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Forum Discussion
greg_t
Jul 09, 2023Aspirant
Moving a set of backup_jobs.conf configs from one ReadyNAS server to another (RN426 & RNDP400U)
A used RN426 has come into my possession and I am going to make it my primary home file server. I want to get my collection of backup configurations moved to it from my current server. My home fi...
- Jul 13, 2023
The solution to my problem of transferring the backup job configurations from my Ultra 4 Plus to my RN426, both running OS6.10.8, turned out to have a number of elements. This is a summary so that the next person who needs to do this has a condensed narrative of my journey.
History: I have had Readynas boxes for over 15 yeas. I upgraded from my Infrant NV+ to an Ultra 4,upgraded that to OS6 using unofficial firmware, and then upgraded to my Ultra 4 Plus. I did this with the simple process of backing up the old config and restoring it to the new machine. When I wanted to upgrade to my RN426, this process failed to work, giving an "Unrecognized Server Error" when I attempted to do it.
Not wanting to spend too much time troubleshooting the mystery, I then manually configured the new machine to match the Shares and Networking configurations by hand. When it came to the backup configurations I hesitated to try and rebuild them by hand since there are all kinds of niggly little details in them that I honed over the years and I just wanted to port them over.
So, I unzipped the saved configuation from my Ultra 4 Plus and copied the /frontview/etc/backup_jobs.conf file to the same location on the new machine. No joy. StephenB mentioned that there is a database where these things are kept in Frontview, so thinking that some post-processing needed to be done after copying the config file I tried this:
- Logged out of Frontview
- Logged into the box using SSH as root
- Copied the config file to the /frontview/etc/backup_jobs.conf file
- Rebooted
This worked. I thought. The configurations looked fine, all scheduled with the same schedules.
But, the next morning I discovered that none of them had run.
The final step in the solution was to do the following for each Backup Configuration:
- Open its settings
- Clear the Schedule checkbox
- Save the settings
- Open the settings
- Check the Schedule checkbox
That did the trick and everything is working now.
Thanks to StephenB for his help!
StephenB
Jul 09, 2023Guru
greg_t wrote:
For reasons probably related to machine architecture, I am unable to move the configuration from my Ultra 4 Plus to this RN426, getting an "Unrecognized Server Error" when I try.
Likely the Ultra 4 Plus is running 4.2.x firmware.
It can be migrated to OS-6 if you want (though you'd need to upgrade the memory to at least 2 GB first - not expensive).
- greg_tJul 09, 2023Aspirant
Thanks, an important point. I should have mentioned that both boxes are running OS 6.10.8 (the current latest) version of OS6. I upgraded from 4.x a couple of old-equipment-transitions back.
I updated my note with this info.- StephenBJul 09, 2023Guru
greg_t wrote:
I should have mentioned that both boxes are running OS 6.10.8 (the current latest) version of OS6.
Good to know.
Then backing up the config files, and then restoring them should have worked. So there is some mystery here.
- greg_tJul 10, 2023Aspirant
That is what I thought, the file should have been sufficient. Does Frontview load the file into a database or something? Maybe I have to reboot. I'll try that in the morning.
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