Re: [rdiff-backup-users] my usage model assumptions

[Keith Edmunds]

> I've followed the directions for unattended rdiff-backup [1] but I
> notice they put the cron job on the server, instead of the client. 

I have been using rdiff-backup for a well over a year with the cron jobs
on the client rather than the server. It isn't hard to do - I used the
principles outlined in the 'unattended rdiff-backup' document. If you
have problems implementing this then shout and I'll see if I can help.

> 2.  I don't want the backup clients to be able to write anywhere
> arbitrarily on the server.

In principle, my setup is that the cron job on the client runs as root,
but runs on the server under a non-priv'd account. It is therefore
relatively simple to restrict writes to the client's own directory tree.

> 3.  rdiff-backup is a backup solution, not a VPN solution.  I've
> already secured my communication channel, so I find ssh to be
> unnecessary overhead.

This I have not done (although, coincidentally, I have an ssh-related
problem which means I'd like to avoid ssh for one of my clients.
However, rdiff-backup does have the '--remote-schema' switch which
should pave the way to achieving what you want. I'd be interested to
know how you get on, though.

Keith