       as the real output from a live run.
. . .

Example: Local backup of IPFire device

1. Format as ext4 and mount an external drive using Extra HD
   • Example: mount point of /mnt/hdd
2. Create a new directory for the repository
   • Example: mkdir --verbose --mode=777 /mnt/hdd/rsnapshot
   • this directory is snapshot_root from the /etc/rsnapshot.conf file
3. Make your changes to the /etc/rsnapshot.conf file.
   • especially the snapshot_root /mnt/hdd/rsnapshot/ line
4. Run this command to check the /etc/rsnapshot.conf file:

rsnapshot configtest

Changes to fcron are made as part of the rsnapshot add-on install (i.e., fcron.hourly, fcron.daily, fcron.weekly, fcron.monthly)

Once the external drive is connected and the snapshot_root is correctly set, rsnapshot will begin backups per the BACKUP LEVELS / INTERVALS in the /etc/rsnapshot.conf file.

Troubleshooting

Do you see an error like this in the /var/log/messages log?

rsnapshot[nn]: /usr/bin/rsnapshot -c /etc/rsnapshot.conf sync: ERROR: rsnapshot refuses to create snapshot_root when no_create_root is enabled

This indicates there may be an issue with the snapshot_root. The directory may not be created or may be misspelled. Or the external drive may not be mounted.

Links

• rsnapshot home page
• HowTo for rsnapshot
• github - rsnapshot