Culling old archive files automatically

Question

Hi, I have set up my RN102 as an FTP server, to receive a rolling daily backup of my websites, with backups generated and sent from the host webserver using Xcloner

The problem is that there is no way that Xcloner can be set to delete old backups remotely, and the author of that software advises my NAS device would need some sort of script or application to be running to do its own automatic pruning of aged backup archives.

Is there an idiot friendly way of doing this?

Ideally some nice app with big friendly intuitive icons and no cron jobs or other arcane scripting unpleasantness that requires me to figure out again and again every few years (about as often as I anticipate wanting to reconfigure anything) how things were set up in the first place and how they can be tweaked without breaking anything.

Failing that, what is the most intuitive/shallowest learning curve option available?

JennC · Answer

Hello&nbsp;ArchPrime,

&nbsp;

Just to keep your post active, I am responding. I have no idea about this Xcloner, to be honest. No idea of what it is trying to get from the NAS, probably an app that has something to do with Xcloner backup too.

&nbsp;

Hopefully, there is a community member out there to enlighten us.

&nbsp;

Welcome to the community!

&nbsp;

Regards,

ArchPrime · Answer

Hi thanks JennC. &nbsp;The Xcloner part is really only background info -&nbsp;basically, it is a source of recurring daily backup archives that get sent to NAS via ftp.&nbsp;What I am looking for is an app or scripting method that the NAS can run to ensure old archives(beyond a certain number of days) get deleted to make way for more recent&nbsp;incoming archives&nbsp;&nbsp;

StephenB · Answer

I don't know of any add-on that will do what you want. &nbsp;
&nbsp;
You could set up a pair of backup jobs. &nbsp;One would copy the xcloner destination to a second share (deleting the contents of the second share first). The second backup job would clear the xcloner destination (and would run the day after the first one, but before xcloner runs). &nbsp;If you run those jobs every two weeks, your retention would vary from 2 to 4 weeks.
&nbsp;

ArchPrime · Answer

Thanks Stephen&nbsp;Sound interesting. &nbsp;If you can forgive my ignorance, by 'backup jobs', do you mean cron&nbsp;jobs? (i.e of the kind that Xcloner creates and the webhost runs?)&nbsp;I hate to ask, but how does one get RN102 to run cron jobs?, and is there a cron script I could copy that would do what I am trying to achieve?&nbsp;Or does RN offer some other type of automatic 'job' process?&nbsp;CheersPaul&nbsp;** EDIT - ok, I think I have found info on the system &nbsp;you are talking about. &nbsp;Something to try!&nbsp;Even better would be a way that is less reliant on so many automated processes doing things to a schedule - for example I can foresee a likely situation in which the Xcloner backup files stop&nbsp;coming through, even while the ReadyNas backup jobs continue to process those two locations, and so end up destroying all my backups if I do not notice and intervene in time (I might be away on holiday at the time for example). &nbsp;Would love to find a 'smart' procedural deletion method, that only deletes what it detects has been superseded&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

StephenB · Answer

ArchPrime wrote:
&nbsp;
Sound interesting. &nbsp;If you can forgive my ignorance, by 'backup jobs', do you mean cron&nbsp;jobs? (i.e of the kind that Xcloner creates and the webhost runs?)
&nbsp;&nbsp;

The NAS has a built-in backup facility (on the admin UI there is a "backup" tab). &nbsp;I was suggesting that you could use that - perhaps close enough enough to what you need. &nbsp;It has the benefit of not requiring SSH access or modification to the normal NAS installation.

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Culling old archive files automatically

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