Following an upgrade from Fedora 35 to 36 it appears that rsnapshot, which
I have configured to take a nightly backup (more for fat finger protection
or sudden hard drive failure than for fire/theft/etc: for the latter I
make a weekly backup immediately before doing a software update and keep
the latter in a fire-safe.

Here's what the overnight cron backup job should do:

- mount a USB drive (always connected to my house server)
- do an rsnapshot backup run
- unmount the usb drive

However, since the F36 upgrade last week the overnight backup drive is no longer being mounted and so the backup isn't happening. I'd been
'manually' mounting the backup drive (i.e. via a LABEL=xxxxx entry in / etc/fstab):

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

as specified in the rsnapshot manual rather than having the drive mount at
boot time. And, as required by the rsnapshot manual at:

https://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Rsnapshot#Mounting_an_External_USB_Drive

it is the last non-blank line in /etc/fstab. It looks like this:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

The /media/snapshot directory exists. However, any attempt to mount the
USB drive always gets this response:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT mount: /media/snapshot: can't find
LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT.

... so I've obviously missed something important, but what?



--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org




--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches command -
exactly - JIC.

Vince

Following an upgrade from Fedora 35 to 36 it appears that rsnapshot,
which I have configured to take a nightly backup (more for fat finger protection or sudden hard drive failure than for fire/theft/etc: for
the latter I make a weekly backup immediately before doing a software
update and keep the latter in a fire-safe.

Here's what the overnight cron backup job should do:

- mount a USB drive (always connected to my house server)
- do an rsnapshot backup run
- unmount the usb drive

However, since the F36 upgrade last week the overnight backup drive is
no longer being mounted and so the backup isn't happening. I'd been
'manually' mounting the backup drive (i.e. via a LABEL=xxxxx entry in
/ etc/fstab):

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0
0

as specified in the rsnapshot manual rather than having the drive
mount at boot time. And, as required by the rsnapshot manual at:

https://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Rsnapshot#Mounting_an_External_USB_Dr
ive

it is the last non-blank line in /etc/fstab. It looks like this:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0
0

The /media/snapshot directory exists. However, any attempt to mount
the USB drive always gets this response:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT mount: /media/snapshot: can't find LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT.

.... so I've obviously missed something important, but what?

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Vincent

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Vincent Coen <VBCoen@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches command - exactly - JIC.

Yes, and check it mounts as /media/$USER/USB_SNAPSHOT
if you mount it from the GUI?

(or wherever Fedora mounts it if not in /media/$USER)

Theo

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On 04 Oct 2022 21:52:28 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:

Vincent Coen <VBCoen@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches command -
exactly - JIC.

Yes, and check it mounts as /media/$USER/USB_SNAPSHOT if you mount it
from the GUI?

(or wherever Fedora mounts it if not in /media/$USER)

I took the error to mean that rsnapshot can't find the LABEL line in /etc/ fstab, not that the directory name specified by that line doesn't match
the /media/snapshot directory.

However, I've since found what appears to be rsnapshot home: https://github.com/rsnapshot

which should, hopefully, help but there's a problem in that it claims
fsnapshot is currently v1.1, which seems decidedly low for something
that's been around for at least a decade. Not that thats all that
relevant, because the version I installed as part of the Fedora 36 upgrade doesn't have a version number: there's no --version command line option,
the manpage doesn't give a version number either. The command line
arguments seem to have changed too but its hard to know just what too,
because '-?' isn't supported and '--help' merely returns 'rsnapshot'.

Will just have to dig harder tomorrow: at least there's a contact address, though thats at

http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rsnapshot-discuss

rather than at github. I have a feeling my best approach may be to raise a
bug on the Fedora Bugzilla, see where answers come from and ash more
questions there.

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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Martin Gregorie wrote:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT mount: /media/snapshot: can't find LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT.

do a quick "cat -v /etc/fstab" to make sure some weird character hasn't got into
the file while editing it?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wed, 5 Oct 2022 09:57:30 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

Martin Gregorie wrote:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT mount: /media/snapshot: can't find
LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT.

do a quick "cat -v /etc/fstab" to make sure some weird character hasn't
got into the file while editing it?

Excellent idea - thanks - but it doesn't show anything unusual.

I think I'll have to hack through the rsnapshot documentation and config
file. Makes the lack of a version number rather irritating, the more so as
I notice that some default config files give their content a version
number (!).


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On 04 Oct 2022 21:52:28 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:

Vincent Coen <VBCoen@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches command -
exactly - JIC.

Yes, and check it mounts as /media/$USER/USB_SNAPSHOT if you mount it
from the GUI?

(or wherever Fedora mounts it if not in /media/$USER)

I took the error to mean that rsnapshot can't find the LABEL line in /etc/ fstab, not that the directory name specified by that line doesn't match
the /media/snapshot directory.

Surely your failed attempt to do:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT

suggests the drive can't be mounted, not reflecting any problem to do with rsnapshot?

However, I've since found what appears to be rsnapshot home: https://github.com/rsnapshot

which should, hopefully, help but there's a problem in that it claims fsnapshot is currently v1.1, which seems decidedly low for something
that's been around for at least a decade.

Not really, version numbers are entirely at the whim of the developers.
PuTTY is on 0.77 for example, and that's been around about 25 years.

Not that thats all that
relevant, because the version I installed as part of the Fedora 36 upgrade doesn't have a version number: there's no --version command line option,
the manpage doesn't give a version number either. The command line
arguments seem to have changed too but its hard to know just what too, because '-?' isn't supported and '--help' merely returns 'rsnapshot'.

You could inspect the source code:

$ less `which rsnapshot`

It's just a perl script so you can compare it with the one from github.

(it is possible there is a different tool going by the same name)

The 'version' option was added at least 8 years ago according to 'git blame'
of the github.

Will just have to dig harder tomorrow: at least there's a contact address, though thats at

http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rsnapshot-discuss

rather than at github. I have a feeling my best approach may be to raise a bug on the Fedora Bugzilla, see where answers come from and ash more questions there.

I would establish whether it's an rsnapshot problem or a general problem unrelated to rsnapshot first.

Theo

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On 05 Oct 2022 15:28:49 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:

Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On 04 Oct 2022 21:52:28 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:

Vincent Coen <VBCoen@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches
command -
exactly - JIC.

Yes, and check it mounts as /media/$USER/USB_SNAPSHOT if you mount it
from the GUI?

(or wherever Fedora mounts it if not in /media/$USER)

I took the error to mean that rsnapshot can't find the LABEL line in
/etc/
fstab, not that the directory name specified by that line doesn't match
the /media/snapshot directory.

Surely your failed attempt to do:

# mount -L USB_SNAPSHOT

suggests the drive can't be mounted, not reflecting any problem to do
with rsnapshot?

However, I've since found what appears to be rsnapshot home:
https://github.com/rsnapshot

which should, hopefully, help but there's a problem in that it claims
fsnapshot is currently v1.1, which seems decidedly low for something
that's been around for at least a decade.

Not really, version numbers are entirely at the whim of the developers.
PuTTY is on 0.77 for example, and that's been around about 25 years.

Not that thats all that relevant, because the version I installed as
part of the Fedora 36 upgrade doesn't have a version number: there's no
--version command line option, the manpage doesn't give a version
number either. The command line arguments seem to have changed too but
its hard to know just what too, because '-?' isn't supported and
'--help' merely returns 'rsnapshot'.

You could inspect the source code:

$ less `which rsnapshot`

It's just a perl script so you can compare it with the one from github.

(it is possible there is a different tool going by the same name)

The 'version' option was added at least 8 years ago according to 'git
blame'
of the github.

Will just have to dig harder tomorrow: at least there's a contact
address,
though thats at

http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rsnapshot-discuss

rather than at github. I have a feeling my best approach may be to
raise a bug on the Fedora Bugzilla, see where answers come from and ash
more questions there.

I would establish whether it's an rsnapshot problem or a general problem unrelated to rsnapshot first.

Theo

Here's what I'm currently working with.
/etc/fstab's last non-blank line is:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

and that is exactly what the documentation on

https://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Rsnapshot

says the LABEL line should look like to keep rsnapshot happy. However,
when I run 'mount' as root, here's what I get:

# mount --fake --verbose --all LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT
/ : ignored
/boot : successfully mounted
/home : successfully mounted
/sensitive : already mounted
swap : ignored
/media/snapshot : ignored
#

IOW, the problem is that I can't mount the USB drive that rsnapshot should write to. This was working OK before I upgraded the house server from
Fedora 35 to Fedora 36. Just now I plugged the USB drive into the laptop
I'm writing this on, which is also running Fedora 36, and it mounted OK
and was readable.

So, ATM I've commented out the fstab LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT line on the house server bevcause it screwed up a reboot with the USB drive plugged in (this should be the norm: the USB drive is only for overnight backups and should
be unmounted when not in use as semi-fraudulent protection from intruders
etc. This reboot was a test to see if the LABEL line in /etc/fstab was
harmful with the USB drive plugged in during a reboot: that didn't used to
be a problem.

However, that LABEL line in /etc/fstab turned out to force a reboot
attempt from the USB disk drive if it is connected at boot time. IOW its treated as having the same priority at boot time as a memory stick or CD
drive with a bootable CD in it: not what was wanted!


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> writes:

/etc/fstab's last non-blank line is:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

^
Shouldn't that be "user"?

$ man 8 mount
user
Allow an ordinary user to mount the filesystem.

--
Alan J. Wylie https://www.wylie.me.uk/

Dance like no-one's watching. / Encrypt like everyone is.
Security is inversely proportional to convenience

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On Wed, 05 Oct 2022 20:24:06 +0100, Alan J. Wylie wrote:

Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> writes:

/etc/fstab's last non-blank line is:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0
0

^
Shouldn't that be "user"?

$ man 8 mount
user Allow an ordinary user to mount the filesystem.

You're right. I copied a typo from this online rsnapshot documentation:

https://wiki.amahi.org/index.php/Rsnapshot#Mounting_an_External_USB_Drive

I just checked: the typo is shown as I copied it on that page. However,
fixing it doesn't seem to have had any effect on my problem.


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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On 2022-10-04, Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On 04 Oct 2022 21:52:28 +0100 (BST), Theo wrote:

Vincent Coen <VBCoen@gmail.com> wrote:

Hello Martin!

Tuesday October 04 2022 17:55, Martin Gregorie wrote to All:

Stupid response - Check the case of the label on file matches command -
exactly - JIC.

Yes, and check it mounts as /media/$USER/USB_SNAPSHOT if you mount it
from the GUI?

(or wherever Fedora mounts it if not in /media/$USER)

I took the error to mean that rsnapshot can't find the LABEL line in /etc/ fstab, not that the directory name specified by that line doesn't match
the /media/snapshot directory.

My unstanding is that it can not find the backup (drive). As it is not
mounted. Which is what Vincet is saying above.

However, I've since found what appears to be rsnapshot home: https://github.com/rsnapshot

which should, hopefully, help but there's a problem in that it claims fsnapshot is currently v1.1, which seems decidedly low for something
that's been around for at least a decade.

Version numbers mean little as there is no standard as to how they progress, except increasing.

Not that thats all that
relevant, because the version I installed as part of the Fedora 36 upgrade doesn't have a version number: there's no --version command line option,
the manpage doesn't give a version number either. The command line
arguments seem to have changed too but its hard to know just what too, because '-?' isn't supported and '--help' merely returns 'rsnapshot'.

Will just have to dig harder tomorrow: at least there's a contact address, though thats at

http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/rsnapshot-discuss

rather than at github. I have a feeling my best approach may be to raise a bug on the Fedora Bugzilla, see where answers come from and ash more questions there.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 6 Oct 2022 01:36:09 GMT, Gordon wrote:

Version numbers mean little as there is no standard as to how they
progress, except increasing.

Indeed, though three part version numbers, aka Semantic Versioning, if
used as intended, are quite useful - there's a good description here: https://semver.org/

However, what I'm seeing here is an executable that has no version number,
but there IS a version number in the example configuration file included
in the release package.


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

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Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> writes:

LABEL=USB_SNAPSHOT /media/snapshot ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

I don't know why that used to work, but I have the answer: The "LABEL="
part *replaces*" the "first field".

Just use

LABEL=USBSNAPSHOT ext4 rw,noauto,users,exec,noatime 0 0

# mount --fstab=foo --all --fake --verbose
mount: ext4: can't find LABEL=USBSNAPSHOT.

--
Alan J. Wylie https://www.wylie.me.uk/

Dance like no-one's watching. / Encrypt like everyone is.
Security is inversely proportional to convenience

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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