[TriLUG] OSS Backup software and mulitple OS clients - Got it working

[Roy Vestal]

Well, I got it working.  And once it's setup, it's quite nice. I'm going 
to set this up to backup to a NAS.

Here are the nuts and bolts:

- CentOS 4.3
- Compiled Bacula 1.38.11. Note - Could not get the rpms to work, nor 
the src.rpm to recompile without having to barf the libs , so don't mess 
with the rpms or src.rpm. Compile from the tarball or roll your own rpm.
- PostgreSQL 7.3 ("stock" in CentOS)
- Windows Client 1.38.11

The secret is in the sauce....err, config files.  The documentation is 
clunky, but if you poke around, you'll find it. The big file to learn is 
the bacula-dir.conf file. Once you learn its syntax, you're golden. 
Also, the password in the "client" section(s) (one per client) have to 
match the clients bacula-fd.conf file password. However, the password in 
the bconsole.conf file has to be the bacula directors password. Check 
out the authrntication errors FAQ for a pretty little diagram. The 
password functionality is not altogether straight forward.

The Windows client has a nice restore feature, all gui for my Windows 
users, and restores the files to any dir you wish on the Windows 
machine. You don't have to back it up to the bacula server then move it 
if you wish.

All in all, I like this product BETTER than Amanda/Zmanda, BackupPC, and 
CWRSync backups I've used for cross platform. Just my personal opinion, 
not a flame.

Oh, and Mac guys, supposedly the linux client will run in Fink. I don't 
have a Mac (yet) so I cannot test that.

Anywho, My recommendation for OSS is to use Bacula....until something 
better comes along!

Roy