Backing up a Windows machine using Cygwin rsync WITHOUT ssh

This setup was tested with Win2k, NT4.0 and cygwin rsync version 2.6.3 version 28.

Before you can use Rsync on a Windows Workstation or Windows Server, you will need to download and install the Cygwin system http://www.cygwin.com, with the following selections as a minimum:

This example assume an installation in [=c:\cygwin\] directory.

After the preliminary questions, choose the following minimum packages:

Expand the +Admin section
Select cygrunsrv NT/W2k service initiator.

Cygwin Editors Selection
Click +Editors to expand the choices, then select nano.

Cygwin Net Selection
Click +Net to expand the choices, then select Rsync.

Open the Control Panel and double click on the System applet. Click on the Advanced tab, then click the Environment Variables button. Double click on the PATH statement in the 'System Variable' screen (lower of the two), add the path on the end [=c:\cygwin\bin], and click OK . Click OK to close the Environment Variables screen, then click OK to close the System Properties dialogue box. The path will be dynamically reloaded.

This section was derived from http://www.gaztronics.net/rsync.php and http://pigtail.net/LRP/printsrv/cygwin-ssh.html

Client Files

Now create the [=rsyncd.conf] and [=rsyncd.secrets] files as the examples bellow to [=c:\cygwin\etc\].

These files need to be present on the Windows machine.

/etc/rsyncd.conf alias c :\cygwin\etc\rsyncd.conf

Note: You need to change 192.168.0.253 to be the address of your dirvish server. You could also use a hostname, or use a subnet (192.168.0.0/24, for example.) This line restricts what machines can access the share.

You can also change [=path=] to just be a specific directory (e.g., [=c:\documents\] would be [=path=/cygdrive/c/documents/])

  gid = users
  read only = true
  use chroot = false
  transfer logging = false
  log file = /var/log/rsyncd.log
  log format = %h %o %f %l %b
  hosts allow = 192.168.0.253
  hosts deny = 0.0.0.0/0
  strict modes = false

  [drive-c]
  path = /cygdrive/c/
  auth users = backupoper
  secrets file = /etc/rsyncd.secrets

/etc/rsyncd.secrets alias c :\cygwin\etc\rsyncd.secrets

Change [=mypassword] to a better password, of course. The file must have a CR after the password.

  backupoper:mypassword

Now *install the rsync service* with the following command:

  cygrunsrv -I "RSYNC" -d "Rsync daemon" -p /usr/bin/rsync.exe
  -a "--config=/etc/rsyncd.conf --daemon --no-detach"
  -f "Fast incremental file transfer"

The rsync service is now installed. You can start it with

  cygrunsrv --start rsync

And stop it with

  cygrunsrv --stop rsync

Server Files

These files are for the dirvish server.

default.conf

Your default.conf file for the windows machine will look like:

  client: backupoper@<winmachine>
  password-file: /etc/dirvish/winmachine.passwd
  tree: :drive-c
  ... rest of file ...

(with any additional site-wide preferences you have.) Note the leading colon on the [=tree:] line. [=:drive-c] means use the [=drive-c] share on the Windows rsyncd server. We define [=drive-c] in our client-side [=rsyncd.conf] file to point to the c:\ directory.

Note: If you have multiple windows machines and don't want to have the same password on each, you may need a separate /etc/dirvish/win.password file. In that case, you may want to store the password file in the same directory as your [=default.conf] file. Adjust the config above as needed.

/etc/dirvish/winmachine.passwd

This should match the password in rsyncd.secrets. make sure the copy on your dirvish machine has permissions of [=600].

mypassword

This page was derived from WinRsyncd by Jason Cater

Antonio Cardoso Martins - August 2005