BackupPC in Jail Webinterface

Janko

Dabbler
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Messages
31
Hi Guys,

i have a problem with the web interface of Backuppc.
I only see the user manual and not the admin interface.

Backuppc is installed as a plugin.
 

gt2416

Patron
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
262
Its a known issue. This is already reported as a bug.
Bug #48996
 

Janko

Dabbler
Joined
Nov 27, 2018
Messages
31
Hello gt,

a Webserver is running in the Jail but it shows only the Manual from Backuppc.
Did I misunderstand something?
 

gt2416

Patron
Joined
Feb 4, 2018
Messages
262
The webserver gui currently does not work, only the manual shows up. It's a bug
 

michaelcr79

Dabbler
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
17
Is there any resolution for this bug? I would really like installing BackupPC to be easy and I really want to get it up and running. I intend to use rsync to back up a Mac OSX 10.15 system and a CentOS 7 box as well as two Windows 10 systems.
 

michaelcr79

Dabbler
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
17
Blanchet,

I followed your guide and have access to the admin interface, but I'm trying to use rsync and it is refusing to back anything up. My target system is a CentOS 7 system. I have scp'ed id_rsa.pub to the root/.ssh/authorized_keys and passwordless root entry seems to work. I get:

2019-11-30 18:23:16 full backup started for directory /
2019-11-30 18:23:17 Got fatal error during xfer (No files dumped for share /)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Backup aborted (No files dumped for share /)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Removing empty backup #0
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_backupDelete: removing #0
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_backupDelete: No prior backup for merge
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_refCountUpdate: host eagle.roch.robinson-west.com got 0 errors (took 0 secs)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Finished BackupPC_backupDelete, status = 0 (running time: 0 sec)
 

michaelcr79

Dabbler
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
17
Having to create your own jail is awfully complex for something as critical as doing backups. I really want setup of backuppc to be much closer to push button among the available plugins of FreeNAS 11.2 U7.
 

blanchet

Guru
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Messages
513
BackupPC is a complex software but it is free and open-source. If you want something easier you can try Veeam Agent Free for Linux
It is very easy to setup, but unlike BackupPC, you have to install an agent on each computer.
 

blanchet

Guru
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Messages
513
Blanchet,

I followed your guide and have access to the admin interface, but I'm trying to use rsync and it is refusing to back anything up. My target system is a CentOS 7 system. I have scp'ed id_rsa.pub to the root/.ssh/authorized_keys and passwordless root entry seems to work. I get:

2019-11-30 18:23:16 full backup started for directory /
2019-11-30 18:23:17 Got fatal error during xfer (No files dumped for share /)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Backup aborted (No files dumped for share /)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Removing empty backup #0
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_backupDelete: removing #0
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_backupDelete: No prior backup for merge
2019-11-30 18:23:22 BackupPC_refCountUpdate: host eagle.roch.robinson-west.com got 0 errors (took 0 secs)
2019-11-30 18:23:22 Finished BackupPC_backupDelete, status = 0 (running time: 0 sec)

As I explain in my guide, BackupPC does not run as root but as backuppc .
Therefore you have to check that backuppc can login with the SSH key.

 

michaelcr79

Dabbler
Joined
Dec 1, 2018
Messages
17
How do I create an ssh key for the no home directory pseudo user backuppc on the server side? Why is backuppc a pseudo user in the first place?

How do I create a pseudo user on the Linux based client called backuppc? Do the user id's have to match on server and client? For example, if 300 is
the user id on freenas box does it have to be 300 on the Linux box? Is there anything different to set up a home directory for backuppc on the Linux side if backuppc is a pseudo user? How can a non root user client side on Linux back everything up?

Using a pseudo user and having to set this up manually is really advanced. Surely the bug in 11.2 can be patched out in 11.3? If I have to go to a lot of work to do a backup, too much work in fact, it won't get done. I appreciate the guide, but this needs to be made easier to be a realistic mission critical backup tool.
 

blanchet

Guru
Joined
Apr 17, 2018
Messages
513
I use BackupPC only with smbclient and Windows laptops: it is the more common setup. The rsync method for BackupPC is less popular because it works only with Linux clients and requires additional steps on the clients (see this link again):
  • You have to create a backuppc user on each client, and setup sudo to run rsync as root without password.
  • I do not think that UID must match
  • You can specify the path to the private SSH key in the rsync web interface into the variable RsyncSshArgs.

Nevertheless, if you prefer an easier solution try Veeam
  • for virtual machines (VMware or HyperV): use Veeam Backup
  • for physical computers or unsupported virtual machines: use Veeam Agent
Even the free versions are very capable and can be used for mission critical workloads. When you have more than 10 servers to protect, the paid versions become preferable.

Nevertheless, according to my experience, BackupPC is the best software to backup Windows laptops on a slow (100 Mbps) office network when laptops are connected only few hours per day on the office network.
 
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