Rsync Over SSH (Windows XP)

[David Overton]

Hi Henri,

2009/3/14 henri <henri at stmargarets.school.nz>:
> In essence I would like to determine if rsync a good choice when it comes to
> the backup of files on a Windows XP machine?
>
> Suggestions such as the following will all be warmly welcomed :
>
> (1) Do not run rsync over ssh, keep it simple.
> (2) Do not use rsync on Windows XP.
> (3) Try xyz commercial solution/service instead, it works great!
> (4) Use xyz open source solution it is fantastic!
> (4) It works but it is difficult, prepare your self for punishment.
> (5) No problem, just follow these instructions you will be running in 1 day.
> (6) It works, just make sure you install the xyz patch.
> (7) Not enough information, it depends on various other factors.
>  ...etc
>
>
> I am aware that there is the popular "Cygwin" project which provides a super
> simple way of installing both rsync and OpenSSH on Windows systems.

There's no "native" port of rsync on Windows so using the Cygwin
port is the way to go.  If you don't want a full Cygwin installation
there is an excellent package called cwRsync which contains just what
you need at http://www.itefix.no/i2/node/10650.  The same site provides
an OpenSSH package called CopSSH which is designed to work well with
cwRsync.  Both packages come with Windows-style installers that set up
the SSH/rsync daemons as Windows services.

If you want a commercial backup solution, you might be interested in
BackupAssist (www.backupassist.com) which now supports backup via rsync
as well as other methods.  (Disclaimer: I work for the company that
develops BackupAssist.)  BackupAssist provides various pre-defined
schemes for regular scheduled backups with history.  No need to fiddle
around with scripts and rsync options, just enter your server details,
select a scheme then select which files/directories you want to backup.
There's a 30 day free trial period if you want to try it out.

Other features:
- Supports rsync daemon, rsync over ssh, and rsync daemon via ssh tunnel
- Backup history uses hard links for files that haven't changed between
  backups, similar to rsnapshot.  (Our marketing department calls this
  "single instance store".)
- Support for Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS) for Windows 2003 and
  later (not XP unfortunately).

I hope this doesn't sound too much like an ad, but you did ask about
commercial solutions.

Cheers,

David