need some info on linux as remote store for backups

[Tommi]

hi everyone.

i am running backups to a remote store over a WAN connection, the remote store is running win2003 server.

i later found out that that was a bad move,,, and i have to reinstall the remote store as a linux box..
not my problem is,, i dont know linux,,,

could anyone point me in the right direction to what (free) linux i should download and install,, and any pointers as to how i can make it work together with a windows enviroment, allso if somekind of
"remote desktop" is avaible on linux.
you know, anything a "windows guy" need to know to install and setup a linux box as a remote store for my veeam backups

thanks for your help
cheers
Tommi

[Alexey D.]

Hello Tommy,

Actually, any linux box is ok to backup on it (just choose appropriate option when adding server to backup console, and specify credentials).

Also, OpenFiler may be an option for you. It's a free NAS/SAN provider, linux-based installation with web-interface (no need to "setup GUI").
It supports vast majority of existing protocols and works just out of the box. Please refer to the link for description.

[Tommi]

hi Alexey

thanks alot for your reply.

considering i am using this box over a WAN connection,, is there any benefit using "openfiller" or any Nas/San product you that matter.. ??
or is a normal CIFS share better ???
any thoughts on this would be aprociated,, i just want this install to be right

cheers
Tommi

[Vitaliy S.]

Tommi,

I wouldn't actually go that far...If I were you I would simply install ANY Linux distribution (with GUI option), then add this very server to your backup console via "Add Server -> Linux server" and choose local Linux disks as targets for your backup jobs.

This would allow you to automatically deploy small helper agents on the destination target to have much better performance rates. Just make sure you have enough CPU power on your Linux box.

P.S. I believe our Linux guru - Tom - might also give you some piece of advice or share his own howtos, that might be useful for you.

Thanks!

[Tommi]

hi Vitaliy

thanks for your reply it is much aproiciated
i hope Tom might drop by later and give me some howtos.. that would help me alot

thanks guys cheers
Tommi

[Gostev]

Essentially, all you need on Linux box is SSH and Perl. I typically use Debian, do minimal install (all roles unchecked, even Standard system), and then just add SSH and Perl. This boots in 10 sec or so but needs some minimal Linux expertise to set this up without GUI, of course.

If you really want GUI, then I recommend using Ubuntu Linux. You should not really need to be logging on there directly, as soon as you add the server to Veeam Backup tree, you will be able to copy around files just like in Windows Explorer using Veeam Backup UI (Servers tree). So, it will be completely transparent to you and you will soon forget that target is running Linux.

[Tommi]

hi Gostev

oo i want GUI as i have never played with linux before, so sounds like i will go for Ubuntu
you mention SSH and Perl.... is that nedded and Why ?? (sorry if you think this is dumb questions )
i guess i all so have to do some kind of partitioning ??
i have a large disk (raid 5) at 1.8 TB, and guess i have to partition it ´right to use all the storrage ??

cheers
Tommi

[Gostev]

SSH and Perl are needed so that Veeam Backup can automatically deploy small temporary agent. Ubuntu will have those components pre-installed, so do not worry.

[Tommi]

ok great.. thanks for info Gostev its apriciated..
now for the partitioning ,, anything i should know ?

oo and should i use ubunto server or desktop ?
cheers
Tommi

[Gostev]

I believe Ubuntu provides partitioning wizard as a part of setup. If you have any issues or want to know some how-tos or recommendations, please to refer to Ubuntu forums. They are great, they are what made me fall in love in Ubuntu!

[Tommi]

ok thanks Gostev

should i use ubunto server or desktop ?

Tommi

[Gostev]

Does not matter from Veeam Backup perspective, we support any Linux distribution at all.

[tsightler]

To be completely honest, for a complete Linux newbie, something like OpenFiler is probably the best. Everything is managed via a nice web interface so, after a simple install, you don't really need to know much about Linux at all.

If you decide to go with Ubuntu, I suggest 10.04 LTS (Long Term Support), that way you can install it, and get security updates with a reasonably long lifecycle (5 years) before the next upgrade. But because Ubuntu is a general purpose OS, it doesn't have a lot of specific tools around disk management, that's where products like OpenFiler shine. Since you're basically using the Linux box as a big remote file server, using a distro focused on file management seems like the right choice.

We actually use RHEL (Redhat Enterprise Linux), but that's because we're already a pretty big Linux shop, and we've standardized on this platform so we just keep it simple by using a consistent version across the board.

[Tommi]

hi again.

thanks for your reply,, i think i will take a look at that openfiler,, as you said,, i only need to use it as a large remote file server.
is there support for security opdates for that too ??? looks like the latest release is in 2009 ?

cheers
Tommi

[tsightler]

OpenFiler is built on the rPath framework and pulls it's security updates via the "conary" tool. I think you can either run "conary updateall" from the CLI, or use the built in GUI updater, which is what I'm sure most people do.

OpenFiler also sells commercial support packages, either annually, or per incident. I can't comment on their support as I've never needed to use them.

[Tommi]

hi tsightler

thanks alot for info.. reinstalling my remote backup server today with openfiler...

cheers
Tommi