This topic has been marked solved and closed to new posts due to inactivity. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
I currently have a ReadyNAS Pro4 that I will be replacing with a newer RN626. The older model is running firmware RAIDiator 4.2.31. The unit is set up with active directory integration and is used to backup desktop computers in our division. Each user has their own folder via active directory. As the administrator I do not have access to the data on those folders.
I would like to backup or clone all the data from the old ReadyNAS to the new unit including all the data in each of those active directory users folders (i.e. clone them to new folders in the new unit but they are still locked to the active directory user). When I switch over to the new unit then all new backups will go to the new device instead of the old device.
Is there a way to do this kind of device cloning or backup?
Come to think of it, rsync synchronisation might just work right off the bat, it would for local users (so long as you created the user accounts first).
Again, the home folders are only created after the user accesses the NAS with their credentials using SMB. At that point, the system will create a btrfs subvolume.
If you simply run rsync, you will almost certainly end up with an ordinary folder instead of a subvolume.
An alternative here is to provide each user with a script that would migrate their data from their PC.
I've only used local users, not AD users. Perhaps, you could deploy the new NAS, empty, but keep the existing NAS for now. After the users sync at least once, you could then continue with an rsync synchronisation. Come to think of it, rsync synchronisation might just work right off the bat, it would for local users (so long as you created the user accounts first). Alternatively, you could run a backup job from your old NAS to your new NAS, right from the dashboard, or if you already have a full backup, restore it to the new NAS. There are several options to get the data across, the tricky bit is fixing the access rights.
I suggest you try one initial account (your own?), to see what happens.
As StephenB mentions, if you are the admin, then you *do* have access to every file on the entire storage system.
Come to think of it, rsync synchronisation might just work right off the bat, it would for local users (so long as you created the user accounts first).
Again, the home folders are only created after the user accesses the NAS with their credentials using SMB. At that point, the system will create a btrfs subvolume.
If you simply run rsync, you will almost certainly end up with an ordinary folder instead of a subvolume.
An alternative here is to provide each user with a script that would migrate their data from their PC.
There is a command line utility available via SSH called mkhomedir_helper that will create the home share for a user. Unfortunately, it does not support a wild card or any other multiple user input, so you have to either use it manually for each account or write a script that basically does the same.
Thanks, I had already resigned myself to probably requiring everybody to run a script to do the backup. My backup solution is actually pretty low tech - there is a batch script that runs on the users computer when they log in that just does an xcopy so I can have them run a script to first copy all data from old to new then do the local backup.
Thanks for the clarifycation, a restore becomes much more longwinded with OS6 - it seems things are very different than with earler versions (OS4/5) in the way home areas are handled.
Actually, things are very different in the way all shares are handled -- that they are BTRFS sub-volumes, not just directories. That gives you more control over each, especially using BTRFS based capabilities, but does mean shares, including user home shares, cannot be created by rsync, which is BTRFS-unaware. All shares must be created before you try to use rsync or any other backup job to copy to them.
Another option would be to make your own user folders and disable all access to the standard ones (unlike OS4.x, you cannot diable their creation) and use your own "home" folder system, such as in a share users. or using a name like User1_home for User1. Note that you cannot create shares of your own that have the same name as a user name, though you can create directories within a share with user names. The disadvantage of using an alternate home folder approach, of course, is that you have to manually create and set access permissions to them when new users are created. Rsync will support creating such directories within a share, though. Time Machine is linked to the actual home folders, so alternative home folders is not an option if Time Machine is a part of your implementation.
Another option would be to make your own user folders and disable all access to the standard ones (unlike OS4.x, you cannot diable their creation) and use your own "home" folder system, such as in a share users. or using a name like User1_home for User1.
If you are using AD, you likely have too many users for this to be practical.
The flaw here is that Netgear isn't creating the home folder right away. Deferring the creation until it is accessed with SMB makes the restoration difficult.
