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>/