How to Install BackupPC on Fedora CoreOS

Introduction

BackupPC is a high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up Linux, Unix, and Windows servers to a server's disk. Fedora CoreOS is a minimalistic operating system designed for containers and Kubernetes deployments. In this tutorial, you'll learn how to install BackupPC on Fedora CoreOS.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have:

Installing BackupPC on Fedora CoreOS

BackupPC is part of the official Fedora repositories, so it can be installed using the dnf package manager. Follow these steps:

  1. Open a terminal on your Fedora CoreOS instance and connect to it as a user with sudo privileges.

  2. Update the package repository and packages to the latest versions:

    sudo dnf update -y
    
  3. Install BackupPC and its dependencies. These packages will help you to keep your system secure and up-to-date:

    sudo dnf install backuppc -y
    
  4. Now that BackupPC is installed, you need to configure it. BackupPC uses Apache as its web server, so you'll need to create a new virtual host configuration. Create a new file under the Apache conf directory:

    sudo vim /etc/httpd/conf.d/backuppc.conf
    

    Insert the following content into the file. Don't forget to replace the IP address with your Fedora CoreOS instance IP address:

    Alias /backuppc /usr/share/backuppc/cgi-bin
    <Directory /usr/share/backuppc/cgi-bin>
    AllowOverride None
    Require all granted
    </Directory>
    ScriptAlias /backuppc-admin /usr/share/backuppc/cgi-bin/BackupPC_Admin
    <Directory /usr/share/backuppc/cgi-bin>
    AllowOverride None
    Require all granted
    </Directory>
    
  5. Restart Apache to apply the new configuration:

    sudo systemctl restart httpd
    
  6. Finally, you need to configure BackupPC itself. The configuration is located in the /etc/backuppc directory. Open the config.pl file and customize its settings:

    sudo vim /etc/backuppc/config.pl
    

    Customize the following configuration settings:

    $Conf{ServerName}       = 'localhost'; # Replace with your server's hostname
    $Conf{CgiURL}           = '/backuppc'; # Keep the default value
    $Conf{CgiAdminUsers}    = 'admin';     # Add your username as an admin
    $Conf{PingPath}         = '/usr/bin/fping'; # Keep the default value
    $Conf{BackupFilesExclude} = {
       '/tmp' => [ '*.log', '*.temp', '*.swp' ],
    }; # Define the files you want to exclude from your backups
    
  7. Once you've finished customizing the config.pl file, save it and restart BackupPC to apply the changes:

    sudo systemctl restart backuppc
    

Conclusion

By following these instructions, you can install BackupPC on Fedora CoreOS and configure it to your preferences. BackupPC is a powerful and dependable backup system that will help you to protect your data.

If you want to self-host in an easy, hands free way, need an external IP address, or simply want your data in your own hands, give IPv6.rs a try!

Alternatively, for the best virtual desktop, try Shells!