Re: [rdiff-backup-users] Re: What happens if you add a --exclude to an existing rdiff-backup?

[Dominic Raferd]

Thanks David, that is helpful.

It would be good if there was a way of removing a subset of data from 
the entire repository. So let's say I put a 500GB folder in /home by 
accident and it has gone into the repository and is bloating it. I can 
exclude it from my future rdiff-backup runs but the folder will still be 
held as snapshot[s]. If I run --remove-older-than it will remove all 
data older than whenever, but I want to keep all the other stuff and 
just remove this folder (and its contents).

Quite a common scenario but rdiff-backup can't handle it (AFAIK) and I 
don't know of a reliable workaround (apart from: get a bigger disk for 
the repository).

Dominic

On 08/01/11 10:15, D. Kriesel wrote:
> Hi, according to rdiff-backups doc, excluded files are just treated as if they 
> would not exist. This means that a snapshot of such a file will be created in 
> the metadata once a backup run with the exclusion is performed, and the file 
> will be deleted from the mirror data.llyu
>
> Cheers, david
>
>
>
> "Dominic Raferd"<address@hidden>  schrieb:
>
> > I agree that makes sense in terms of the question in the body of your
> > posting. But the subject of your posting was a slightly different
> > question: 'What happens if you add a --exclude to an existing
> > rdiff-backup?'
> >
> > If a week ago you added  --exclude /home/fred to your rdiff-backup line
> >
> > backing up /home, will /home/fred now be removed from the destination
> > by
> > a "--remove-older-than 5D" run?
> >
> > In other words, if you add exclusion criteria to an existing
> > rdiff-backup run, are the copies of the newly-excluded files removed
> >from the main repository and placed in the increments folder [in which
> > case they *would* be removed by a subsequent --remove-older-than
> > command], or are they just left where they were [in which case they
> > *wouldn't* be]?
> >
> > I don't know the answer, but if someone does I would be interested.
> >
> > Dominic
> >
> > On 07/01/11 21:31, Chris G wrote:
> > > On Fri, Jan 07, 2011 at 02:38:45PM -0500, address@hidden
> > wrote:
> > > > When the files are deleted, they are copied to the increments folder
> > and
> > > > kept till they are removed by --remove-older-than.
> > > That makes sense, thank you.
> > >
> > > > Chris G<address@hidden>   wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > If you delete files/directories from the 'source' of an
> > rdiff-backup
> > > > > will they get removed from the destination with an appropriate
> > > > > "--remove-older-than" run?
> > > > >
> > > > > For example if rdiff-backup has been backing up a hierarchy with a
> > > > > directory called 'tmp' for a while and then the 'tmp' directory is
> > > > > removed can one get rdiff-backup to remove the 'tmp' backups 7 days
> > > > > later by "--remove-older-than 7D".
> > > > >
> > > > >   From the man page it sounds as if deleted files *will* be
> > removed:-
> > > > >                 Note that snapshots of deleted files are covered by
> > this  opera-
> > > > >                 tion.  Thus if you deleted a file two weeks ago,
> > backed up imme-
> > > > >                 diately afterwards, and then  ran  rdiff-backup
> > with  --remove-
> > > > >                 older-than  10D  today,  no  trace  of  that  file
> > would remain.
> > > > >                 Finally, file selection options such as --include
> > and  --exclude
> > > > >                 don't affect --remove-older-than.
> > > > >
> > > > > But this bit from the examples section of the documentation worries
> > me
> > > > > slightly:-
> > > > >
> > > > >       Note that an existing file which hasn't changed for a year
> > will still be
> > > > >       preserved. But a file which was deleted 15 days ago cannot be
> > restored
> > > > >       after this command is run.
> > > > >
> > > > > --
> > > > > Chris Green