Sanity check remote sync seed process

Apr 9, 2025
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Hello
We have a PBS server that is configured with a connection to a remote PBS server over a VPN with poor bandwidth. I'm trying to get the initial upload to complete but it looks like it will be weeks at the current rates. I will probably need to seed this backup with an external drive; below is the process that I have worked out so far based on documentation and forum posts (PBS1 is local Prox BS server and PBS2 is offsite remote):
  1. Create new folder datastore on PBS1 with path to external HDD formatted ext4
  2. Add PBS1 as a "remote" in PBS1 and create a sync job to the external HDD
  3. Once sync job completes, change sync schedule to None
  4. Bring the drive to PBS2 at remote site and rsync the contents over to the datastore
  5. Edit the sync job on PBS1, set the target remote to PBS2 (with appropriate datastore and namespace settings) and add the schedule back
Does this sound like a reasonable approach?
Thanks!