Topic: [ANNOUNCE] smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0

[Daniel B.]

Hi everyone, I just want to tell you have finished the contrib for backuppc 3.0
you can find the how-to here (for the installation or the upgrade only, not how to use it):
http://sme.firewall-services.com/spip.php?article44

and you can find more information on backuppc here:
http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/

The bigest change is that backuppc's CGI now include the configuration editor, for the main settings and the per pc ones (so the panel I wrote for the previous version isn't needed anymore)
This version also support multi-incremential backups, there are some improvement in the browser interface and I let you discover the rest.

Cheers, Daniel

[vincentmeek]

Thanks

[jcoleman]

Daniel,

As always, thanks for the great work on this contrib.  I have installed the new version and get this error on execution:

2007-05-05 07:45:03 vgn-a690-jc is dhcp 10.1.1.196, user is
2007-05-05 07:45:03 dump failed: File::RsyncP module version (0.52) too old: need 0.68

Any ideas?

Thanks,

-jeff

[cactus]

2007-05-05 07:45:03 vgn-a690-jc is dhcp 10.1.1.196, user is
2007-05-05 07:45:03 dump failed: File::RsyncP module version (0.52) too old: need 0.68

It seems that the File::RSyncP perl library is to old and needs a newer version, minimum 0.68, where you are running 0.50.

According to the BackupPC requirements page it is needed if you want to use RSync as transport method. It also holds a link to the page to get File::RSyncP (part of PerlSync), have a look at the PerlSync website.

[Daniel B.]

You can find the needed dependencies on our web site, including the good perl module file::RsyncP (v0.68 ).

Code: [Select]


wget http://sme.firewall-services.com/downloads/smeserver-backuppc/rpms/perl-Archive-Zip-1.16-1.2.el4.rf.noarch.rpm
wget http://sme.firewall-services.com/downloads/smeserver-backuppc/rpms/perl-Compress-Zlib-1.42-1.el4.rf.i386.rpm
wget http://sme.firewall-services.com/downloads/smeserver-backuppc/rpms/perl-File-RsyncP-0.68-1.el4.rf.i386.rpm
wget http://sme.firewall-services.com/downloads/smeserver-backuppc/rpms/perl-Time-modules-2003.1126-1.2.el4.rf.noarch.rpm
wget http://sme.firewall-services.com/downloads/smeserver-backuppc/rpms/perl-XML-RSS-1.10-1.el4.rf.noarch.rpm
yum localinstall ./*.rpm


[jcoleman]

Cactus and Daniel,

Thanks for the help.  I installed the module from Daniel's site.  Made sure it installed by doing an rpm -Uvh --force on it.

Got the exact same results.  I'm confused (nothing new there).

-jeff

[cactus]

Made sure it installed by doing an rpm -Uvh --force on it.

You should not use rpm -Uvh this command is obsolete and replaced by yum localinstall like suggested by Daniel.

[jcoleman]

Cactus,

Agreed.  The original install was through yum.  I re-installed the perl module with rpm to just make sure it actually installed.  Evidently it didn't.

-jeff

[Daniel B.]

You can check if the install went ok with the command

rpm -qa | grep RsyncP

[jcoleman]

Daniel,

This is strange...

Code: [Select]

[root@dev ~]# rpm -qa | grep RsyncP
perl-File-RsyncP-0.68-1.el4.rf


And yet I still get the following log message...

Code: [Select]

2007-05-06 12:35:49 vgn-a690-jc is dhcp 10.1.1.196, user is
2007-05-06 12:35:49 dump failed: File::RsyncP module version (0.52) too old: need 0.68

I'm confused...
-jeff

[Daniel B.]

Have you tried to remove everything, and start again from sratch?
You could remove all the needed rpms (contrib and deps) and reinstall them to be sure backuppc has saw the new version of perl-File-RsyncP (anyway, this problem is strange because you shold be able to install perl-File-RsyncP after BackupPC, and it should detect it correctly).

[jahlewis]

I upgraded following your instructions, no problems.

Nice work, merci!

How do I do archives in the new version.  I could not see it in the new config screens.

[Daniel B.]

I upgraded following your instructions, no problems.

Nice work, merci!

How do I do archives in the new version.  I could not see it in the new config screens.

Well, for now, there's no interface to configure the archiving, you'll have to make it by hand (with the script /usr/local/BackupPC/bin/BackupPC_archiveHost).
I'm working on some scripts to make it simpler and more efficient, but I think I won't write a new panel for this, you'll have to add an entry in the crontab.

Another point: in this release, I stupidly forgot to add /opt/backuppc in the exclude part for the default localhost config so if you're using it, you should add this path in the exclude portion to avoid recursive backups.

[jahlewis]

The backuppc documentation (http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/faq/BackupPC.html#archive_functions) suggests the following (below), which I followed.  Works fine.

now I just have to tweak the scheduling to get it do to the archives once a week at a particular time to be able to take them off-site etc.

-------------

Configuring an Archive Host

To create an Archive Host, add it to the hosts file just as any other host and call it a name that best describes the type of archive, e.g. ArchiveDLT

To tell BackupPC that the Host is for Archives, create a config.pl file in the Archive Hosts's pc directory, adding the following line:

$Conf{XferMethod} = 'archive';

To further customise the archive's parameters you can adding the changed parameters in the host's config.pl file. The parameters are explained in the config.pl file. Parameters may be fixed or the user can be allowed to change them (eg: output device).

The per-host archive command is $Conf{ArchiveClientCmd}. By default this invokes

     __INSTALLDIR__/BackupPC_archiveHost

which you can copy and customize as necessary.

Starting an Archive

In the web interface, click on the Archive Host you wish to use. You will see a list of previous archives and a summary on each. By clicking the ``Start Archive'' button you are presented with the list of hosts and the approximate backup size (note this is raw size, not projected compressed size) Select the hosts you wish to archive and press the ``Archive Selected Hosts'' button.

The next screen allows you to adjust the parameters for this archive run. Press the ``Start the Archive'' to start archiving the selected hosts with the parameters displayed.

[markseymour]

Daniel, and all smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0 users,

This looks great.... now, if only I can get backuppc to authenticate to the rsyncd on my 'Windows XP Home' machines. Please tell me if any of you can help, or if I must take this up with the BackupPC project.

I am running smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0 on SME 7.1.3.  It runs the local default backup job just fine.  

A commandline rsync test works fine from my SME server to a 'Windows XP Home' box running the rsyncd packaged from the BackupPC sourceforge site: cygwin-rsyncd-2.6.8_0.zip. (rsyncd was run from the Windows command line, I'll leave my troubles with running as a service for another post).

Code: [Select]

[root@mail3 tmp]# rsync -av backup@192.168.111.40::test .
Password:
receiving file list ... done
... <snip> ...
sent 391 bytes  received 2241522 bytes  407620.55 bytes/sec
total size is 2240235  speedup is 1.00
When I try a BackupPC job, it logs this error:

Code: [Select]

2007-05-21 21:55:53 User admin requested backup of markseymour (markseymour)
2007-05-21 21:55:54 Started full backup on markseymour (pid=9448, share=test)
2007-05-21 21:56:02 Backup failed on markseymour (auth failed on module test)
and the rsyncd.log on the Windows machine says:

Code: [Select]

2007/05/21 21:56:45 [3332] connect from mail3.guildassociates.com (192.168.111.1)
2007/05/21 21:56:45 [3332] auth failed on module test from mail3.guildassociates.com (192.168.111.1): unauthorized user
The rsyncd.secrets file on Windows contains:

backup:<password>
admin:<same password>

I'm confident that the password is correct because I used the Windows clipboard in both instances to paste it into both the RsyncdPasswd of the BackupPC panel, and into a putty window for the commandline test.

1) Have others here succeeded backing up 'Windows XP Home', or for that matter, 'Windows XP Pro' via rsyncd/smeserver-backuppc?

2) Any clues for me?

Thanks,

Mark

(I do have ClientCharset set to cp1252.)

[Daniel B.]

Yes, I've allready configured a windows XP pro and a windows server 2003 to be backed up using cygwin+rsyncd. You can find an excellent how-to here http://www.sonoracomm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86&Itemid=32
This how-to also explain how-to add encryption (with ssh) beacause by default with rsyncd, the password doesn't pass in clear, but the data does. If you follow this step by step, you shouldn't have any problem, you just have to addapt some settings as it's written for smeserver-backuppc-1.0-5

[DavidClarke]

I cracked the same failure to authenticate to the rsync server module by finding that no username was being passed.

Under Server, on the configuration Editor, select Edit Config and on the Xfer tab check that method = rsyncd has RsyncdUserName and RsyncdPasswd filled in to match the secrets file on the client PC.

Took an age for me to find it, as I was concerned about a particular host configuration. Allowing non-authenticated transfers worked just fine.

Hope That Helps

[Daniel B.]

Daniel, and all smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0 users,

This looks great.... now, if only I can get backuppc to authenticate to the rsyncd on my 'Windows XP Home' machines. Please tell me if any of you can help, or if I must take this up with the BackupPC project.

I am running smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0 on SME 7.1.3.  It runs the local default backup job just fine.  

A commandline rsync test works fine from my SME server to a 'Windows XP Home' box running the rsyncd packaged from the BackupPC sourceforge site: cygwin-rsyncd-2.6.8_0.zip. (rsyncd was run from the Windows command line, I'll leave my troubles with running as a service for another post).

Code: [Select]

[root@mail3 tmp]# rsync -av backup@192.168.111.40::test .
Password:
receiving file list ... done
... <snip> ...
sent 391 bytes  received 2241522 bytes  407620.55 bytes/sec
total size is 2240235  speedup is 1.00
When I try a BackupPC job, it logs this error:

Code: [Select]

2007-05-21 21:55:53 User admin requested backup of markseymour (markseymour)
2007-05-21 21:55:54 Started full backup on markseymour (pid=9448, share=test)
2007-05-21 21:56:02 Backup failed on markseymour (auth failed on module test)
and the rsyncd.log on the Windows machine says:

Code: [Select]

2007/05/21 21:56:45 [3332] connect from mail3.guildassociates.com (192.168.111.1)
2007/05/21 21:56:45 [3332] auth failed on module test from mail3.guildassociates.com (192.168.111.1): unauthorized user
The rsyncd.secrets file on Windows contains:

backup:<password>
admin:<same password>

I'm confident that the password is correct because I used the Windows clipboard in both instances to paste it into both the RsyncdPasswd of the BackupPC panel, and into a putty window for the commandline test.

1) Have others here succeeded backing up 'Windows XP Home', or for that matter, 'Windows XP Pro' via rsyncd/smeserver-backuppc?

2) Any clues for me?

Thanks,

Mark

(I do have ClientCharset set to cp1252.)

Ok, I understand your problem now. In fact, I haven't tested rsyncd since I release 3.0, and I thought it was exactly the same as the previous version. In fact, there's a bug in the CGI of 3.0 which prevent to configure the rsyncdUsername in the per-pc config. You have two solutions:
- you set rsyncd as the default backup method, you set a username in the global configuration and you always use this username on all your hosts

- or you fix the bug like this:
edit the file /usr/local/BackupPC/lib/BackupPC/Config/Meta.pm

and, just after this line:
RsyncdPasswd              => "string",

Add this:
RsyncdUserName            => "string",

And in /etc/BackupPC/config.pl
add this:
'RsyncdUserName' => '1',

just after
'RsyncdPasswd' =>'1',

Then you should be able to set the rsyncdUserName in the per-pc configuration file.

Cheers.

[markseymour]

I cracked the same failure to authenticate to the rsync server module by finding that no username was being passed.
<snip>
Hope That Helps

David:  It helps tremendously!  Thank you very much!

Ok, I understand your problem now.
<snip>
Then you should be able to set the rsyncdUserName in the per-pc configuration file.

Cheers.

Daniel, again, thank you for providing this contrib!!  Now I'll fix it the correct way for per-pc config.

Is anybody watching here who has used the Sonorracom.com instructions under
__ Configure a Windows Host - Method 2 (rsyncd over SSH, Encrypted)
**and** who would be willing to document which settings must be adapted to work with smeserver-backuppc-3.0-0 ?

Also, has anybody succeeded in running the Rsyncd packaged by the BackupPC folks --as a service-- on 'Win XP *Home*' ??
File permissions are different, and not so accessible on XP Home.

(Maybe that one really belongs on the BackupPC boards....)

Thanks,

Mark

[progitto]

I have some problem with this contrib: in the server-manager backuppc tell me that "Wrong user: my userid is 454, instead of (BackupDaemon)".
What is it?
I've tried to reinstall the contrib with the same problem.
On my test server I have no problem.

[Daniel B.]

I have some problem with this contrib: in the server-manager backuppc tell me that "Wrong user: my userid is 454, instead of (BackupDaemon)".
What is it?
I've tried to reinstall the contrib with the same problem.
On my test server I have no problem.

Looks like backuppc daemon doesn't run as backuppc user. Check it with

Code: [Select]

ps aux | grep BackupPC
You should see something like

Code: [Select]


backuppc 27851  0.0  0.6 11468 6436 ?        S    Jun22   0:07 /usr/bin/perl /usr/local/BackupPC/bin/BackupPC -d
backuppc 27854  0.0  0.4  8720 4816 ?        S    Jun22   0:49 /usr/bin/perl /usr/local/BackupPC/bin/BackupPC_trashClean


If you don't have this, there's a problem with the user backuppc.Try to select backuppc user (su -s /bin/bash backuppc when your are loged in root) and then type:

Code: [Select]

/usr/local/BackupPC/bin/BackupPC -d
And see if it's working.

Also, a new release is available (3.0-1), there're some fixes:
- bug in the CGI, now you can set rsyncdusername in the per pc config
- /opt/backuppc and /selinux are excluded from the localhost by default
- par2 binary is included
- all the config and the logs are stored under /opt/backuppc
- some scripts which allows offiste backups (I haven't wrote the documentation yet, I'll do as soon as I can).

http://sme.firewall-services.com/spip.php?article44

Cheers, daniel

[progitto]

Thanks Daniel for your help, I've fixed the problem (it was a wrong user problem) installing the old backuppc contribs and then update to 3.0.1 version.
Thanks also for this contrib.  

Ciao

[sonoracomm]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the BackupPC update to 3.0.  I appreciate it very much.

I upgraded my primary BackupPC installation and things went pretty well for the most part.

I was having issues with BackupPC dying and failing to respond (web interface).  Sorry, I don't remember the error message, but some Googling lead me to believe it was memory related.  So I bumped the memory allotment to the VMware VM from 512MB to 768MB a couple of days ago.  So far, so good.

I took a stab at updating my howto for this new version of the contrib.  If anyone finds any errors, I would appreciate their corrections and feedback.

http://www.sonoracomm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86

G

[ragg987]

sonoracomm, from your website:

# RsyncArgs

    * add --checksum-seed=32761
          o not for SME 6

# RsyncRestoreArgs

    * add --checksum-seed=32761
          o not for SME 6

This causes an error on a windows client using rsync as a service (rsync.exe dated 5 Aug 2006). Using SME 7.1.3.

But apart from that, and my being a bit slow, nice guide. Thanks.

[sonoracomm]

Hi, and thanks for your comments.

For now, I modified the howto to mention that the --checksum-seed=32761 argument may not work on Windows.

I believe it worked for me during previous testing, but I'm not in a position to test this at the moment.  I'll try to revisit this issue in the future.

I also found another rsync daemon for Windows that I want to test called DeltaCopy.  I used it in another situation where I use cron to backup a Windows machine to a SME Server, then backup the SME Server with BackupPC.

G

[alefattorini]

I have follow this howto,
http://sme.firewall-services.com/spip.php?article44

but in server-manager i have this error

The requested URL /backuppc/cgi-bin/BackupPC_Admin was not found on this server.

[Daniel B.]

I don't know where the problem comes from, have a look at the log file:

Code: [Select]

tail -f /var/log/httpd/error_log

Any other contrib installed? have you upgraded from 1.0-5 ?

[alefattorini]

I don't know where the problem comes from, have a look at the log file:

Code: [Select]

tail -f /var/log/httpd/error_log

[Mon Aug 06 13:31:19 2007] [error] [client 192.168.5.9] File does not exist: /opt/backuppc/images/cgi-bin

Any other contrib installed? have you upgraded from 1.0-5 ?

No, fresh install on fresh smeserver

[jahlewis]

Daniel, have you made any progress on interfacing the your old archive options for backuppc 3.0?  I'm tempted to revert back to the 2.1 version so as to get back the easy to use archive ability you coded.  I like 3.0, but the ability to archive backed up hosts to a secondary USB drive is a key issue for me.

Also, has anyone had any success at getting a rsync client to run on Windows Vista?

-JL

[Daniel B.]

Daniel, have you made any progress on interfacing the your old archive options for backuppc 3.0?  I'm tempted to revert back to the 2.1 version so as to get back the easy to use archive ability you coded.  I like 3.0, but the ability to archive backed up hosts to a secondary USB drive is a key issue for me.

Also, has anyone had any success at getting a rsync client to run on Windows Vista?

-JL

I've added some scripts to archive hosts and replick the pool in a much more efficient way than 1.0-5 does, but I haven't wrote documentation for now (I don't have the time for now). The hosts and the pool can be syncronized on
- a remote *NIX host
- a local directory
- a remouvable device like usb HD

You can look at the scripts in /usr/local/BackupPC/bin/BackupPC_SME...

The config files are in /etc/BackupPC
(remote Archive.conf, localArchive.conf, etc...)
Once you have changed the config file to reflect what you want, you can run the corresponding script (with the user backuppc) by hand, or in a cron job.
As soon as I have time, I'll wrote a full documentation. Waiting for this, you can mail me to have further informations.
Cheers.

[alefattorini]

I have follow this howto,
http://sme.firewall-services.com/spip.php?article44

but in server-manager i have this error

The requested URL /backuppc/cgi-bin/BackupPC_Admin was not found on this server.

Anyone can help me?

[Daniel B.]

I don't know where the problem comes from, have a look at the log file:

Code: [Select]

tail -f /var/log/httpd/error_log

[Mon Aug 06 13:31:19 2007] [error] [client 192.168.5.9] File does not exist: /opt/backuppc/images/cgi-bin

Any other contrib installed? have you upgraded from 1.0-5 ?

No, fresh install on fresh smeserver

I know one or two person allready had this problem, but I really don't understand how it can happen. Can you try on another server?

[sonoracomm]

Hi, odd web display behavior on a new install of Backuppc on SME 7.1.3.  

The installation had no errors.  Accessing the https://server_name/backuppc directly or from server-manager gives the same result.  The page does not display any style sheets or graphics.  

All the links are broken.  When I click on a link Firefox gives "The page isn't redirecting properly. Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete." response.  IE gives "page cannot be displayed".

Searching http logs did not produce any clues.

Any ideas?  Any help appreciated.  Thanks.

[Daniel B.]

Hi, odd web display behavior on a new install of Backuppc on SME 7.1.3. 

The installation had no errors.  Accessing the https://server_name/backuppc directly or from server-manager gives the same result.  The page does not display any style sheets or graphics. 

All the links are broken.  When I click on a link Firefox gives "The page isn't redirecting properly. Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete." response.  IE gives "page cannot be displayed".

Searching http logs did not produce any clues.

Any ideas?  Any help appreciated.  Thanks.

Hi. I just had a problem which could look like yours. In fact, I've changed the language in the general cgi configuration, when I've clicked on 'save', all the stylesheet disapeared, as well as the admin options, no errors in the logs. In fact, it's the CGI which seems to have a bug, I still need to find out why it has happened, but it was just some settings which where flushed in the config.pl file. To correct that:

vim /etc/BackupPC/config.pl

and check these settings:

$Conf{CgiAdminUsers} = 'admin';

$Conf{CgiURL} = '/opt/backuppc/cgi-bin';

$Conf{CgiHeaders} = '<meta http-equiv="pragma" content="no-cache">';

$Conf{CgiCSSFile} = 'BackupPC_stnd.css';

Once you have checked that, restart backuppc:

Code: [Select]

/etc/init.d/backuppc restart
and everything should be back.

[sonoracomm]

Hello,

Upon checking the config.pl file, I found the $Conf{CgiURL} setting was wrong, so I fixed it.  Unfortunately, that didn't resolve the problem.

I then started troubleshooting by just adding the backuppc additions to a stock httpd.conf file.  It worked.  I then determined that the problem is caused specifically by the customized 27ManagerProxyPass fragment from the Selintra SAIL package.  If I move that fragment from templates-custom and expand httpd.conf, BackupPC_Admin seems to work fine.

I stared at the Selintra-customized frogment for a good while (it's perl), but I just don't understand it.  Perhaps I'll start a new thread and ask Selintra for help.

Thanks fo your help.

G

[alefattorini]

New install, same problem..

I have modified this line
Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc/images

in this

Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc


Problem of permission?
[Mon Aug 20 10:50:47 2007] [error] [client 192.168.5.9] client denied by server configuration: /opt/backuppc


Can you help me????

[alefattorini]

Can anyone help me? Is it possible it's not work?

[Daniel B.]

New install, same problem..

I have modified this line
Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc/images

in this

Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc


Problem of permission?
[Mon Aug 20 10:50:47 2007] [error] [client 192.168.5.9] client denied by server configuration: /opt/backuppc


Can you help me????

I just don't understand why you've changed this, it's normal that it doesn't work with Alias /backuppc /opt/backuppc.
I still cannot reproduce the bug, so I don't really know where to start. I run backuppc on about 20 servers without a problem (exept the one I explain before, but it's seems to be completly different). Please, give some more info about:
- the version you're running (SME and backuppc)
- any customization on the server

[Jabka]

First off, this is by far my FAVORITE contrib! Congrats and thanks to everyone involved, including those writing how-tos as well. Truly nice work guys. So far, everything's running like clockwork with this contrib and I'm really impressed.

I do have one question though, but I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask. BackupPC has the capability to allow a user access to his/her files through the web interface at https://servername.domain.tld/backuppc, as long as proper credentials are supplied. SME server allows this as long as the user is accessing the login page from INSIDE the network. However, in some cases, a user may want to retrieve files while OUTSIDE the network, ie from the WAN interface. Is there a way to allow this for the /backuppc folder without also exposing /server-manager to the WAN interface? Right now, if I want to let a user get files from outside the network, the only way I know how to do it is through server-manager in Security-> Remote Access -> Remote Management by adding their current IP to the list of allowed remote management networks. I'm surely missing something fundamental here, but could someone point me in the right direction? Ideally, though this may be frowned upon by some, I'd like to expose the user interface for backuppc to anyone accessing it from the WAN interface, as long as they have to login to access it.

Any help much appreciated... Thanks.

[Daniel B.]

HI.
I'm glade my works helps others.
To achieve what you want, you have to create a custom template, copy the original one with these commands

Code: [Select]

mkdir -p /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
cp -a /etc/e-smith/templtes/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf/99BackupPC /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Then, edit it like you want. Something like this should do the trick

Code: [Select]

ScriptAlias /backuppc/cgi-bin /opt/backuppc/cgi-bin
Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc/images

<Directory /opt/backuppc/images>
    Options None
    Options +Indexes
    Options +Includes
    AllowOverride None
    order deny,allow
    deny from all
    allow from { "$localAccess $externalSSLAccess"; }
</Directory>

<Directory /opt/backuppc/cgi-bin>
        SSLRequireSSL on
        Options ExecCGI
        AllowOverride None
        order deny,allow
        deny from all
        allow from all
        AuthName "Administration du serveur de sauvegarde"
        Satisfy all
        AuthType Basic
        AuthExternal pwauth
        Require valid-user
</Directory>


[CharlieBrady]

You should not use rpm -Uvh this command is obsolete and replaced by yum localinstall like suggested by Daniel.

The command is not obsolete - it just won't automatically find any dependencies, whereas 'yum localinstall' will. But what was really wrong with Jeff's proposed command was --force. --force should only be used in very exceptional circumstances, when you know exactly why you are doing it. That doesn't apply here.

[Jabka]

Daniel,

Thanks for the quick response to my question about external access. Unfortunately, it did not seem to change the access restrictions for external users. From your post, it seems the only thing different about the custom template you proposed for 99BackupPC is the line for the cgi-bin directory, changing

allow from { "$localAccess $externalSSLAccess"; }

to

allow from all

I expanded the template, restarted httpd, and rebooted the server, but access from the WAN is still denied "HTTP 403 Forbidden". Any other things I should try? The goal is to allow users authenticated access to their backups from OUTSIDE the local lan. Sorry again for such an entry-level question but I'm clueless about where else to look. Thanks in advance for any additional ideas you might have.

[CharlieBrady]

Unfortunately, it did not seem to change the access restrictions for external users.

Please report any problems with Contribs via the Contribs section of the bug tracker. Thanks.

[Jabka]

OK, I'll report the issue with external access in the bug tracker. I just assumed the problem was that I didn't know what I was doing. Thanks Charlie.

[Jabka]

Looks like smeserver-backuppc is not listed as an SME Contrib Component in the bug tracker. I don't see a way to add that component. Does the package maintainer need to do this? Let me know if I should post a bug under Component "Unknown" or wait for Daniel to put something in place.

[Jabka]

Regarding EXTERNAL SSL access to the BackupPC 3.0 web interface: 

I played around with the custom template for 99BackupPC as indicated by Daniel (VIP-ire), trying to understand what it does. I'm at best making an uneducated guess, but for me, when I changed the "allow from" directive to "all" for BOTH /images AND /cgi-bin, external access to https://servername.domain.tld/backuppc is allowed for all SME users in the system. HTTP gets redirected properly to HTTPS as well. Thank you Daniel for getting me 99% of the way there!

Please DO NOT follow the directions below without first consulting someone who knows what this might do to your overall system security. I personally HAVE NO IDEA what serious ramifications occur when you do this. Seriously, don't do this just because it works for me:

1. Get to your server's command-line interface locally, via putty, etc. and login as root. You're going to make a directory to store a new custom template then copy the original BackupPC template there. Issue the following commands:

Code: [Select]

mkdir -p /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
cp -a /etc/e-smith/templates/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf/99BackupPC /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
2. Use your favorite editor to modify the new custom template for 99BackupPC. In this example, we'll use pico:

Code: [Select]

pico -w /etc/e-smith/templates-custom/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf/99BackupPC
3. Modify the template so it looks like this. Unless you've made other modifications, the only differences from what you already have are in the lines that start "allow from...". They get changed to "allow from all". You can also edit the line begining with "AuthName" to reflect the server's name, your company name, etc. This AuthName shows up in the authentication dialog box users see when they attempt to access the web interface. Here's what it should look like once you're done editing:

Code: [Select]

ScriptAlias /backuppc/cgi-bin /opt/backuppc/cgi-bin
Alias       /backuppc         /opt/backuppc/images

<Directory /opt/backuppc/images>
    Options None
    Options +Indexes
    Options +Includes
    AllowOverride None
    order deny,allow
    deny from all
    allow from all
</Directory>

<Directory /opt/backuppc/cgi-bin>
        SSLRequireSSL on
        Options ExecCGI
        AllowOverride None
        order deny,allow
        deny from all
        allow from all
        AuthName "Your Company Name"
        Satisfy all
        AuthType Basic
        AuthExternal pwauth
        Require valid-user
</Directory>


4. Assuming you used pico to edit the file, you can exit with Control-X. Pico will ask you to save the file. Do so. You should now be back at the command prompt.

5. You now need to expand the template for httpd.conf so that the changes you made will be merged into the "real" httpd.conf file.  Issue the following command to do this:

Code: [Select]

/sbin/e-smith/expand-template /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
6. Now restart the Apache server so that it can read the new httpd.conf file you just generated:

Code: [Select]

/usr/bin/sv h /service/httpd-e-smith
That should do it. You should now be able to connect to the backuppc web interface via the WAN side of your SME server. If this worked for you, thank Daniel (VIP-ire) for this AWESOME contrib and thank everyone involved in putting the SME server together. OH, and don't forget to donate...