NEMS Linux Tips: Backup Your NEMS Configuration Automatically¶
Introduction¶
One of the worst things that can happen to your NEMS Linux deployment is having your SD card fail. So keeping a current backup of your NEMS configuration is a smart idea.
Backup Location¶
Your NEMS Migrator snapshots are always accessible at
https://NEMSIP/backup/backup.nems or via Samba at
\\nems.local\backup\backup.nems - accessing either will automatically
generate and send a backup.nems file, which contains all the NEMS
configuration settings, logs, data, etc. to allow an easy recovery by
restoring to a new NEMS deployment.
Both locations are protected by your NEMS username and password, as created during nems-init.
The backup.nems file can also be used to migrate your NEMS Linux deployment from one architecture to another. For example, if your infrastructure outgrows a Raspberry Pi 3-based NEMS server, you can deploy on an ODROID XU4 and migrate your entire NEMS setup to the new deployment.
Knowing the location of your backup.nems file makes it easy to add a NEMS backup to your daily backup script for automated inclusion in your regular backup.
Backup Your backup.nems File Automatically¶
From another Linux server (eg., where your backups run) simply add this to your backup task:
Download Via wget Using Secure SSL (Recommended)¶
Note
Using SSL not only protects the content of your backup, but also protects your username and password from prying eyes
wget -O "/backup/backup.nems" https://NEMSIP/backup/ --user=YOURUSER --password=YOURPASSWORD --no-check-certificate
I included –no-check-certificate since NEMS is using a self-signed certificate. This will allow the communication to be encrypted, but not fail on the “invalid” self-signed cert.
Note the -O “/backup/backup.nems” is just an example of the OUTPUT folder. You’ll want to change this to suit your local system. Eg., -O “/home/robbie/backups/backup.nems” - the -O is telling it where to save the local copy.
Download Via wget Without Encryption¶
Warning
This is only recommended for legacy NEMS versions that don’t support SSL
wget -O "/backup/backup.nems" http://nems.local/backup/ --user=YOURUSER --password=YOURPASSWORD
In both of the above examples, replace /backup/backup.nems with where you want nems-migrator to output the download, and YOURUSER and YOURPASSWORD to those you set during nems-init.
Once you have a backup.nems file being backed up to a different system, I recommend you have your backup script run an rdiff-backup of your /backup folder (in this example) to allow for versioning.