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Frequently Asked Questions

Linux

Backup Scripts

How do I backup my Linux server using IBackup?

You can backup your Linux servers using IBackup scripts package, which is a bundle of perl scripts. To perform all your IBackup operations, download the scripts and follow the instructions provided in the readme.txt file.

Can I schedule backups from my Linux server?

Yes, you can schedule backups using scheduler.pl script.

My scheduled jobs are not running. What should I do?

IBackup cron service should be running for all scheduled jobs to work.

To verify status of the cron service,

  1. Run the 'account_setting.pl' script and verify whether the 'IBackup cron service' is running.
  2. If the service is not running, select the ‘Edit your account details’ option.
  3. Select 'Start/Restart IBackup cron service' option and follow the instructions to start the IBackup cron service

Is there any preliminary setting that needs to be done before I start my backup?

Yes, before starting your backup, ensure that you have provided appropriate permissions (executable permission) to the IBackup scripts.

When I restore data, the permissions and owner/group information is different from source. Why?

IBackup stores your data with a fixed owner/group and set of permissions that may be different from the original set of owner/group and permissions. After you restore data, ensure that the permissions and ownership information is modified appropriately.

Is there any simple way to backup MySQL database?

Follow the below steps to backup your MySQL database easily:

  1. Create MySQL database dump file using the following command:
    $mysqldump sample_database > /usr/local/mysql_sample_database

  2. Backup the database dump file using Backup scripts.

Why can't I see the 'Backup type' for my IBackup account?

For some IBackup accounts, users may be unable to see the 'Backup type' because the default backup type for these accounts is set as 'Mirror'.

How can I exclude files/folders from the backup set?

To exclude files/folders from the backup set,

  1. Run edit_supported_files.pl script.
  2. Select the option 'Edit Your Full Path Exclude List'. The 'FullExcludeList.txt' file will open in a text editor.
  3. Add full absolute path of the files/folders that you wish to exclude. Enter each item in a new line.
  4. Save and exit.

Example:
Your Backupset contains /home/Documents and if you want to exclude /home/Documents/temp, write this folder path ie: /home/Documents/temp in FullExcludeList file.

Can I exclude files/folders based on partial file/folder names?

Yes, you can exclude files/folders from backup set based on partial file/folder names.

  1. To exclude files/folders based on partial file/folder names,
  2. Run edit_supported_files.pl script.
  3. Select the option 'Edit Your Partial Path Exclude List'. The 'PartialExcludeList.txt' file will open in a text editor.
  4. Add the partial name of the files/folders that you wish to exclude. Enter each item in a new line.
  5. Save and exit.

Example:
Your Backupset contains /home/Documents and if you want to exclude all the pst files from this folder like /home/Documents/designtutorials.pst, /home/Documents/new.pst, /home/Documents/James/tutorials.pst etc then write "pst" in PartialExcludeList file.

How can I exclude files/folders based on regex pattern?

To exclude files/folders based on regex pattern,

  1. Run edit_supported_files.pl script.
  2. Select the option 'Edit Your Regex Exclude List'. The 'RegexExcludeList.txt' file will open in a text editor.
  3. Add the regex pattern of the files/folders that you wish to exclude. Enter each item in a new line.
  4. Save and exit.

Example:
Your Backupset contains /home/Folder01 , /home/Folder02, /home/FolderA, /home/FolderB. If you want to exclude all folders/files that contains numeric values in name ie: /home/Folder01, /home/Folder02 then write \d+ in RegexExcludeList file.

I am getting 'unable to find compatible binary' error during account setting script execution. How do I configure my account?

To configure your account,

  1. Download the zip file from the links below, based on machine architecture.
  2. Run Account_Setting.pl <full path of the downloaded zip file>
    e.g Account_Setting.pl '/home/user/Downloads/IBackup_Linux_64.zip'

  3. Follow the instructions provided to complete the configuration process.

How can I update IBackup scripts manually to newer version, if 'check_for_update.pl' is unable to update?

To update IBackup scripts manually to a newer version,

  1. Download the latest IBackup scripts package from IBackup website.

  2. Run check_for_update.pl <full path of the downloaded package>
    e.g. check_for_update.pl '/home/user/Downloads/IBackup_for_Linux.zip'

  3. Follow the instructions provided to complete the update process.

How do I uninstall IBackup scripts package?

Uninstalling the script package from your system will leave the files/folders of your system liable to digital disasters.

To uninstall the script bundle, run the below command and follow the instructions.
$./Uninstall_Script.pl

This script will automatically remove all package script files and other dependency files. It will also cleanup the scheduled backup/restore jobs if any.

What is Archive Cleanup?

Archive Cleanup compares the files of your local storage, selected for backup, with the files in your IBackup online backup account. It then deletes the files present in your account but not on your local machine. This feature thus helps you to free up space in your online backup account.

When you try to set periodic archive cleanup, you can change the number of days after which you would like to run archive cleanup and the percentage of the total number of files to be considered for deletion. This percentage-based control helps to avoid large-scale deletion of files in your account.

My local Express drive is not listed for selection. How can I get it listed?

The Express drive must be mounted on your Linux machine to get listed on the dashboard. If the connected device is not listed, then you need to manually enter a mount path to use the Express Backup.

 

 

Command Line Utility

Listed below are common queries relating to IBackup for Linux using command line utility. To get the exact syntax for your account, enter your username or email id.

Command Line Utility

Sample script to backup a mysql database securely to an IBackup account:

The following example assumes root or administrator privileges to run stunnel and that the script is readable only by the root or owner as it contains the account password information.

mysqldump sample_database > /usr/local/mysql_sample_database

export EVS_PASSWORD=ibackup_account_password

$ idevsutil --xml-output --pvt-key=enc_key --files-from=filelist / john@::ibackup/

Wherein the "filelist" (--files-from=filelist) should contain path of the mysql database file, that is "/usr/local/mysql_sample_database"

Is there a way to specify the base directory to be used on IBackup?

If you wish to specify a base directory on your IBackup account, for example, my_ibackup_root/server1/home/backup/, you can do so by creating a folder
/server1/home/backup in your IBackup account, using the browser interface.

Next, backup your data using the command line utility as follows:

$ idevsutil --xml-output --pvt-key=enc_key --files-from=filelist / john@<server address>::ibackup/server1/home/backup/

How do I backup my Linux server using IBackup?

Using IBackup Linux, you can backup your data following ways.

  1. Command Line Utility: This is a simple command-line interface that implements several command-line APIs, using which you can do Backup, Restore, Delete, etc operations.
  2. Backup scripts: This is a simple Perl based script, which implements command-line utility APIs to automate your backup operation.

How do I restore versions of a particular file?

The most recent 10 versions of a file are stored on your account and the same can be retrieved to your local computer from your account at any moment of time.

To retrieve the complete version history of a particular file use the below command.

The following code will retrieve version details of “Inventory.ldb” file:

$ idevsutil ---xml-output --version-info --pvt-key=enc_key john@<server address>::ibackup/Inventory.ldb

Sample XML output:

<item mod_time="2011/07/18 18:17:08" size="233423" ver="1"/>
<item mod_time="2011/07/18 18:17:14" size="233454" ver="2"/>
<item mod_time="2011/07/18 18:17:20" size="233485" ver="3"/>

Example:

To download the second version of a particular file (E.g. Archive.zip, office_invent.doc and Inventory.ldb files) to /Download folder…

Content of filelist file:

/Archive.zip_IBVER002
/office_invent.doc_IBVER002
/Inventory.ldb_IBVER002

_IBVER002: This is to inform the IBackup server to send second version of the file.

Code:

$ idevsutil --xml-output --pvt-key=enc_key --files-from=filelist john@<server address>::ibackup/ /Download/

When I restore data, the permissions and owner/group information is different from source. Why?

IBackup server stores your data with a fixed owner/group and set of permissions that may be different from original set of owner/group and permissions. After you restore the data, ensure that the permissions and ownership information is modified appropriately.

For this, create and store a separate document locally that has information on the ownership and permissions information of your data.

Is there a work around to the owner/permissions issue with command line utility for Linux?

Yes. Use the 'tar' command to compress all the 'files to be backed up' on the server into one file and then transfer it to IBackup for backup. The single file that tar generates (called a 'tar ball') preserves all the files with their permissions. Just un-tar it again to restore.

  1. To backup, go to the directory containing the files and
    tar cvpf *
    (this also takes in all sub directories as well)
  2. To see what is inside the tarball
    tar tvf <tarball-filename.tar>
  3. To extract the tarball tar xvpf <tarball-filename.tar>

How do I restore directories from my IBackup account to the local machine?

Use the syntax below to restore directories from your IBackup account to the local machine:

To download the folder (E.g. /Images, /Office doc, /Inventory ) to /Download folder…

Content of the filelist file:

/Images/
/Office doc/
/Inventory/

Code:

$ idevsutil --xml-output --pvt-key=enc_key --files-from=filelist john@<server address>::ibackup/ /<destination directory on local machine>/