Configuring and Using Dirvish for Snapshot Backups

Jason Boxman

Revision History
Revision 1.012005-07-17Revised by: jab
Changed example cron usage so dirvish-runall follows dirvish-expire as a single entry as suggested by Stephen Anspach
Revision 1.02005-03-25Revised by: jab
Added section on installing Dirvish, dependencies, and cronjob
Revision 0.82005-03-22Revised by: jab
Added information on expire-rule and using dirvish-locate
Revision 0.72005-03-17Revised by: jab
Added section for advanced Dirvish features and basic vault security options
Revision 0.62005-03-03Revised by: jab
Spell checked document, a wise decision
Revision 0.52005-03-02Revised by: jab
Finished SSH transport section, polished introspective, added resources
Revision 0.42005-02-26Revised by: jab
Added information on SSH transport, default.conf, and practical considerations
Revision 0.32005-02-20Revised by: jab
Rewrote portions of the master configuration section and consolidated information about client backup options.
Revision 0.22005-02-19Revised by: jab
Wrote of the master configuration and snapshot methodology.
Revision 0.12005-01-09Revised by: jab
Created initial document.

Exploration of Dirvish, a featureful wrapper around rsync, for creating and managing snapshot backups of data transferred over a variety of transports.


Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Intended Audience
1.2. Copyright and License
1.3. Disclaimer
1.4. Feedback
1.5. New Versions of this Document
2. Introspective: What's a Snapshot Backup?
2.1. Contrasting With Traditional Tape Paradigm
2.2. Anatomy of a Snapshot Backup
2.3. Practical Considerations
3. Installing Dirvish
3.1. Obtaining Needed Dependencies
3.2. Obtaining and Installing Dirvish
3.3. Setting up a cronjob
4. Configuring Dirvish for Snapshot Backups
4.1. Reviewing the Master Configuration
4.2. Bank and Vault Organizational Possibilities
4.3. Assembling Your Configuration
4.4. Defining default.conf
4.5. Backup Security Measures
5. Configuring Your Transport: ssh and local
5.1. ssh Transport
5.2. local Transport
6. Using Advanced Dirvish Features
6.1. Using pre- and post- Scripts
6.2. Using Expire Rules to Tweak Snapshot Lifetime
6.3. Locating Files for Restore with dirvish-locate
7. Links and Resources