transferring files to from Windows machine to Linux
 

hi all,

I have a linux box that I plan to use primarily as a server. I also have another machine that dual boots Windows/Linux.

I would like to have a way to backup my files from the Windows/Linux box onto the Linux server. In other words, I am assuming the hard drive on the Windows/Linux box could fail at any time and I want to have a backup of important files.

Should I set up an ftp server to do this? Are there any security issues that I need to be concerned about if the files contain sensitive information etc?

Thanks for your reply.

You could just setup a file server on your Linux box and use some free backup tools on Linux to backup your data on timely basis. You would need SAMBA configured for windows networking. You do not need anything else if you are just planning on file server for data backup.

I suggest rsync + bat file + scheduled tasks.

Hello,

Depending on how frequently your data changes, you might consider synchronising your files instead of a daily backup scheme. Have a look at Unison File synchronizer. An easy to follow introduction, just published last Sunday, can be found here. I use it myself in a mixed environment for data and configuration files that change frequently instead of only relying on backup.

Kind regards,

Eric

Hey Eric, that looks a nice tool.

Hi Chaitanya,

It is! Last year I was 'playing around' with rsync but never got it to do what I wanted and then I found this utility. I use it to synchronise configuration files and data between three production servers that are in a high availability, load balanced cluster and it works like a charm.

Kind regards,

Eric

Thanks for the reply.

The data does not change that frequently, and it is not critical, so I think the idea of synchronizing might be overkill. That is, if by synchronizing you mean something that constantly monitors a directory and mirrors any changes in another backup directory.

For this particular situation, I would like to backup the files on the Linux box, and then delete them from the Windows box. I will probably be formatting the Windows box every couple of months so nothing can stay on there. However, it would also be nice to also be able to download the files from the Linux box to the Windows box, in case I need them when I'm using Windows. For example, I might store my pictures on the Linux server and then I want to view them later when I'm using Windows.

You mentioned SAMBA, and I went to the website and still only understand very little. Is this just something you need to setup to allow networking between Windows and Linux? Does this have anything to do with file backup?

Would I need to setup SAMBA AND rsync to get this to work? Could anyone outline the basics steps that a beginner would take to accomplish this? I don't mind looking things up as long as I have a general direction.

Thanks.

Hello,

You're welcome. Unison can be set up like you want it to, synchronize every minute, every hour, every day, ... It's not one on one mirroring, nor a process that constantly monitors a specific directory.

On the other hand if you just want to use a Linux box to save a backup then Samba will do the trick. Have a look at this site: HowToForge / Samba. They have a lot of easy to follow, step by step, copy / paste HowTos for multiple distros.

Since you haven't specified what distro you use on your Linux box, it's a bit hard to provide specific commands. If you give us more detail about your distro and what you want (FTP, Samba, NFS, ...), then we'll be able to help you out with more detailed information.

Kind regards,

Eric

complete details can be found on following blog.
http://learnlinuxwithrohan.blogspot....ch/label/samba

complete details can be found on following blog.
http://learnlinuxwithrohan.blogspot....ch/label/samba

Thanks, I will take a look at this tutorial. I am currently using Ubuntu 10.04, not because I prefer it to any other, but because I was told it is the most user-friendly for beginners.

As for what I want (FTP, Samba, NFS, ...), I think that is part of my problem. That is, I'm not sure because I do not know the difference between them. In other words, why choose to set up a SAMBA server instead of a FTP server? I'm pretty sure that I could set up an FTP server and use an FTP client to login and upload files from my Windows box. Since everybody here is recommending SAMBA, I assume this is the best option for what I want.

Thanks for your time. Look forward to posting many more questions on the forums. :)

Hi,

This is only for RPM based distros and does not apply to for example Debian/Ubuntu or other non RPM distros for what concerns the installation part. It's always a good idea to point that out if you link to instructions (hence my post referring that OP didn't mention what distro he's using).

Kind regards,

Eric

Alternatively you can also check if Your distribution has support for CIFS.

Life will be lot simpler if your distro has CIFS support.

My option for you are as follows
option 1:
If your distro has a support for rpm then go for whatever is given in the blog as it is more oriented to beginner .
option 2:
If your distribution has a support for CIFS then go for it.

I know its difficult to implement but i tried to make it so simple .I think option 2 will be very easier for you.

If you want something easy and quick to set up the easiest thing is to just setup samba/cifs and use that. I wouldn't use NFS for windows, it's possible but I don't advice it.

Another straigforward solution would be to just use WinSCP and do the thing over ssh, that is, as long as you have ssh running on your server. You can set it up with key pair authentication for extra comfort. But, as said, the most transparent solution would be samba.