Edward Speyer wrote:
Hi! I'm stuck trying to find a nice way to allow rsync / rdiff-backup enough permissions to keep ownership information intact at the backup-receiving end. I /could/ run as root on the backup-reciever, but it'd be nice if there was a less sledge-hammer approach to the chown problem :) What's the generally accepted method for network backups using rsync-like tools?
I found this link useful: http://www.arctic.org/~dean/rdiff-backup/unattended.html It uses rdiff-backup. It works along the lines of - fetch the backup as ordinary user "backup"- allow ssh-access as user root, but limit the access to exactly one well defined command, ie. rdiff-backup with the appropriate options.
In my case the backup runs via a cron job as root, in order to keep the owners. This is the least 'dangerous' sledge-hammer approach I know. If you are more paranoid than I, you could run your backup from a chroot.
Johannes