I have a network with a server and a backup server. I set them up to automatically rsync every night at 1:00 after everyone has left. This is great because if our server goes down we have backup. It also provides an extra layer of security in that, if I delete a file by accident during the day, or modify it by accident, I can retrieve last nights copy from the backup server. That is easy, of course for me, but not for everyone else who shouldn't know all the passwords to get in.

So I wanted to set up my Rsync backup server as a samba server as well. That way everyone will be able to reference a backup in case they screw up.

So I set my rsync to send the backup folder to the home directory of the backup server and shared it on samba. However, I don't want people modifying the backup server, so I set up a script to change the file permissions to read only after the copy. I also created a backup account that can be used to access the files, and did a chown script. I was getting errors when trying to access the share because root was doing the backup and owned the destination folder.

Big mistake. Now the backup server will no longer backup. I am pretty sure because I have modified the files in my destination directory with a chmod, and chown.

I feel stupid.

How can I achieve this task?

I think you're banging your head against a wall if you expect users to dig their way out of the hole they made.

We just make reliable backups. Then when a user calls for that folder or file they deleted, we go get it and put a copy where they can find it. I sure wouldn't let those users anywhere near the backup server.