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#!/bin/sh
# Author: Brice Burgess - bhb@iceburg.net
# backup.sh -- backup to a local drive using rsync

# Directories to backup. Separate with a space. Exclude trailing slash!
SOURCES="/home/wendy /home/daisy /var/mail"

# Directory to backup to. This is where your backup(s) will be stored.
# Exclude trailing slash!
TARGET="/mnt/usb-harddrive/backup"

# Your EXCLUDE_FILE tells rsync what NOT to backup. Leave it unchanged if you want
# to backup all files in your SOURCES. If performing a FULL SYSTEM BACKUP, ie.
# Your SOURCES is set to "/", you will need to make use of EXCLUDE_FILE.
# The file should contain directories and filenames, one per line.
# An example of a EXCLUDE_FILE would be:
# /proc/
# /tmp/
# /mnt/
# *.SOME_KIND_OF_FILE

EXCLUDE_FILE="/path/to/your/exclude_file.txt"

# Comment out the following line to disable verbose output
VERBOSE="-v"
###########################

if [ ! -x $TARGET ]; then
  echo "Backup target does not exist or you don't have permission!"
  echo "Exiting..."
  exit 2
fi

echo "Verifying Sources..." 
for source in $SOURCES; do
	echo "Checking $source..."
	if [ ! -x $source ]; then
     echo "Error with $source!"
     echo "Directory either does not exist, or you do not have proper permissions."
     exit 2
   fi
done

if [ -f $EXCLUDE_FILE ]; then
EXCLUDE="--exclude-from=$EXCLUDE_FILE"
fi

echo "Sources verified. Running rsync..."
for source in $SOURCES; do

  # Create directories in $TARGET to mimick source directory hiearchy 
  if [ ! -d $TARGET/$source ]; then
    mkdir -p $TARGET/$source
  fi
  
  rsync $VERBOSE --exclude=$TARGET/ $EXCLUDE -a --delete $source/ $TARGET/$source/

done

exit 0

You'll want to schedule a time for your backup.sh to execute. Crontab syntax is:
[minute] [hour] [day] [month] [dayofweek] [command]

Thus, adding the line:
0 4 * * * /path/to/backup.sh
will execute backup.sh at 4:00am every day. When you're finished adding the line, save the file and exit.

That's all there is to it. Rsync is a very powerful tool, and you should pat yourself on the back for applying some of its potential. In the future we'll cover how to backup to a remote machine, show examples on how to keep multiple backups in rotation, and even run rsync within Microsoft Windows. In the meantime, check out Mike Rubel's excellent resource on rsync to learn how to perform daily and even hourly backups.

Update 11/04/2004: I've modified the above script for multiple backup rotations. The modifications will keep a designated number of backups in the target directory named after the date they were executed (YYYY-MM-DD_Hour-Minute). Here's the modified script:

#!/bin/sh
# Author: Brice Burgess - bhb@iceburg.net
# multi_backup.sh -- backup to a local drive using rsync. 
#         Uses hard-link rotation to keep multiple backups.

# Directories to backup. Seperate with a space. Exclude trailing slash!
SOURCES="/home/wendy /home/daisy /var/mail"

# Directory to backup to. This is where your backup(s) will be stored. No spaces in names!
# :: NOTICE :: -> Make sure this directory is empty or contains ONLY backups created by
#	                        this script and NOTHING else. Exclude trailing slash!
TARGET="/mnt/usb-harddrive/backup"

# Set the number of backups to keep (greater than 1). Ensure you have adaquate space.
ROTATIONS=3

# Your EXCLUDE_FILE tells rsync what NOT to backup. Leave it unchanged if you want
# to backup all files in your SOURCES. If performing a FULL SYSTEM BACKUP, ie.
# Your SOURCES is set to "/", you will need to make use of EXCLUDE_FILE.
# The file should contain directories and filenames, one per line.
# A good example would be:
# /proc
# /tmp
# *.SOME_KIND_OF_FILE
EXCLUDE_FILE="/path/to/your/exclude_file.txt"

# Comment out the following line to disable verbose output
VERBOSE="-v"

#######################################
########DO_NOT_EDIT_BELOW_THIS_POINT#########
#######################################

# Set name (date) of backup. 
BACKUP_DATE="`date +%F_%H-%M`"

if [ ! -x $TARGET ]; then
  echo "Backup target does not exist or you don't have permission!"
  echo "Exiting..."
  exit 2
fi

if [ ! $ROTATIONS -gt 1 ]; then
  echo "You must set ROTATIONS to a number greater than 1!"
  echo "Exiting..."
  exit 2
fi

#### BEGIN ROTATION SECTION #### 

BACKUP_NUMBER=1
# incrementor used to determine current number of backups

# list all backups in reverse (newest first) order, set name of oldest backup to $backup
# if the retention number has been reached. 
for backup in `ls -dXr $TARGET/*/`; do
	if [ $BACKUP_NUMBER -eq 1 ]; then
		NEWEST_BACKUP="$backup"
	fi
	
	if [ $BACKUP_NUMBER -eq $ROTATIONS ]; then
		OLDEST_BACKUP="$backup"
		break
	fi
	
	let "BACKUP_NUMBER=$BACKUP_NUMBER+1"
done

# Check if $OLDEST_BACKUP has been found. If so, rotate. If not, create new directory for this backup.
if [ $OLDEST_BACKUP ]; then
  # Set oldest backup to current one
  mv $OLDEST_BACKUP $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE
else
	mkdir $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE
fi

# Update current backup using hard links from the most recent backup 
if [ $NEWEST_BACKUP ]; then
  cp -al $NEWEST_BACKUP. $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE
fi
#### END ROTATION SECTION #### 
 

# Check to see if rotation section created backup destination directory 
if [ ! -d $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE ]; then
  echo "Backup destination not available. Make sure you have write permission in TARGET!"
  echo "Exiting..."
  exit 2
fi 

echo "Verifying Sources..." 
for source in $SOURCES; do
	echo "Checking $source..."
	if [ ! -x $source ]; then
     echo "Error with $source!"
     echo "Directory either does not exist, or you do not have proper permissions."
     exit 2
   fi
done

if [ -f $EXCLUDE_FILE ]; then
	EXCLUDE="--exclude-from=$EXCLUDE_FILE"
fi

echo "Sources verified. Running rsync..."
for source in $SOURCES; do

  # Create directories in $TARGET to mimick source directory hiearchy 
  if [ ! -d $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE/$source ]; then
    mkdir -p $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE/$source
  fi
  
  rsync $VERBOSE --exclude=$TARGET/ $EXCLUDE -a --delete $source/ $TARGET/$BACKUP_DATE/$source/

done

exit 0

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