[Box Backup] lcd with bbackupquery on win32 (chris' binaries)

Stefan Tauner boxbackup@fluffy.co.uk
Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:23:11 +0200


hoi
ive been playing with boxbackup since yesterday, so maybe i missed
something in the very good structured and uptodate wiki (sorry for the
sarcasm :)

im running debian etch on an intel p3 as server/ca and win2k on my
laptop.
on the server i compiled bb 0.10 from source
(after patching BackupQueries.cpp   LLONG_MIN -->
std::numeric_limits<long long>::min() and adding #undef min #undef max
just like it is in trunk)
(the packages for getting the additional features on etch are
libedit-dev und libdb4.4-dev)

then i installed chris' precompiled binaries rev 784 (updated them
today to the current 1280) into my truecrypt container (mounted as
removable device).

backing up my documents folder from "D:\Documents\" on fat32 works
without problems.
i could also restore several files using bbackupquery get (-i).
but... changing directory locally doesnt work at all.
ive tried lots of commands with and without quoting, with escaping and
even with "sh cd..."
i couldnt even get into the parent dir or a subdir.
in the best case it gives an error message only and does nothing.
sometimes (most of the time with 784) it fell back into the windows
directory:
query > lcd d:\
Local current directory is now '\\?\d:\'
query > sh ls
CMD.EXE was started with '\\?\d:\' as the current directory path.  UNC
paths
are not supported.  Defaulting to Windows directory.

whats the correct syntax to cd to another drive with the win32 rls?

the compare command doesnt work either
compare -aq fails instantly (=3D on the first file?) with:
=46ailed to open 'D:\Documents\\Default.rdp': The filename, directory
name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

ps/commentary:
i want to migrate from rsyncing to my local server to using encrypted
incremental backups somewhere remote. i have been looking for a long
time (even before bb 0.10 was released) and there is nothing that
servs my needs. bb could somewhere in the not too far future, but it
needs a lot of ui love to get there.

the installation process is very well done despite the "overhead" of
the ca and signing the certs.
the daemon/service principle is great, but the restore process should
be a lot more user friendly (like it is with rdiff backup e.g.
http://www.nongnu.org/rdiff-backup/examples.html#restore)
combined with a gui  for browsing the repository and the features so
far, would be really what i would ever ask from a backup solution.

the wiki is a mess. thats a _big_ problem for new people.
you should at least mark the outdated stuff clearly, that would help a
lot (e.g. ive been using rev 784 the whole day with good faith that
its the current release because its listed on
http://bbdev.fluffy.co.uk/trac/wiki/Installation)
im quite sure those things would get fixed, if the wiki would be
editable for everyone.

great work so far nonetheless, thank you! :)

ive started this mail with one single question... sorry for
protracting it like this ;)
--=20
mfG, Stefan Tauner
"Only wimps use tape backup: _real_ men just upload their important stuff=
 on ftp, and let the rest of the world mirror it ;)" --- Linus Torvalds