Rsyncd setup on a windows computer for use with Affa backup

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Purpose

This document describes the installation and configuration of the rsync daemon in the cygwin environment on a Windows XP computer for the purpose to backup data using the Affa backup software.

Installation

Login a Administrator and create a folder C:\cygwin. Save http://cygwin.com/setup.exe to this folder and run it:

Select a nearby mirror

Select the packages to install (in addtion to the already selected defaults):

• from category Net: openssh, rsync
• from category Editor: vim (or any other editor of your choice)

Configuration

	Warning:
	The configuration on other Windows OS like Windows 2000, Server 2003, Vista etc. may vary slightly. Please help to complete this document if you have made it.

Run the Cygwin Bash Shell from the Start Menu.

Configuring sshd Service

Run the sshd configuration script.

ssh-host-config

You are asked a few questions. Answer them as shown in the script dialog below (in bold text).

Generating /etc/ssh_host_key
Generating /etc/ssh_host_rsa_key
Generating /etc/ssh_host_dsa_key
Generating /etc/ssh_config file
Privilege separation is set to yes by default since OpenSSH 3.3.
However, this requires a non-privileged account called 'sshd'.
For more info on privilege separation read /usr/share/doc/openssh/README.privsep.

Should privilege separation be used? (yes/no) yes
Warning: The following function requires administrator privileges!
Should this script create a local user 'sshd' on this machine? (yes/no) yes
Generating /etc/sshd_config file
Added ssh to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\services


Warning: The following functions require administrator privileges!

Do you want to install sshd as service?
(Say "no" if it's already installed as service) (yes/no) yes

Which value should the environment variable CYGWIN have when
sshd starts? It's recommended to set at least "ntsec" to be
able to change user context without password.
Default is "ntsec".  CYGWIN=

The service has been installed under LocalSystem account.

Host configuration finished. Have fun!

Start the sshd service

net start sshd

Don't forget to open port 22 in the Windows firewall.

Configuring rsyncd Service

Create the /etc/rsyncd.secret file and add the user affa with password secretword separated by a colon. Replace the placeholder secretword by a strong password.

affa:secretword

Set secure permissions on /etc/rsyncd.secrets

chown 18.544 /etc/rsyncd.secrets
chmod 660 /etc/rsyncd.secrets

Create the /etc/rsyncd.conf configuration file. Replace the placeholder AFFA_ID by the ip address of your Affa server.

gid = 544
uid = 18
hosts allow = AFFA_IP
auth users = affa
secrets file = /etc/rsyncd.secrets
strict modes = true
read only = true
use chroot = no
transfer logging = true
log format = %h %o %f %l %b
log file = /var/log/rsyncd.log

[AFFA]
path = /cygdrive
comment = cygdrive root dir

Uid 18 is the userid of the System account, gid 544 is the groupid of the Administrators group.

Install rsyncd as a service.

cygrunsrv --install "rsyncd" --path /usr/bin/rsync --args "--daemon --no-detach" \
 --desc "Starts a rsync daemon for accepting incoming rsync connections" \
 --disp "Rsync Daemon" --type auto

Start the rsyncd service

net start rsyncd 

Don't forget to open port 873 in the Windows firewall.

Security

The rsync daemon protocol does not provide any encryption of the data that is transferred over the connection. Use it only in the local net or VPN.