alright so netfirms blocks rsync, right? well even if you didn’t know, it’s true. So my backup methods have been less than desireable while i spend time brainstorming the real answer.
today i found it.
I’ve played around with sshfs before and the solution was inherent in this new toolset.
netfirms gives ssh access (to accounts that pay for it)
all things being what they are heres what i did:
1. install sshfs on backup server
2. sshfs mount my www root on netfirms to my backup server to a local mountpoint
# sshfs username@domain.com:/path/to/www/ /mnt/sshfs
3. begin the rsync to a local folder
# rsync -azevvv /mnt/sshfs /local/backup/
4. fire it off and go get a 12 pack and maybe more if your hosting dir is large with lots of domains
5. once it has done, unmount the appropriate shit and find a way to script it.
# umount /mnt/sshfs
6. Yay! now you have an active rsync method for netfirms…why did they have to make it so difficult!