rsync - Dec 2005 - -b and --backup-dir options, should backup-dir be INSIDE the sync'd folder?

I''m using rsync to keep 3 copies of a folder named
''sync'' synchronised.
There is one remote copy, and two machines that I work on that have local
copies. I try to always upload work from one machine to the remote copy
before doing some work on another machine, otherwise I just merge things
manually.

Here is my entire rsync command for backing up from either of the work
machines to the remote host:

rsync -r -b --backup-dir=backup --delete -z -i --progress sync/ user@host
:sync/

In particular I am passing rsync these two options:

-b --backup-dir=backup

This caused rsync to create, on the remote machine, a folder named backup
inside the folder sync. I was a little worried about the backup folder being
inside the sync folder. But indeed rsync seemed to copy into this backup
folder any files from the remote end that got changed or deleted during a
synchronisation. So far, as expected. Then (after successive
synchronisations over time) rsync started creating backup folders insider
the backup folder (recursively). It looked like on each synchronisation
rsync moved the current remote backup folder to remote:sync/backup/backup
(and did this recursively so that an existing /backup/backup folder becomes
/backup/backup/backup/, and so on) and then it puts any new backup files
into sync/backup/. Okaaay... so it''s maintaining multiple backups,
good, but
I said to myself that I would have to go into the remote host every now and
then and delete some of the older backups so I don''t go over my quota.
In
further runs of rsync I noticed however that it was deleting things from the
backup folders. It seems as if it''s maintaining a set number of
backups,
three of four deep or something (I just checked and it goes five deep on my
remote host right now, to backup/backup/backup/backup/backup/), and
automatically deleting backups older than that. Am I right? Or have I done
something wrong with my command?

Also I noticed that when I ''checked out'' a copy of the remote
folder onto a
new machine and then used rsync to backup back to the remote host, it copied
every single file. I think this may be because I should have ''checked
out''
the copy in the first place using rsync with the --times option? i.e. when
rysnc''ing from a remote host to the local machine, you should pass -t
so
that the times are preserved in the new files on the local host? And that
option should be used every time you rsync either to or from the remote
host?

Finally when running backups from this new machine, rsync keeps feezing. At
different points in the backup it just freezes for a long time and I
eventually have to kill it. I have verbose output on but that shows nothing,
the output just stops coming. It seems to be perfectly safe to kill rsync in
mid-run and then re-run the command and hope it works. Is this safe?

Thanks
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On Thu, Dec 29, 2005 at 03:37:01AM +0000, Sean Hammond
wrote:
> I''m using rsync to keep 3 copies of a folder named
''sync'' synchronised.
You might want to check into using unison for that (or even using a
version control program, such as cvs).
> rsync -r -b --backup-dir=backup --delete -z -i --progress sync/
user@host:sync/
You''d be better off putting the backup dir outside the transfer by
using
something like --backup-dir=../backup .  If that is not possible, you
should exclude the backup dir from the deletion pass (and also from the
files being copied) by using:

    --exclude=/backup
> Also I noticed that when I ''checked out'' a copy of the
remote folder onto a
> new machine and then used rsync to backup back to the remote host, it
copied
> every single file. I think this may be because I should have
''checked out''
> the copy in the first place using rsync with the --times option?
Yes, that would do it.  You need to either always use -t (to make the
quick-check always work) or use -c (which is a better but slower check
to find the files that have actually changed).
> Finally when running backups from this new machine, rsync keeps feezing.
I wonder if that might be caused by rsync deleting a file in the backup
dir over and over again.  You can use a command such as strace on the
program to know for sure.

..wayne..

On 12/30/05, Wayne Davison <wayned@samba.org>
wrote:
>
> On Thu, Dec 29, 2005 at 03:37:01AM +0000, Sean Hammond wrote:
> > I''m using rsync to keep 3 copies of a folder named
''sync'' synchronised.
>
> You might want to check into using unison for that (or even using a
> version control program, such as cvs).


Meh. rsync does the job well enough, I just wrote scripts for it.

> rsync -r -b --backup-dir=backup --delete -z -i --progress sync/ user@host
> :sync/
>
> You''d be better off putting the backup dir outside the transfer by
using
> something like --backup-dir=../backup .  If that is not possible, you
> should exclude the backup dir from the deletion pass (and also from the
> files being copied) by using:
>
>     --exclude=/backup


Thanks.

> Also I noticed that when I ''checked out'' a copy of the
remote folder onto
> a
> > new machine and then used rsync to backup back to the remote host, it
> copied
> > every single file. I think this may be because I should have
''checked
> out''
> > the copy in the first place using rsync with the --times option?
>
> Yes, that would do it.  You need to either always use -t (to make the
> quick-check always work) or use -c (which is a better but slower check
> to find the files that have actually changed).

Yeah, that seems to work.


> > Finally when running backups from this new machine, rsync keeps
feezing.
>
> I wonder if that might be caused by rsync deleting a file in the backup
> dir over and over again.  You can use a command such as strace on the
> program to know for sure.
>
Maybe, I guess. But it didn''t look like it. I had verbose mode on, and
it
appeared to keep freezing part way through uploading a file. But it was a
different file every time I ran it. If it happens again I''ll
investigate
further.

Anyway, I basically started again, downloaded a new copy of the folder using
the --times option, and now it seems to be working fine.

I''d just like to thank everyone involved for the rsync program.
It''s a very
useful little tool, it''s helping me keep my work safely backed up with
barely any effort and I expect I''ll be using it throughout my three
years of
study.

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