Installation

How to download and install the Zmanda Linux agent on Desktops and Servers.

Introduction

This guide will take you through the process of installing the Zmanda Agent on a Linux Desktop or Server. Everything will be done using the command line. We will go over everything beginning with prerequisites, to downloading and installing the agent, to configuring the agent to be able to talk to your Backup Server. Let's get started!

Part 1 - Prerequisites

1.1 Login to the source Linux system using the SSH terminal access tool of your choice (e.g. putty, mobaxterm). Update the target Linux system by running one of the following commands based on the Linux distribution.

For RPM-based systems, use dnf/yum:

sudo dnf update -y

For Debian-based systems.

sudo apt-get update -y

1.2 Depending on the Linux distribution, SELinux may come pre-enabled. If your system has SELinux enabled and set to enforcing mode, please change it to Permissive mode.

Check the SELinux mode by running the getenforce command.

getenforce
#Enforcing

If the mode is set to Enforcing, execute the following commands to change it to Permissive mode:

sudo setenforce 0 
sudo sed -i 's/SELINUX=enforcing/SELINUX=permissive/g' /etc/selinux/config 
getenforce
#Permissive

1.3 **Zmanda requires specific ports to be open (**see below). For more information, please see this KB Article.

• 10080:10081

• 800:840

Run the following command to open these ports. (ufw may not be installed depending on the Linux distribution. If not, see the next steps below)

sudo ufw allow 10080,10081,800:840 

If your system does not have ufw installed (i.e. RHEL where adding UFW and EPEL is not an option), follow the instructions below. Execute the first command to see if the firewall is running. If the firewall is not running, you can skip the other two commands.

sudo firewall-cmd --state
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=10080-10081/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=800-840/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

1.4 Install the Perl library by using the following command:

For RPM based systems (use dnf/yum):

sudo dnf install perl

For Debian based systems:

sudo apt-get install perl

Part 2 - Linux Agent Download & Installation

2.1 Login to network.zmanda.com with your credentials and navigate to the Download section on the left. Note: If you cannot open a browser directly on the system that is being backed up, or if you need to install the agent on multiple systems, get the CDN link for the installer binary by following these instructions.

Download tab on Network Zmanda

2.2 Navigate to the Enterprise clients section and select the Linux Client OS from the dropdown. The corresponding client binaries will appear on the right of the drop-down once you select an OS.

Linux binaries

2.3 Click on the binary to download the tar file.

Linux OS selection

2.4 If you are installing the agent on a different machine than the one you just downloaded it to, copy the CDN link of the file from your browser downloads folder (you can go there by clicking on "show all" when you download or by selecting downloads from browser menu).

CDN links of installation files

2.5 Download the Linux agent on to the system that is being backed up using curl -O (capital O) and the CDN link.

curl -O <CDN link>

2.6 Unzip the Linux agent using the tar command.

tar -xvf amanda_enterprise-backup-client-<version>.<os>.<arch>.tar

2.7 This will unpack 2 packages. One is the backup client that performs core Zmanda operations, and the other is an extensions client that helps with the restore operations. To ensure we install Zmanda correctly, we install amanda-enterprise-backup-client first, followed by amanda-enterprise-extensions-client

// installation for Redhat clients 
yum install amanda-enterprise-backup-client.rpm
yum install amanda-enterprise-extensions-client.rpm

// installation for Debian clients
apt install ./amanda-enterprise-backup-client.deb
apt install ./amanda-enterprise-extensions-client.deb

Some RHEL distributions are missing perl(Filesys::Df), which is a dependency for the extensions client.

Run the below commands to install the missing dependency.

sudo dnf install perl-devel perl-CPAN gcc make curl
sudo perl -MCPAN -e 'install Filesys::Df'

//Follow the prompt below
CPAN.pm requires configuration, but most of it can be done automatically. 
If you answer 'no' below, you will enter an interactive dialog for each configuration 
option instead. Would you like to configure as much as possible automatically?
> yes

To install modules, you need to configure a local Perl library directory or escalate 
your privileges. CPAN can help you by bootstrapping the local::lib module or by 
configuring itself to use 'sudo' (if available). You may also resolve this problem 
manually if you need to customize your setup. What approach do you want? 
(Choose 'local::lib', 'sudo' or 'manual') [local::lib]
> sudo

Would you like me to automatically choose some CPAN mirror sites for you? 
(This means connecting to the Internet) [yes]
> yes

sudo rpm -ivh -nodeps amanda_enterprise-extensions-client.rpm

Please type in yes, when prompted for confirmation via the CLI.

2.8 To validate a successful installation, you can use the below command.

// Validating install on Redhat clients 
yum list installed | grep amanda

// Validating install on Debian clients 
apt list --installed | grep amanda

Part 3 - Linking the Agent to a Zmanda Backup Server

3.1 You must now link the Backup Server to your Linux system. Execute the following command using the IP address of your Zmanda Backup Server where it is required using sudo:

sudo echo "<ip-of-backup-server> amandabackup amdump" >> /var/lib/amanda/.amandahosts

3.2 If you have a cluster of Zmanda Backup Servers, repeat the above command for each server making sure to use a unique IP address each time.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully made another step towards protecting your data by installing the Zmanda Agent on a Linux system and linking the Agent to your Backup Server. You can now log in to the Zmanda Management Console and add your system as a source.