[CentOS] Backup Server with rsync methods

[bryan davis]

> Hi guys:
>
> I'm about to migrate a sever to a managed server facility.  I've alwau=ys
> used tape to backup my server, now that's not an option.  I've read abut
> using rsync to do backups and have several scripts to do same.  I believe
> rsync is a good solution.
>
> I am missing some important nuiances though...  I would like to have
> essentially a "mirror" server at my facility ( call it "master") that I 
> can
> backup to, and from, completely from the other server (call it "hosted").
>
> Obviously I have to have at least different IP addresses on "master" and
> "hosted", but other than that, I'd like them to be mirrors of each other. 
> I
> would like to do all my configs, setup, etc. at my leisure on "master",
> where I have hands on control, then when ready, have "hosted" setup with a
> basic Centos server install, then configure it to rsync to my "master" and
> update the entire thing (updates and all) to my "master".
>
> 1. Which files tdo I need to exclude to avoid IP address and hostname
> changes?
>
> 2. What caveats do I need to be aware of?  Are there other files such as
> 'live" libraries that I cannot sync to?
>
> 3. The "master" server at my facility and their server may have different
> hard drive architecture (i.e. IDS and SCSI drives, different processor,
> etc.).  As long as I use a generic Kernel (i.e. stock) that supposts the
> hardware on both, this shoudl not be a problem, right?
>
> 4. Am I missing something, is there a better way?
>
> Thanks,
> Scott
>

You might be able to use SystemImager (http://www.systemimager.org/) to 
handle this. It's designed to create an rsync based replica of a 'golden 
server' that can then be pushed down to one or more client machines.  It has 
mechanisms for changing IP addresses and other networking information on the 
client machines. You'll want to familiarize yourself with how it excludes 
files from the image so you can avoid overwriting important data.  Your live 
will be much easier if you have identical hardware, but if you're truly 
determined, it might be doable with reasonably similar hardware.