ERDA backup

You can combine Avancered data access with Duplicati, a free, open source backup programme you can use to automatically save a backup of your PC on ERDA.

Duplicati saves backup files in a special wrapped format, which means that you can use it to save special files and files with exotic names ERDA doesn't accept. This way, you can easily encrypt your backup as well, so no one else can read it, even if they manage to access it. 

Duplicati comes in both a user friendly graphic version, and a version with command-line, which is better for making backups of servers and certain NAS-solutions. We will walk through the graphic version here.

There are two parts to Duplicati set-up:

1) configuration on ERDA through Duplicati Setup

2) loading the resultant Duplicati configurations on your PC.

Some research groups have their own NAS /server for their data. If you want to back up one of those on ERDA without using Duplicati tyou can script the setup of ERDA backup archives.

The easiest way to do so is through a project. Pick a group (if you don't have one yet, follow our guide to Projects (VGrids)). Create a subfolder in one of your folders, for instance, backup.

We assume that, for reasons of security, you prefer to avoid saving your ERDA password on the PC performing backup. To avoid this you can either use SFTP/SSHFS with an ssh-key or create a share link with read- and write-access (as we describe under Share Links). If you're using share links you can access the folder via WebDAVS/SFTP access to link-sharing, that is with the share link ID as user name and password. In this way access to the subfolder is limited and the risk of abuse reduced.

At this point, you can use a command like sftp or lftp to upload files from the storage server. You can even upload ERDA as a network drive with e.g. sshfs and use rsync or  similar if you only want to upload changes to the files.

Set up a workflow rule in your group to integrate the creation of a backup archive in the backup process.

Open ERDA Settings. Under Site Collaboration Links pick advanced in stead of default to access workflows.

Now, on the project overview you'll see a Workflows-pillar. Click Open link and fill out the form with a new workflows-rule.

Actually, you're creating a backup archive of the subfolder every time you upload or save an X.create-backup file to your backup folder.

ERDA can perform tasks on your behalf through Scheduled Tasks. Here you can plan recurring tasks as well as unique ones. 

The Scheduled Tasks app is not automatically part of the ERDA front page, so click Add, pick the app, and click Save. 

Using Scheduled Tasks lets you set up ERDA to create a new backup archive of, for instance, the uploads folder every day at 4:38. You can either save to the folder manually, or you can use Server Backup to ERDA with scripting to upload data continually.

The Createbackup command uses a name with three automatic variables like +SHCEDDAY+ to name the archive after the date of running.

You can keep an eye on running and past Scheduled Tasks in View Logs. Read more about available variables and commands at the bottom of Manage Tasks under Schedule Tasks.