Backup a Windows host using built-in SSH and WSL Rsync

[xezpeleta]

Apparently is it possible to configure a Windows host without Cwrsync, using SSH + Rsync like linux hosts. Maybe we should test it and add it to our documentation.

From rsnapshot.org website:

Windows 10 native OpenSSH server and WSL2

For Windows 10 (1809+) machines, another option is to use the native OpenSSH server now available in Windows 10 1809 and WSL2. By using the native ssh server, WSL does not have to be running for the backup to occur.

• Install the native OpenSSH server in powershell.
• Key based access is still required and setup can be a bit strange, see the following StackOverflow post answer for what configuration steps are required.
• Install WSL2 and your Linux distribution of choice. Make sure rsync is installed and available in that distribution.
• Use WSL2’s rsync by including rsync_long_args='--rsync-path=wsl rsync' in the backup command. Take care with the single quote placement so the configuration will be executed correctly. By providing wsl rsync, this executes the rsync command in WSL instead of trying to execute it via Windows.

Example backup command configuration for Windows machines

This assumes that key based access for John Doe is properly configured on the remote system. (And that tabs are used between the fields)

backup    192.168.1.2:/mnt/c/users/John\ Doe/    johndoe/    rsync_long_args='--rsync-path=wsl rsync',ssh_args=-l 'John Doe'

[kubycsolutions]

I'm experimenting with this, though trying to get things set up so SSH by public key works without breaking WSL has been a bit of an ongoing battle. One discovery: You probably need to escape the space: rsync_long_args='--rsync-path=wsl\ rsync'.

Windows also declines to try more than five authentication attempts; if you have too many keys in your ssh configuration directory, it may give up before trying them all and/or before getting to the fallback of asking for a password.

Remember that you will probably want to set static network addresses on any machines you will be accessing remotely, unless you have a dynamic DNS set up. Maybe even then. It may also be a good idea to enable wake-on-lan in the server's BIOS, and build a call to a WOL tool into your backup sequence.