Rsync is a software tool used to perform disk backups either locally or remotely. It performs differential synchronization, only copying files that have changed, to save bandwidth. Rsync can be used to create archives including permissions and metadata, specify remote shell connections like SSH, filter files, compress data transfers, update existing backups by only sending changed files, and delete files from the destination that no longer exist in the source.

1. Gaurav Mishra
<gmishx@gmail.com>
Linux - 9
Backup using rsync
Unrestricted
01-03-2018

2. Gaurav Mishra <gmishx@gmail.com>
rsync
• rsync is a software in Linux
environment use to make disk
backups.
• Backups can be either local or on
remote machine.
• The uniqueness of rsync is that it
performs differential
synchronizations.
• Both the systems must have rsync
installed.
• rsync can use ssh secure connections
for transmissions.
01-03-2018

3. Gaurav Mishra <gmishx@gmail.com>
Using rsync
• Install rsync on remote and local machine
▫ sudo apt-get install rsync
• Creating archive on remote host
▫ Archive mode include recursive copy, sym links, permissions, time, group, owner
and device files.
 rsync -r -a -v ~/proj user@host:~/backups/
• Specifying remote shell
▫ Additional information for the remote shell used to setup connection can be set
using -e flag
▫ Setting the ssh port during transfer
 rsync -rav -e ‘ssh -p 2257’ ~/proj user@host:~/backups/
• Filtering files
▫ rsync can filter files to be copied using filter rules
▫ Filtering ‘.o’ files
 rsync -rav --exclude=“*.o” ~/proj user@host:~/backups/
01-03-2018

4. Gaurav Mishra <gmishx@gmail.com>
Using rsync
• Performing compression on transmission
▫ rsync can compress the transmission to save bandwidth
 rsync -z -r ~/project user@host:~/backups/
• Updating a backup
▫ Using update options, rsync will not transfer files which are new in the destination
 rsync -av <-u/--update> ~/project user@host:~/repository/
• Deleting old files
▫ rsync support delete option which removes files from the destination which are
not in the source
▫ To use this option, whole directory must be synchronized
 rsync -a --delete ~/project user@host:~/repository/
01-03-2018