Using rsync to take backup of folder

Question

I have a server (Linux) with NAS which is mounted as folder "mount" I have website in "public_html" folder.

I want to take backup of website in mount folder automatically at certain intervals for e.g. every hour. I read that there is something called "rsync" which is used to make two folders sync. And it doesn't copy all files every time and instead matches if the file has been changed and then only update changed files. How do I use it to make automatic backups? I have root access to server.

Thanks

Answer 1

Setup a cron that looks like this:

0 * * * * rsync -rltv [source] [destination]

This says, every hour sync the source directory to the destination directory (only sending changed files)

The flags mean:

• r - recursive
• l - copy symlinks as symlinks
• t - preserve modification times
• v - increase verbosity

Answer 2

I think it's better for you to have some knowledge about rsync and crons. Then, you can plan how you are going to deploy your backup solution.

First of all take a look a detailed explanation about rsync: http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Backup_and_transfer_your_data_using_rsync

If you want to create automatic tasks like backups, read about cron jobs: http://adminschoice.com/crontab-quick-reference

There are another network backup solutions like Bacula.