PBS: How to back up physical servers?

[LooneyTunes]

Hi,
Just finished with my PBS install, connected to PVE and NAS (the datastore) and working fine. BUT, I don't seem to find how I can backup physical servers... To connect to PVE and backup my VMs was very easy, really no different than using any other storage from PVE. But what about the physical ones - which was the whole point in installing a server - to cover my whole environment with just one solution... Isn't that possible with PBS? Would someone please help me understand what I am missing here?

I have read this section in the manual about the "backup client", but still don't get it. It talks about "files and images", and that a backup can be performed from a physical server... But how do I use PBS to actually take a backup of a whole physical server?

My expectation, and what I thought I have checked before-hand was that PBS was/is capable of

• Easily backing up VMs in PVE
• Through a client back up
  • whole servers
  • or select files & folders from physical servers

As said, VM's was easy, but don't really add anything more for me than another server, and simply having to select a different datastore in PVE...

Thanks

 

[floh8]

why do u not search the forum?

 

[LooneyTunes]

why do u not search the forum?

Very funny. Why do you expect I ask if I haven't tried first? Is there a post I have missed, kindly point to that. Thank you

 

[floh8]

then u take the wrong search words. which ones? try it with others! u will have success.

 

[Dunuin]

There is no easy way to backup a PVE/PBS host yet.
But you can use the proxmox-backup-client to backup any file/folder/block device you want. So you can use that to backup the whole system disk or just some config file folders.
But you then of cause need to know what to back up and how to use the client in CLI.

 

[LooneyTunes]

There is no easy way to backup a PVE/PBS host yet.
But you can use the proxmox-backup-client to backup any file/folder/block device you want. So you can use that to backup the whole system disk or just some config file folders.
But you then of cause need to know what to back up and how to use the client in CLI.

Thank you. Then it at least is possible. I seek to back up a generic Linux server for instance. I will look into PBS CLI then, thanks for the tip!

 

[Xeata_James]

then u take the wrong search words. which ones? try it with others! u will have success.

Your replies are not helpful. Please either answer the question, or stop wasting time. All of us have to READ your posts and it burns up our day.

 

[Xeata_James]

Hi,
Just finished with my PBS install, connected to PVE and NAS (the datastore) and working fine. BUT, I don't seem to find how I can backup physical servers... To connect to PVE and backup my VMs was very easy, really no different than using any other storage from PVE. But what about the physical ones - which was the whole point in installing a server - to cover my whole environment with just one solution... Isn't that possible with PBS? Would someone please help me understand what I am missing here?

I have read this section in the manual about the "backup client", but still don't get it. It talks about "files and images", and that a backup can be performed from a physical server... But how do I use PBS to actually take a backup of a whole physical server?

My expectation, and what I thought I have checked before-hand was that PBS was/is capable of

• Easily backing up VMs in PVE
• Through a client back up
  • whole servers
  • or select files & folders from physical servers

As said, VM's was easy, but don't really add anything more for me than another server, and simply having to select a different datastore in PVE...

Thanks

I believe that physical backups are on the roadmap. But for now I work with the idea that there is not much data stored on the hosts (or the PBS servers themselves) and that they are fairly quick to rebuild from a blank image.
Our company simply images the hosts in case of emergency. (i.e. ghost) and keeps the CD with the image taped inside of the server case.

 

[floh8]

Your replies are not helpful. Please either answer the question, or stop wasting time. All of us have to READ your posts and it burns up our day.

You are wasting my time because u ask things that are already answered in the forum. You only have to search, but u are too lazy for that and wanne let us do your job. u can be happy that dunuin answers. He is much too courteous.

 

[davlaw]

Kind of facing similar conditions, No client for windows and if they did most likely would not work on my older windows vms anyway.

I have spun up 4 debian vm's that I used as "bridges", mount the shares from the windows machine to and then use the backup client to backup the data. Its not a "Ghost" solution, but I get whats important. Most if not all windows machines in these cases are just filers anyway and keep around as "legacy" junk

 

[Xeata_James]

You are wasting my time because u ask things that are already answered in the forum. You only have to search, but u are too lazy for that and wanne let us do your job. u can be happy that dunuin answers. He is much too courteous.

I didn't ASK anything. I came to HELP someone in need of assistance. Your grumpy responses help nobody. Anyhow, let's end this here please.

 

[floh8]

I didn't ASK anything.

obviously, you dont understand that but u know what i mean. I need 15 sec for putting 2 words into the search field and then read the 3. position on the list to get the answer for that question. So thats for that. My answer helps us to save time in the future, because i not support the laziness of some user. So we can help user they have real problems. Think about that. The best is twice before u text such bullshit the next time.

 

[davlaw]

someone please lock/close this tread there is no longer any useful information here

 

[t.lamprecht]

Yeah, please let's not spiral into negativity here; no one will benefit from that.

In general, this forum gets a lot of posts with questions or seeking for advice for a wide spectrum of things and a variety of experience, and while we got many things already answered there might be often legit reasons to even re-ask those.
Some things are pretty setup specific and others might be outdated, the virtualization and also the whole IT world got still a quite fast pace in change coming in, be it new features or adaption to new technology.

And sure, maybe some topics are re-asked that frequently that it might irk one personally, but in that case I'd heavily recommend to either just ignore these posts or actually providing them a link to either one of the threads already answering that topic (if one is quick to find them) or just the docs – in the long run that helps the community and probably also all of our blood pressure levels . Some topics even have value in repeating, often new approaches are mentioned, or it just helps to feel welcomed into a community one is new too, and that may then make it more likely that such new users will become themselves part of our community and help others in the future, at least in my experience.

Any way, please assume good faith on both sides and keep it civil.
I'll keep this thread unlocked for now, let's stay on topic from now one though!

(edit: note this fizzled down already, and tbh. I looked a bit to late at the date of the last posts, so I'll mostly keep this post here to avoid that the thread is reported again)

 

[wrs]

I found helpful information here: https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-create-a-backup-with-proxmox-backup-client for Debian physical clients

 

[promok]

I believe that physical backups are on the roadmap. But for now I work with the idea that there is not much data stored on the hosts (or the PBS servers themselves) and that they are fairly quick to rebuild from a blank image.
Our company simply images the hosts in case of emergency. (i.e. ghost) and keeps the CD with the image taped inside of the server case.

So, it is impossible to restore a physical host with PBS? Or is it possible to RESTORE physical bare-metal Windows server? NOT a VM, but a real physical server. The documentation says nothing on how to restore to a bare-metal physical computer.

 

[Dunuin]

So, it is impossible to restore a physical host with PBS? Or is it possible to RESTORE physical bare-metal Windows server? NOT a VM, but a real physical server. The documentation says nothing on how to restore to a bare-metal physical computer.

Yes, but you will have to code your own backup/restore script and make use of the partitioning tool of your choice and the proxmox-backup-client and all running on a Debian(-based OS) that got access to those blockdevices.
I boot a Debian from a pen drive to backup whole bare metal hosts to my PBS. As you are then backing up whole unmounted physical block devices this will work to backup any OS.

 

[rapidscampi]

then u take the wrong search words. which ones? try it with others! u will have success.

This smarmy, snooty response is everything I hate about technical forums on the Internet.

Why is conversation outlawed if it's something that's been mentioned previously? Why not just link the relevant content to the post instead of being condescending and uppity?

 

[floh8]

sometimes u have to train people to reach a higher goal.

 

[rapidscampi]

thank you sensei