linux client won't follow mounted volumes

[Ben63]

Hello,

 

- I have a linux machine (this one being linux, *not* FreeBSD) with the retrospect client installed in it,

- my backup machine, that runs on windows, sees the files of the linux machine correctly...

- ... *except* the files of any mounted volume (mounted via nfs or smb) of the linux machine

I do not know how the client is exactly sharing the files, if there is a configuration of this client that I need to do, or adjust some parameter of my linux, or is the access rights, or should I stream the files,...

I contacted the support but they could only tell me nfs or Freebsd are not supported (that was not really my point or helping)

 

I also posted this on the linux client part of the forum, but it does not seam to be very active lately.

Any clue would be very welcome on this, even if this would be an explanation why this is not possible.

 

Thanks

[Lennart_T]

Generally speaking, you shouldn't backup mounted volumes. You may not have mounted them with full permissions, they may not be mounted at all etc.

 

Instead you should backup the file server volumes with a client installed on the server itself.

 

Why it isn't possible? Probably by design as you are not sure you backup all files as you might not have permission to even see them.

[Ben63]

Hello Lennart,

 

Thanks for your reply.

I did the same test and had the same problem installing the mac client.

I agree that would be more convenient to have the client installed directly on the NAS, but it is a closed source commercial derivation of FreeBSD (Isilon), so there is no client for it (as far as I know) and I am not sure they would agree to support it if I install other close source software in it.

So I do not really have a choice. Maybe reinstalling retrospect on a Mac so it can acces directly the files via NFS and recognise Unix links... but I don't think our Windows licence allows to install on a Mac.

Have ever succeeded to back up such mounted volumes? If so, could you advice a process?

Thanks

[Ben63]

Also the linux or mac clients are launched as root, and the mounted volumes are also accessible for any other user on the mac

[Lennart_T]

It seems as neither the Mac nor Windows clients "follows" mounted volumes. The file server volumes don't show up on the server, only local volumes show:

 

Anyway, what kind of backups are Isilon offering?

Ask them about support if you install the Retro client on it.

[mauricev]

I'm a bit puzzled, but if you're trying to back up a NAS device that serves CIFS, then why not back up the share itself? You just need to enter the UNC path in Retrospect with user on the NAS that has read permission to the share. This is how I backup my Solaris Express file server.

[Ben63]

Thanks Lennart and Maurice for your answers.

@Maurice: our data on the NAS are also used with some linux volumes and we are heavily using Unix symbolic links, several of them pointing to huge files. However CIFS does not show symbolic links as such, but as regular files, hence preventing us to backup them. The only to ways I see to backup such links are either to install the linux client on a machine that can understand those links, or to install retrospect on a mac (not 100% sure on this actually)

@Lennart: On the mac I also mounted manually volumes on other locations, e.g. /some_folder/my_mounted_volumes/a_volume_shared_by_nfs. Thanks to the "pseudo volumes" button (hopefully same name in English than in French!) I can parse and select a specific place, everything appears *execpt* my "a_volume_shared_by_nfs" (or any volume-mounted-location).

Isilon sells it's own backup solutions, and maybe they would give support to install the Retrospect Client, but the isilon NAS is a FreeBSD, and there is no client for such distribution (as far as I know).

Do you have any clue why I cannot access those mounted volumes ?

 

Thanks

[Ben63]

I am now trying with the trial version of the Mac server and see that the problem exists also for main software also (not just the client): it cannot acces any mounted directory.

In this case I was expecting to reach the NFS volume on retrospect, but even on mac retrospect does not have the nfs support.

Hence I mounted the nfs volume locally, but cannot access it from retrospect. The same (done for testing) with a SMB volume mounted locally.

[mauricev]

the isilon NAS is a FreeBSD, and there is no client for such distribution (as far as I know).

 

How much access and control do you have of it? You might be able to run the linux client on it, http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/linuxemu.html

[Ben63]

Thanks Maurice for this valuable trail. I have root access on the NAS but cannot install packages without refering to the NAS support if I want to keep the support working, and I have little hope they accept/help me to do so. Lets see!

[Ben63]

As I was expecting, Isilon is not supporting external software:

"Hi Benjamin,

After doing dome research, I found that we don't support installing any software on our cluster.

It can be installed as you mentioned since its a FreeBSD, however, OneFS is a customised version of the FreeBSD and Retrospect has not been tested on OneFS, hence we do not support installing it on Isilon."

 

I cannot take the risk to corrupt the system without having support or test

[mastercam]

As I was expecting, Isilon is not supporting external software:

"Hi Benjamin,

After doing dome research, I found that we don't support installing any software on our cluster.

It can be installed as you mentioned since its a FreeBSD, however, OneFS is a customised version of the FreeBSD and Retrospect has not been tested on OneFS, hence we do not support installing it on Isilon."

 

I cannot take the risk to corrupt the system without having support or test

 

So, you're using a custom OS?

[Ben63]

Hi Mastercam,

Our NAS is from the brand Isilon, one of the main NAS world provider, if not the first (http://www.isilon.com/press-release/leading-analyst-firm-names-emc-1-network-attachedunified-storage-revenue-market-share-).

So far Retrospect appears to be uncompatible with it (unable to backup any symlink).

I am trying to find a workaround to that matter (maybe using intermediary computers), and ended up is that other matter, that isilon cannot access the volumes mounted, neither on mac nor on linux (not custom OS).

mauricev suggested to install the client directly on the NAS, but unfortunately this is not an option, as I cannot take the risk to corrupt the system without having support or test.

[Lennart_T]

Our NAS is from the brand Isilon, one of the main NAS world provider, if not the first (http://www.isilon.co...e-market-share-).

Well, EMC claims a large market share. Isilon is just a (minor??) part of EMC.

 

EMC owned Retrospect for a number of years, but sold it as they had their own backup system (for large enterprises). So I'm not surprised that EMC Isilon will not accept a competitor's software (Retrospect) on one of their devices.

 

I must admit, I have never even heard about Isilon before reading this thread.

[mauricev]

our data on the NAS are also used with some linux volumes and we are heavily using Unix symbolic links, several of them pointing to huge files. However CIFS does not show symbolic links as such, but as regular files, hence preventing us to backup them.

 

I was just wondering, but couldn't you create shares for where the pointed to files reside or even a master share for all the data? You could create a user for Retrospect and give it only read permission. Then you could backup all the data. You could separately write a script that kept a list of the links, so you could recreate them in case you ever had to restore.

[mauricev]

Well, EMC claims a large market share. Isilon is just a (minor??) part of EMC.

 

My opinion is that it is going to be a major part. Isilon has the OneFS filesystem, which is good scale-out technology.

[Ben63]

I was just wondering, but couldn't you create shares for where the pointed to files reside or even a master share for all the data? You could create a user for Retrospect and give it only read permission. Then you could backup all the data. You could separately write a script that kept a list of the links, so you could recreate them in case you ever had to restore.

 

Good points! that's actually the 2 turn-around that we have found and using so far

make a list or have all the backable data in one place ;

 

we are currently using the first, as I want to still have the possibility to save and restore symlinks, because ther are always cases when it will be requiered ;

so it means: list the shortcuts, remove them, backup, ...., restaure, restaure links

Still not the more convenient and still error prone.

[Ben63]

Well, EMC claims a large market share. Isilon is just a (minor??) part of EMC.

 

EMC owned Retrospect for a number of years, but sold it as they had their own backup system (for large enterprises). So I'm not surprised that EMC Isilon will not accept a competitor's software (Retrospect) on one of their devices.

 

I must admit, I have never even heard about Isilon before reading this thread.

 

Whether Isilon has or not a big market share, the point is that the windows Retrospect software cannot backup any symlinks if your data are on a NAS where you cannot install the linux client (I guess most of the NAS won't permit it)