Re: OfflineIMAP for backups

[Vincent Beffara <vbeffara+ml@xxxxxxxxx>]

> On Nov 28, 2007 8:49 PM, Vincent Beffara <vbeffara+ml@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > An idea could be, if you have plenty of disk space, to run offlineima=
p
> > to sync an IMAP server to a "staging" Maildir, and then use something
> > like "rsync --delete" to propagate (in one direction) from the stagin=
g
> > area to the "real" backup. So supposedly the staging area is always
> > identical to the IMAP version by construction, and the real backup do=
es
> > not affect the live system.
>=20
> I wouldn't care much about the disk space but again, I fail to see how
> this solution can prevent syncing accidental changes of the "staging"
> Maildir to the server.

It doesn't, except that if you don't plan on using the staging area for=20
anything else, there isn't much risk of an accident in the first place,=20
since only offlineimap and rsync will access it anyway. Rsync will be=20
one-directional, no risk there, and you want to use OfflineIMAP anyway.=20
The only remaining risk is if you remove files by hand, which you will=20
know not to do, and the unlikely "rm -rf" removing the whole Maildir,=20
but then OfflineIMAP will refuse to sync ...

So it looks pretty safe to me, but I agree that it is not 100%.

  /vincent

--=20
Vincent Beffara
UMPA - ENS-Lyon
46 all=E9e d'Italie
69364 Lyon Cedex 07
T=E9l : 04 72 72 85 25