Backup Server Mode | XMigrate Docs

Overview

The backup server receives and stores backups from multiple client agents. It runs as a systemd service and is configured via a YAML file at /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml.

Priority order for configuration: CLI flags > Config file > Default values

Starting the Server


# Start the server
sudo systemctl start backup-server
 
# Enable automatic startup on boot
sudo systemctl enable backup-server
 
# Check status
sudo systemctl status backup-server
 
# View logs
sudo journalctl -u backup-server -f

Configuration File

Location: /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml


sudo mkdir -p /etc/xreplicator
sudo nano /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`server.listen_addr`	string	`":50051"`	gRPC listen address (`host:port` or `:port`)
`server.repository_path`	string	`"./backup-repo"`	Path for storing backups (created if missing)
`server.fixed_block_size_mb`	integer	`8`	Fixed-block boundary size — must match agent config
`server.log_level`	string	`"info"`	Options: `"debug"`, `"info"`, `"warn"`, `"error"`
`license.file_path`	string	`<repo>/license.json`	Path to license file
`cloud.config_path`	string	`<repo>/cloud-config.yaml`	Path to cloud configuration file

server.fixed_block_size_mb must match the fixed_block_size_mb value in your agent configuration. A mismatch causes inefficient checkpoint resume.

Full Sample Config


# /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml
 
server:
  listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:50051"
  repository_path: "/var/lib/backup/repo"
  fixed_block_size_mb: 8
  log_level: "info"
 
license:
  file_path: "/etc/xreplicator/license.json"
 
cloud:
  config_path: "/etc/xreplicator/cloud-config.yaml"

Command-Line Flags

For quick testing or when not using systemd. CLI flags override the config file.

Flag	Default	Description
`--config`	`/etc/xreplicator/server.yaml`	Path to config file
`--listen`	`":50051"`	gRPC listen address
`--repo`	`"./backup-repo"`	Repository path
`--fixed-block-size`	`8`	Fixed-block boundary size in MB
`--cloud-config`	`<repo>/cloud-config.yaml`	Cloud config path
`--license`	`<repo>/license.json`	License file path

Systemd Service Configuration

Using a Config File (Recommended)

Edit the service file:


sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/backup-server.service


[Unit]
Description=Backup Server
After=network.target
 
[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/xreplicator server --config /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
 
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Using CLI Flags (Alternative)


[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/xreplicator server \
  --listen 0.0.0.0:50051 \
  --repo /var/lib/backup/repo \
  --fixed-block-size 8 \
  --license /etc/xreplicator/license.json

After any edits:


sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart backup-server

Repository Structure


/var/lib/backup/repo/
├── storage/
│   ├── data/        # Chunks organized by hash prefix
│   └── packs/       # Grouped pack files for efficiency
├── snapshots/       # Snapshot metadata (JSON)
├── index.db         # SQLite index
├── cloud-config.yaml
└── license.json

Configuration Examples

Minimal Setup


server:
  listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:50051"
  repository_path: "/var/lib/backup/repo"
  fixed_block_size_mb: 8

Production with Custom Block Size


server:
  listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:50051"
  repository_path: "/data/backup/repo"
  fixed_block_size_mb: 16
  log_level: "info"
 
license:
  file_path: "/etc/xreplicator/license.json"

Server with Cloud Config


server:
  listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:50051"
  repository_path: "/var/lib/backup/repo"
  fixed_block_size_mb: 8
 
cloud:
  config_path: "/etc/xreplicator/cloud-config.yaml"

Quick CLI Test (No systemd)


xreplicator server \
  --listen 0.0.0.0:50051 \
  --repo /var/lib/backup/repo \
  --fixed-block-size 8

Override Config File Value


# Uses config file but overrides listen address
xreplicator server \
  --config /etc/xreplicator/server.yaml \
  --listen 127.0.0.1:50051

License Requirements

The backup server requires a valid license to start. See the Licensing section for installation and troubleshooting details.