Infrastructure/Backup

Goals of the Backup Plan
We have a few servers we need to backup some at Duke University, some at the colo facility in Pheonix. Currently there is 34 GB of data backed up.


 * CVS repos, But this will also include what ever VCS that gets implemented in the future.
 * Databases there is some mysql and postgres databases that have scripted backups,  we just need to pick up the dumps.
 * wiki, The fedora wiki needs backing up.
 * some other data on various servers.
 * need to ensure that linux ACL support is included.
 * security in the backup. Preferably ssh tunnel,  if not stunnel,  but not a vpn setup.
 * possibly /home on NetApp but this would need quota limits imposed 5-10MB would be a good starting quota
 * Weekly full backups and daily incrementals, keep 4 weeks worth of backups.

Current Options
 amanda 

Pros - Cons -
 * ssh support
 * Uses standard Unix tools, don't need client to restore  can use tar and dump
 * Requires client on each machine
 * complex configuration

 bacula

Pros - Cons -
 * stunnel for security
 * Verification of files previously cataloged, permitting a Tripwire like capability
 * Saves and restores POSIX ACLs
 * Access control lists for Consoles that permit restricting user access to only their data
 * built in email reporting.
 * not currently in Fedora
 * requires a daemon to be running on each host (though can be worked around with nfs)
 * needs either postgresql, mysql or sqlite for backup database
 * differentail and incremental backups are done on time stamps only. files moved in to backup tree with older timestamps will not be backed up

 backuppc 

Pros - Cons -
 * Completely web based (for backups and restores)
 * Very easy to use
 * Can create individual configs on a per host basis or one global config for all hosts
 * Stores identical files as hard links on the file system to save space
 * Has ACL support on a per host basis (Would integrate well with our current Account system or a future one)
 * Supports RSYNC over SSH (we won't have to install client software on the machines to get it to work)
 * Perl based
 * Perl based :-D
 * Probably slower than other solutions
 * Not currently packaged for Fedora

 rdiff-backup 

Pros - Cons -
 * uses ssh
 * easily does differential backups
 * written in python
 * uses rsync
 * supports ACL's
 * no need for any daemons (
 * command line restores
 * no pretty configuration setup
 * command line restores
 * rdiff-backup needs to be installed on all machines

 rsync and scripts 

Pros - Cons -
 * simple to setup
 * currently in place
 * can use ssh
 * harder to scale
 * simple to mis-configure and waste disk space