There is a new king of backups in town, holland. This little framework written in Python allows one to easily backup anything that might need to be converted to a more flat file style before being backed up. Right now there is support for mysql, sqlite, and postgresql but with a little finesse it could potentially support directories as well as databases. This would make not only mysql backups a breeze but LDAP as well.

Progress Update

I have added a preliminary set of ebuilds to my overlay (which could use some code review if anyone is interested) that allows holland to easily be installed on Gentoo systems. So easy in fact that all it takes is emerge holland.

It accepts a set of use flags to bring in the “providers” you want to be able to backup for and makes sure that those packages are installed on the system.

Examples

The holland ebuilds have three providers right now:

• mysql
• postgresql
• sqlite

You can install any of these three you want in any combination it doesn’t care. It will default to installing the mysql but can easily be told not to by placing -mysql in the use flags for holland. Diego Pettenò — Flameeyes mentioned to me that in EAPI 4 we’ll get the cool option of being able to specify one of a set of use flags must be set without forcing the choice but until then we have this slick solution.

There is also lvm support for snapshotting off the database directory before grabbing the database and a myriad of other features I haven’t had a chance to explore yet.

To perform a rudimentary backup after installing holland simply run holland bk. This will read the configurations in /etc/holland and backup the databases it finds.

Conclusion

The new kid on the block, holland, will make backups of complex databases and directories a breeze. Simply change that cronjob from using mysqldump to calling holland and you’re finished.

1. If it’s supposed to be a bridging device, don’t use the WAN port. This is by far the worst design flaw I’ve seen. If I select router vs. gateway (which are the only options I received) I expect the WAN port to get bridged into the 4-port switch. This is not the case, and caused me an hour of headaches.
2. Is a shared key necessary for RADIUS authentication (I’m researching this one, but it seems a little paranoid)?

Otherwise, the thing is incredible. I can be on the far side of my house in the basement, and only get as low as approximately 50% connection status for wireless. I also have a couple of new to do items:

1. Set up a local LDAP for user authentication, and set up pam properly (thank goodness I’ve done this before).
2. Get FreeRadius running, and hooked into the LDAP server.
3. Set up the new WRT54GL (Linksys Wireless Router) to work with the RADIUS server for authentication.
4. Look into IPSec, and see if it is feasible for communication encryption once the RADIUS authentication is over.