Remote Backup

Secure Off-site Linux Server Archiving Backup

AFFA stands for; Automatische Festplatten FernArchivierung

• AFFA is secure: All transfers and connections are made by using the SSH protocol with public/private key authentication
• Periodically runs unattended full backups. Only differences to the previous full backup are transferred over the network
• Using rsync with optional bandwidth limit and compression allows backups over the internet
• Uses hardlink technique, i.e. physical disk space only needed for the differences between two full backups
• Keeps a configurable number of scheduled, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly full backup archives
• Interrupted jobs continuing with already transferred data when restarted
• Backups the default e-smith directories, files and databases, when property SMEServer is set to yes
• Additional directories and files can be included
• Directories and files can be excluded from the backup
• Non-SME server linux systems can be backed up by setting the SMEServer property to no and using an include list
• In ESXi mode, running virtual machines can be backed up.
• Configurable nice level for rsync processes on the backup and source server
• Optional run of custom programs before and after a job run (e.g. running tape backup)
• Checks the disk space left after a job run with warning levels strict, normal or risky
• Extensive checking of failure conditions
• Sends failure messages to a configurable list of email addresses
• Sends a warning message, if the backup server runs out of disk space
• Installs an optional watchdog on the source server in case the backup server fails (SME Server only)
• Watchdog sends warning, if an expected backup did not run (SME Server only)
• Watchdog sends a daily reminder message, if the error continues unchecked (SME Server only)
• Option to display current status of all jobs showing times of last and next run, size and disk usage
• Status can be mailed on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule
• Option to display all existing archives of a job shown date, number of files, size and bytes transferred from the source
• Option to send (and revoke) the public key to the source server (SME Server and ESXi only)
• Option to ‘Rise’ the backup server to a production server from a backup (SME Server only)
• The Rise feature does not physically move data and therefore is extremely fast and needs (almost) no extra disk space
• Rise option can be run remotely as the NIC driver configuration of the backup server are preserved
• Compares installed RPMs on source with backup server. Sends warning message, if not in sync
• Undo Rise option to restore the backup server
• Logs to /var/log/affa/JOB.log and /var/log/affa/affa.log with optional debug switch for higher verbosity
• Log files are rotated weekly, with 5 logs kept