Linux: How do I run a script when an external drive is connected?

Question

I've got a couple of remote servers in a school, and I'd like to set them up so that, as soon as someone (probably a teacher) plugs in an external hard disk, it will be mounted and the backup started.

What's the best way to do this?

Answer 1

Couple ways of doing this:

• Modify your udev rules so that whenever a certain device is inserted, a script is run. See http://www.reactivated.net/writing_udev_rules.html#external-run for an example.
• Write a daemon that listens on dbus for device insertion messages and handles the event. (this is more work)