HOW-TO Install a Reliable Base Server on Raspberry Pi

Setting up the basic items I use on every server installation.

Start with a headless Raspberry Pi installation as per this HOW-TO: http://tinab.blog/how-to-headless-pi-easy-setup

Once on an ethernet connection, disable WiFi & set a hostname

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

add the following

dtoverlay=disable-wifi

Set an appropriate hostname in raspi-config

sudo raspi-config

Update the system

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade

Install Samba and create a share

sudo apt install samba
sudo smbpasswd -a <username>
mkdir smb_transfer_folder
sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

add the following at the bottom

[smb_transfer_folder]
path=/home/<username>/smb_transfer_folder
writeable=Yes
create mask=0777
directory mask=0777
public=no

then restart the service

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Install and configure network monitor

sudo apt install nmon
mkdir /home/<username>/nmon
sudo nano /etc/crontab

Add the following to the block of tasks to execute, replace <hostname> with the name of this system

02 0    * * *   root    nmon -s 240 -c 360 -F /home/<username>/nmon/<hostname>_$(date +"%y%m%d_%H%M".nmon)

Install, configure and schedule a job for iDrive backup

wget https://www.idrivedownloads.com/downloads/linux/download-for-linux/linux-bin/idriveforlinux.bin
chmod a+x idriveforlinux.bin
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/Idrivelib/dependencies/python/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
sudo nano ~/.bashrc

Add the following to the end of the file

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/Idrivelib/dependencies/python/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Install the client and create an initial general-use backup folder

./idriveforlinux.bin --install
mkdir /home/<username>/backups

Next, edit the backupset file using Vi. Once opened press <ENTER> then ” i ” to enter “insert” mode

/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/idrive -e

add a single line, replacing <username> with the username to be backed up

/home/<username>/backups/

to exit, save and continue press <ESCAPE> then type

:wq!

Press <ENTER> and once exited select ” n ” to edit no more files. If Vi proves troublesome note that ” i ” enters insert mode, <ESCAPE> returns to command mode, and ” dd ” deletes the current line

Ensure the backup runs successfully and uploads successfully

touch /home/<username>/backups/testing.txt
/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/idrive -b

Login and look for the “testing.txt” file. If it isn’t there (and failed) then execute the following and try again

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/Idrivelib/dependencies/python/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/idrive --account-setting

Finally, schedule a daily backup by executing the following and responding to the prompts

/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/idrive -s

the installer can be removed if desired

rm -rf /home/<username>/idriveforlinux.bin

Create scripts to locally backup any required data to the standard backup folder so iDrive takes a copy with the above scheduled job

The following will create a copy of relevant files in the /home/<username>/backups folder on a daily basis so that iDrive creates an online backup. It also logs its activity and takes a copy of itself.

mkdir /home/<username>/backups/scripts
mkdir /home/<username>/backups/archive
sudo touch /home/<username>/backups/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh
sudo chmod 755 /home/<username>/backups/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh
sudo nano /etc/crontab

Add the following line to the block of scheduled tasks

43 2    * * *   root    /home/<username>/backups/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh

Then edit the script

sudo nano /home/user/backups/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh

and copy the following in before Ctrl+X, yes, <ENTER> to exit and save (replace <username> on line 3 with the username used throughout, above.

#!/bin/bash
# username
username_to_backup=<username>
#path to backup storage directory
backup_folder=/home/$username_to_backup/backups
# copy all first-of-the-month files into Archive (COPY!)
# do this first on the basis that this script ran yesterday, and the day before and since at least
# the first of this month, which will eventually be true
cp -p -u $backup_folder/*$(date +"%y%m")01_* $backup_folder/archive/

# do the backups - copy any required/listed files into the backup folders and timestamp them (COPY!)
## bash history
cp /home/$username_to_backup/.bash_history "$backup_folder/bash_history-$(date +"%y%m%d_%H%M%S")"
chmod 644 $backup_folder/bash_history*
## backup scripts
cp $backup_folder/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh "$backup_folder/daily_base_backups-$(date +"%y%m%d_%H%M%S").sh"

# see <hostname> /home/<username>/IDrive_backup_status.sh for comments on the following...
# if latest IDrive backup contained no errors then delete local backups (from /backups but note first-of-the-month files are still in /backups/Archive)
# that are from the month 2 months earlier in the case of incremental MySQL backups (ie on 1st Feb that means anything from December (1st to 31st)), and
# that are from the month 6 months earlier in the case of full MySQL backups, and
# that are from the month 2 months earlier in the case of:
#  bash_history
#  (as long as they're all still being backed up with the filename structured as at time of writing)

if [[ $(ls -Art /home/$username_to_backup/IDriveForLinux/idriveIt/user_profile/$username_to_backup/idrive@mail-track.co.uk/Backup/DefaultBackupSet/LOGS | tail -n 1 | grep _Success_ | wc -l) -eq 1 ]]
then
  #echo Last IDrive backup was a SUCCESS with zero errors
  rm -rf $backup_folder/bash_history-$(date --date='-2 month' +"%y%m")*
  echo [$(date +"%y%m%d_%H%M%S")] >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo CBL backup script RAN >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo IDrive backup SUCCESS >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo Local files deletion routine RAN. This does not necessarily mean it succeeded. >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo ie the test for last backup SUCCESS returned TRUE - see commented bash script at >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo $backup_folder/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh and more detailed at $backup_folder/scripts/IDrive_backup_status.sh >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo Check latest log at /home/$username_to_backup/IDriveForLinux/idriveIt/user_profile/$username_to_backup/idrive@mail-track.co.uk/Backup/DefaultBackupSet/LOGS/ >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
else
  #echo Last IDrive backup either failed, was a success with errors or was a MANUAL backup - ie wasn't the scheduled backup we're interested in
  echo [$(date +"%y%m%d_%H%M%S")] >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo CBL backup script RAN >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo IDrive backup HAD ERRORS>> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo Local files deletion routine DID NOT RUN because IDrive backup had errors >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo ie the test for last backup success returned FALSE - see commented bash script at >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo $backup_folder/scripts/daily_backups.sh and more detailed at /home/$username_to_backup/IDrive_backup_status.sh >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  echo Check latest log at /home/$username_to_backup/IDriveForLinux/idriveIt/user_profile/$username_to_backup/idrive@mail-track.co.uk/Backup/DefaultBackupSet/LOGS/ >> $backup_folder/backup_log_CBL_script.txt
  #do nothing more
fi

Test that the script runs by executing the following and then checking the backup folder for new contents

./backups/scripts/daily_base_backups.sh

That’s the base install I always perform on a new Linux server before installing any specific services or applications. For installation HOW-TOs for others (eg a MariaDB MySQL server, Node-RED, the mosquitto MQTT broker, Unifi wireless controller, BIND9 DNS server, Nagios network monitor, and others) search for “HOW-TO” on this site.