1REAR(8) [FIXME: manual] REAR(8)
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6 rear - bare metal disaster recovery and system migration tool
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9 rear [-dDsSvV] [-r KERNEL] COMMAND [-- ARGS...]
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12 Relax-and-Recover is the leading Open Source disaster recovery
13 solution. It is a modular framework with many ready-to-go workflows for
14 common situations.
15 Relax-and-Recover produces a bootable image. This image can repartition
17 the system. Once that is done it initiates a restore from backup.
18 Restores to different hardware are possible. Relax-and-Recover can
19 therefore be used as a migration tool as well.
20 Currently Relax-and-Recover supports various boot media (incl. ISO,
22 PXE, OBDR tape, USB or eSATA storage), a variety of network protocols
23 (incl. sftp, ftp, http, nfs, cifs) for storage and backup as well as a
24 multitude of backup strategies (incl. IBM Tivoli Storage Manager, HP
25 DataProtector, Symantec NetBackup, EMC NetWorker, Bareos, Bacula,
26 rsync, rbme). This results in a bootable image that os capable of
27 booting via PXE, DVD/CD, bootable tape or virtual provisioning.
28 Relax-and-Recover was designed to be easy to set up, requires no
30 maintenance and is there to assist when disaster strikes. Its
31 setup-and-forget nature removes any excuses for not having a disaster
32 recovery solution implemented.
33 Recovering from disaster is made very straight-forward by a 2-step
35 recovery process so that it can be executed by operational teams when
36 required. When used interactively (e.g. when used for migrating
37 systems), menus help make decisions to restore to a new (hardware)
38 environment.
39 Extending Relax-and-Recover is made possible by its modular framework.
41 Consistent logging and optionally extended output help understand the
42 concepts behind Relax-and-Recover and help debug during development.
43 Relax-and-Recover comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see
45 the GNU General Public License at: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
46
48 GLOBAL OPTIONS
49 -d
50 debug mode (log debug messages to log file)
52 -D
54 debugscript mode (log every function call)
56 -r KERNEL
58 kernel version to use (by default use running kernel)
59 -s
61 simulation mode (show what scripts rear would include)
63 -S
65 step-by-step mode (acknowledge each script individually)
67 -v
69 verbose mode (show progress output)
71 -V
73 version information
74 COMMANDS
76 checklayout
77 check if the disk layout has changed since the last run of
78 mkbackup/mkrescue
79 dump
81 dump configuration and system information; please run this to
82 verify your setup
83 format
85 format and label USB or tape media to be used with rear;
86 first argument is the USB or tape device to use, eg. /dev/sdX or
88 /dev/stX
89 help
91 print full list of commands and options
92 mkbackup
94 create rescue media and backup the system (only for internal backup
95 methods)
96 mkbackuponly
98 backup the system (only for internal backup methods) without
99 creating rescue media
100 mkrescue
102 create rescue media only
103 recover
105 recover the system; can be used only when running from the rescue
106 media
107 validate
109 submit validation information
110 Use rear -v help for more advanced commands.
112
114 The process of bare metal disaster recovery consists of two parts:
115 · Recreate the system layout
117 · Restore the data to the system
119 Most backup software solutions are very good at restoring data but do
121 not support recreating the system layout. Relax-and-Recover is very
122 good at recreating the system layout but works best when used together
123 with supported backup software.
124 In this combination Relax-and-Recover recreates the system layout and
126 calls the backup software to restore the actual data. Thus there is no
127 unnessecary duplicate data storage and the Relax-and-Recover rescue
128 media can be very small.
129 For demonstration and special use purposes Relax-and-Recover also
131 includes an internal backup method, NETFS, which can be used to create
132 a simple tar.gz archive of the system. For all permanent setups we
133 recommend using something more professional for backup, either a
134 traditional backup software (open source or commercial) or rsync with
135 hardlink based solutions, e.g. RSYNC BACKUP MADE EASY.
136
138 The OUTPUT variable defines how from where our rescue image will be
139 booted and the OUTPUT_URL variable defines where the rescue image
140 should be send to. Possible OUTPUT setting are:
141 OUTPUT=RAMDISK
143 Create only the Relax-and-Recover initramfs.
144 OUTPUT=ISO
146 (Default) Create a bootable ISO9660 image on disk as
148 rear-$(hostname).iso
149 OUTPUT=PXE
151 Create on a remote PXE/NFS server the required files (such as
152 configuration file, kernel and initrd image
153 OUTPUT=OBDR
155 Create a bootable OBDR tape (optionally including the backup
156 archive). Specify the OBDR tape device by using TAPE_DEVICE.
157 OUTPUT=USB
159 Create a bootable USB disk (using extlinux). Specify the USB
160 storage device by using USB_DEVICE.
161 When using OUTPUT=ISO, RAMDISK, OBDR or USB you should provide the
163 backup target location through the OUTPUT_URL variable. Possible
164 OUTPUT_URL settings are:
165 OUTPUT_URL=file://
167 Write the image to disk. The default is in /var/lib/rear/output/.
168 OUTPUT_URL=fish://
170 Write the image using lftp and the FISH protocol.
171 OUTPUT_URL=ftp://
173 Write the image using lftp and the FTP protocol.
174 OUTPUT_URL=ftps://
176 Write the image using lftp and the FTPS protocol.
177 OUTPUT_URL=hftp://
179 Write the image using lftp and the HFTP protocol.
180 OUTPUT_URL=http://
182 Write the image using lftp and the HTTP (PUT) procotol.
183 OUTPUT_URL=https://
185 Write the image using lftp and the HTTPS (PUT) protocol.
186 OUTPUT_URL=sftp://
188 Write the image using lftp and the secure FTP (SFTP) protocol.
189 OUTPUT_URL=rsync://
191 Write the image using rsync and the RSYNC protocol (SSH only).
192 OUTPUT_URL=sshfs://
194 Write the image using sshfs and the SSH protocol.
195 OUTPUT_URL=null
197 Do not copy the ISO image from /var/lib/rear/output/ to an external
198 destination. Useful in combination with an external backup program,
199 or when BACKUP_URL=iso://backup
200
202 Currently Relax-and-Recover supports the following backup methods.
203 Please distinguish carefully between Relax-and-Recover support for 3rd
204 party backup software and Relax-and-Recover internal backup methods.
205 The latter also creates a backup of your data while the former will
206 only integrate Relax-and-Recover with the backup software to restore
207 the data with the help of the backup software without actually creating
208 backups. This means that for all non-internal backup software you must
209 take care of creating backups yourself.
210 Especially the rear mkbackup command can be confusing as it is only
212 useful for the internal backup methods and has no function at all with
213 the other (external) backup methods.
214 The following backup methods need to be set in Relax-and-Recover with
216 the BACKUP option. As mentioned we have two types of BACKUP methods -
217 internal and external.
218 The following BACKUP methods are external of Relax-and-Recover meaning
220 that you are responsible of backups being made:
221 BACKUP=REQUESTRESTORE
223 (default) Not really a backup method at all, Relax-and-Recover
225 simply halts the recovery and requests that somebody will restore
226 the data to the appropriate location (e.g. via SSH). This method
227 works especially well with an rsync bases backup that is pushed
228 back to the backup client.
229 BACKUP=EXTERNAL
231 Internal backup method that uses an arbitrary external command to
232 create a backup and restore the data.
233 BACKUP=DP
235 Use HP Data Protector to restore the data.
236 BACKUP=GALAXY
238 Use CommVault Galaxy 5 to restore the data.
239 BACKUP=GALAXY7
241 Use CommVault Galaxy 7 to restore the data.
242 BACKUP=GALAXY10
244 Use CommVault Galaxy 10 (or Simpana 10) to restore the data.
245 BACKUP=NBU
247 Use Symantec NetBackup to restore the data.
248 BACKUP=TSM
250 Use IBM Tivoli Storage Manager to restore the data. The
251 Relax-and-Recover result files (e.g. ISO image) are also saved into
252 TSM.
253 BACKUP=NSR
255 Using EMC NetWorker (Legato) to restore the data.
256 BACKUP=SESAM
258 Using SEP Sesam to restore the data.
259 BACKUP=RBME
261 Use Rsync Backup Made Easy (rbme) to restore the data.
262 BACKUP=BAREOS
264 Use Open Source backup solution BAREOS (a fork a BUCULA) to restore
265 the data.
266 BACKUP=BACULA
268 Use Open Source backup solution BACULA to restore the data.
269 BACKUP=DUPLICITY
271 Use encrypted bandwidth-efficient backup solution using the rsync
272 algorithm to restore the data.
273 The following BACKUP methods are internal of Relax-and-Recover:
275 BACKUP=NETFS
277 Internal backup method which can be used to create a simple backup
278 (tar archive).
279 BACKUP=RSYNC
281 Use rsync to restore data.
282 If your favourite backup software is missing from this list, please
284 submit a patch or ask us to implement it for you.
285 When using BACKUP=NETFS you should provide the backup target location
287 through the BACKUP_URL variable. Possible BACKUP_URL settings are:
288 BACKUP_URL=file://
290 To backup to local disk, use BACKUP_URL=file:///directory/path/
291 BACKUP_URL=nfs://
293 To backup to NFS disk, use
294 BACKUP_URL=nfs://nfs-server-name/share/path
295 BACKUP_URL=tape://
297 To backup to tape device, use BACKUP_URL=tape:///dev/nst0 or
298 alternatively, simply define TAPE_DEVICE=/dev/nst0
299 BACKUP_URL=cifs://
301 To backup to a Samba share (CIFS), use
302 BACKUP_URL=cifs://cifs-server-name/share/path. To provide
303 credentials for CIFS mounting use a /etc/rear/.cifs credentials
304 file and define BACKUP_OPTIONS="cred=/etc/rear/.cifs" and pass
305 along:
306 username=_username_
308 password=_secret password_
309 domain=_domain_
310 BACKUP_URL=usb://
312 To backup to USB storage device, use
313 BACKUP_URL=usb:///dev/disk/by-path/REAR-000 or use a real device
314 node or a specific filesystem label. Alternatively, you can specify
315 the device using USB_DEVICE=/dev/disk/by-path/REAR-000.
316 If you combine this with OUTPUT=USB you will end up with a bootable
318 USB device.
319 BACKUP_URL=sshfs://
321 To backup to a remote server via sshfs (SSH protocol), use
322 BACKUP_URL=sshfs://user@remote-system.domain.org/home/user/backup-dir/
323 It is advisable to add ServerAliveInterval 15 in the
325 /root/.ssh/config file for the remote system
326 (remote-system.domain.org).
327 BACKUP_URL=iso://
329 To include the backup within the ISO image. It is important that
330 the BACKUP_URL and OUTPUT_URL variables are different. E.g.
331 BACKUP_URL=iso:///backup/
333 OUTPUT_URL=nfs://server/path/
334 When using BACKUP=NETFS there is an option to select a
336 BACKUP_TYPE=incremental to have rear make incrementals until the next
337 FULLBACKUPDAY="Mon" has reached.
338
340 To configure Relax-and-Recover you have to edit the configuration files
341 in /etc/rear/. All *.conf files there are part of the configuration,
342 but only site.conf and local.conf are intended for the user
343 configuration. All other configuration files hold defaults for various
344 distributions and should not be changed.
345 In /etc/rear/templates/ there are also some template files which are
347 used by Relax-and-Recover to create configuration files (mostly for the
348 boot environment). Modify the templates to adjust the information
349 contained in the emails produced by Relax-and-Recover. You can use
350 these templates to prepend your own configurations to the configuration
351 files created by Relax-and-recover, for example you can edit
352 PXE_pxelinux.cfg to add some general pxelinux configuration you use.
353 In almost all circumstances you have to configure two main settings and
355 their parameters: The backup method and the output method.
356 The backup method defines, how your data was saved and wether
358 Relax-and-Recover should backup your data as part of the mkrescue
359 process or wether you use an external application, e.g. backup software
360 to archive your data.
361 The output method defines how the rescue system is written to disk and
363 how you plan to boot the failed computer from the rescue system.
364 See the default configuration file /usr/share/rear/conf/default.conf
366 for an overview of the possible methods and their options.
367 An example to use TSM for backup and ISO for output would be to add
369 these lines to /etc/rear/local.conf (no need to define a BACKUP_URL
370 when using an external backup solution):
371 BACKUP=TSM
373 OUTPUT=ISO
374 And if all your systems use NTP for time synchronisation, you can also
376 add these lines to /etc/rear/site.conf
377 TIMESYNC=NTP
379 Do not forget to distribute the site.conf to all your systems.
381 The resulting ISO image will be created in /var/lib/rear/output/. You
383 can now modify the behaviour by copying the appropriate configuration
384 variables from default.conf to local.conf and changing them to suit
385 your environment.
386
388 0
389 Successful program execution.
390 >0
392 Usage, syntax or execution errors. Check the log file in
393 /var/log/rear/ for more information.
394
396 To print out the current settings for BACKUP and OUTPUT methods and
397 some system information. This command can be used to see the supported
398 features for the given release and platform.
399 # rear dump
401 To create a new rescue environment. Do not forget to copy the resulting
403 rescue system away so that you can use it in the case of a system
404 failure.
405 # rear -v mkrescue
407 To create a new rescue image together with a complete archive of your
409 local system run the command:
410 # rear -v mkbackup
412
414 /usr/sbin/rear
415 The program itself.
416 /etc/rear/local.conf
418 System specific configuration can be set here.
419 /etc/rear/site.conf
421 Site specific configuration can be set here (not created by
422 default).
423 /var/log/rear/
425 Directory holding the log files.
426 /tmp/rear.####
428 Relax-and-Recover working directory. If Relax-and-Recover exits
429 with an error, you must remove this directory manually.
430 /usr/share/rear
432 Relax-and-Recover script components.
433 /usr/share/rear/conf/default.conf
435 Relax-and-Recover default values. Contains a complete set of
436 parameters and its explanation. Please do not edit or modify. Copy
437 values to local.conf or site.conf instead.
438
440 Feedback is welcome, please report any issues or improvements to our
441 issue-tracker at: http://github.com/rear/issues/
442 Furthermore, we welcome pull requests via GitHub.
444
446 Relax-and-Recover comes with extensive documentation located in
447 /usr/share/doc.
448
450 Gratien Dhaese, Schlomo Schapiro, Jeroen Hoekx and Dag Wieers.
451 Lars Pinne (original man page).
453 Relax-and-Recover is a collaborative process using Github at:
455 http://github.com/rear/
456 The Relax-and-Recover website is located at:
458 http://relax-and-recover.org/
459
461 (c) 2006-2015
462 Schlomo Schapiro
464 Gratien Dhaese, IT3 Consultants
466 Jeroen Hoekx
468 Dag Wieers, Dagit Linux Solutions
470 Relax-and-Recover comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see
472 the GNU General Public License at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html
473[FIXME: source] 08/31/2015 REAR(8)