teslausb/doc/SetupRSync.md

Introduction

This guide will show you how to use rsync to archive your saved TeslaCam footage on a remote storage server.

Since sftp/rsync accesses a computer through SSH the only requirement for hosting an SFTP/rsync server is to have a box running SSH. For example, you could use another Raspberry Pi connected to your local network with a USB storage drive plugged in. The official Raspberry Pi site has a good example on how to mount an external drive.

You will need the username and host/IP of the storage server, as well as the path for the files to go in, and the storage server will need to allow SSH.

This guide makes the following assumptions:

• You are running your own ftp/rsync server that you have admin rights to, or can at least add a public key to its ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file.
• The ftp/rsync server has rsync installed (raspbian automatically does)

Step 1: Authentication

Similar to sftp, rsync by default uses ssh to connect to a remote server and transfer files. This guide will use a generated ssh keypair, hence the first assumption above.

1. Enter the root session (if you haven't already):

   sudo -i
   

2. Run these commands to to generate an ssh key for the root user:

   ssh-keygen
   

3. Add the contents of the newly generated /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file from your teslausb pi to the storage server's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file. You can do this by connectin via ssh to the archive server from the computer you're using to set up the Pi, editing the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys in nano, and pasting in the content of the /root/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file from the teslausb Pi.

4. Lastly, you will need to authorize the connection to the FTP/Rsync server and test that the key works, so try connecting to the server (through ssh), and when you are asked if you wish to continue connecting type yes

   ssh user@archiveserver
   

   If you do not do this then rsync will fail to connect and thus fail to archive your clips.

Step 2: Exports

Run this command to cause the setup processes which you'll resume in the main instructions to use rsync:

export ARCHIVE_SYSTEM=rsync
export RSYNC_USER=<ftp username>
export RSYNC_SERVER=<ftp IP/host>
export RSYNC_PATH=<destination path to save in>

Explanations for each:

• ARCHIVE_SYSTEM: rsync for enabling rsync
• RSYNC_USER: The user on the FTP server
• RSYNC_SERVER: The IP address/hostname of the destination machine
• RSYNC_PATH: The path on the destination machine where the files will be saved

An example config is below:

export ARCHIVE_SYSTEM=rsync
export RSYNC_USER=pi
export RSYNC_SERVER=192.168.1.254
export RSYNC_PATH=/mnt/PIHDD/TeslaCam/

Stay in the sudo -i session return to the section "Set up the USB storage functionality" in the main instructions.