On 2/10/19 2:24 AM, Christoph Haas via dovecot wrote:
Hello Robert,
----- Nachricht von Robert Moskowitz via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org>
---------
Datum: Sat, 9 Feb 2019 22:50:24 -0500
Von: Robert Moskowitz via dovecot <dovecot@dovecot.org>
Antwort an: Robert Moskowitz <r...@htt-consult.com>, Dovecot Mailing
List <dovecot@dovecot.org>
Betreff: How to backup maildir
An: Dovecot Mailing List <dovecot@dovecot.org>
I have been thinking, and reading, on how to back up my mailserver. I
have not found any approach that seems ready to use.
I have run years without any backup, but would really like to have
something in place.
you're a really lucky guy! - I've been struck in the past for such
carelessness on the one or other machine with dataloss ;-)
Absolute laziness. No real excuse. Also all users were POPing until 2
years ago. Finally got everyone on IMAP just in the last year. So a
server loss would have been an inconvenience. For myself, almost
nothing in the IMAP store, everything in local folders that I have a
separate backup procedure.
I figure I can attach a USB drive and backup to that, then from
there rsync to something elsewhere. Further if that USB drive is a
full mailserver image, I actually have a 'hot backup' where I only
have to put the backup drive into a system and boot up at the last
backup.
But this means properly copying all of /home/vmail and probably
/home/sieve plus the /var/lib/mysql
Are you aware of the dovecot command "dsync"? (man dsync or
https://wiki.dovecot.org/Tools/Doveadm/Sync)
This could be an approach of using dsync:
dsync backup -o plugin/quota= -f -u $user backup
maildir:/mnt/USB/dovecot-backup/Maildir/$user/mail
My search foo is weak. This is a long documented fact. I did spend a
number of hours searching and reading before opening my mouth here,
fully expecting to put more than my toes in.
I will read up on dsync.
Are there good tools that nicely does this? Or do I choose a time
late at night (only I am sometimes in non-US timezones) to shut down
all services and just use rsync?
And stopping services itself is thought provoking. What if Dovecot,
amavis, mysql, or whatelse is in the middle of writing out a mail
file what happens to that file and restart.
Just scary stuff and, in part, why I have never tackled this in the
past.
thanks for all feedback
----- Ende der Nachricht von Robert Moskowitz via dovecot
<dovecot@dovecot.org> -----
It really depends on how important your data is to you ... But you
should really think about a general backup-strategy!
"Mr. Google" can help you to get some ideas how YOUR backup-strategy
could look like...
Also there is much input for backing up dovecot with it's different
mail storage flavours.
- But you have to invest some effort on your own, to search, read,
evaluate and finally choose what's fitting into YOUR setup!
I have been and have been searching. Some hits, but so far nothing was
hitting the spot. But, I will blame my dyslexia that my search foo is
weak.
But as an starting point:
I'm using a for _MY setup_ modified and adopted version of Klaus
Tachtler's dovecot-backup script:
https://github.com/tachtler/dovecot-backup/blob/master/dovecot_backup.sh
... mixed it with Borg Backup:
https://www.borgbackup.org/
... some further encryption, cloud storage and ... and ... and other
stuff.
I will check both of these.
But as above mentioned:
YOU have to think about the grade of your paranoia level, how
importand the data is to you in case of an data loss, time and money
you are willing to invest and build upon this YOUR PERSONAL backup
strategy.
- Sadly there is no one-size-fits-all!
If there was, we would not be here, I suspect.
Last famous words:
I've looked at your vita and was wondering about your post - you were
writing RFCs, but have no clue about backing up your mail-data???
Strange ...
MY mail is well backed up. Locally so that I can read on a plane and
the like. I have been running one flavor or another of my own mail
server since '95. I switched to dovecot 6 years ago.
My home file server is backed up 4 ways around. And I have lost file
servers and file server drives over the years. Upgrading my file server
is the next project.
But I write RFCs. I have been using geany for XML for a few years. I
'code' in English. I have not written computer code since probably the
late 80s. I never coded in C, but I did use B for a while! These days
I can write simple scripts when forced to. :)
My 'spare' time these days is working with armv7 boards. I have been
using Cubietech since '13, recently got an Odroid HC1 and that is what
this server will be. For the most part you will find me on the
Centos/Fedora lists and their arm lists. Occasionally I will put on my
Kevlar suit and ask something basic on a product list.
But as a result of doing this, recently there is a new SElinux policy
for permitting Dovecot to access Mysql. It has already been patched
into Fedora 28 and up. Sometimes it pays to ask for help.
Nevermind! Just my 2ct - hope this helps
Christoph.
Euro ct? :)
Better than US ct!
