Linux Installation

Use this to install the Magnus Box backup app on a client's Linux server or workstation and register it to the client's user. On Linux, the app runs as a background service with no window. Once it's installed, you set up and run backups and restores for the device from the Web Portal.

The Web Portal has three Linux downloads: a .deb package (Debian, Ubuntu and compatible), an .rpm package (Red Hat-family distributions) and a .tar.gz download for other distributions, which gives you a self-extracting installer file ending in .run. For Synology NAS devices, see Synology Installation.

Note: Partners can white-label the backup app and the Web Portal, so file names, folder names and labels may show your own brand instead of the names used here. For example, the install folder /opt/MagnusBox/ follows the product branding.

Before you start

  • Root access: you need sudo (or root) on the machine. The app installs system-wide and its service runs as root.
  • The client's user: the username and password of the Web Portal user the device belongs to. Never use your admin login here.
  • Your Web Portal address, for example https://backup.example.com/. The installer already suggests your portal address, so you normally just keep it.
  • The machine's hostname: the device registers under its hostname. You can rename it in the Web Portal afterwards.
  • Internet access: the machine must reach your Web Portal during the install, because that's when it logs in and registers.

System requirements

Minimum Recommended
CPU x86 with SSE2 and SSSE3*, x86-64, or ARM (4+ cores/threads) x86-64 or ARM (8+ cores/threads)
RAM 8 GB† 16 GB
Kernel 2.6.23 or later 5.0 or later
Network 1 Mbps 1 Gbps

* SSSE3 has been required since version 24.12.0 (Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Bulldozer or newer).
† The app doesn't use 8 GB of RAM by itself. Memory use depends on the job being run.

The machine also needs:

  • bash, xz, GNU awk and the standard GNU/Linux system tools
  • The ca-certificates and tzdata packages. The app uses the system's root certificates to check HTTPS connections and its time zone data for schedules.
  • Support for ISRG Root X1 (Let's Encrypt) certificates
  • Unique SSH host keys. Cloned VMs with the same host keys show up as the same device. See Several machines show up as one device.

ARM: the installer picks the best build for the machine: ARMv8l (64-bit), ARMv7l (32-bit hard-float, with glibc) or ARMv6kl (32-bit). For the full list of supported systems, see Supported platforms and system requirements.

Step 1: Download the package

  1. In the Web Portal, go to Download backup agent.
  2. In the Linux panel, pick the download for the distribution:
    • .deb: Debian, Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions
    • .rpm: Red Hat-family distributions (tested on RHEL 7 to 10, CentOS, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Oracle Linux and CloudLinux)
    • .tar.gz: any other distribution. This downloads a self-extracting installer named like Magnus_Box-VERSION.run.
  3. Copy the file to the Linux machine, for example with scp.

Linux panel on the Download backup agent page with the .deb, .rpm and .tar.gz buttons and the system requirements

Step 2: Install and register

Debian and Ubuntu (.deb)

  1. On the Linux machine, go to the folder with the file and run: 
    sudo apt install ./Magnus_Box-VERSION.deb
    Replace Magnus_Box-VERSION.deb with the name of the file you downloaded. Keep the ./ so apt installs the local file.
  2. The installer asks for the client's username, then the password, then the server address. The server address is filled in already, so keep it unless we've told you otherwise.
  3. The installer logs in, registers the device to that user and starts the background service. On a new user with the default settings, a Storage Vault is created for the device automatically, named after the device.

The service is called backup-tool. It starts automatically at boot and restarts itself if it stops.

Silent install (RMM or scripts): give the installer its answers in advance, then install without prompts:

echo 'backup-tool backup-tool/username string USERNAME' | sudo debconf-set-selections
echo 'backup-tool backup-tool/serverurl string https://YOUR-PORTAL-URL/' | sudo debconf-set-selections
printf 'backup-tool backup-tool/password password %s\n' "$BACKUP_PASSWORD" | sudo debconf-set-selections
sudo DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt install -y ./Magnus_Box-VERSION.deb
echo 'set backup-tool/password ' | sudo debconf-communicate backup-tool
  • Replace USERNAME and https://YOUR-PORTAL-URL/ with the client's username and your Web Portal address.
  • Put the password in the BACKUP_PASSWORD variable from your RMM's secure variables. Don't type it into the command itself, where it can end up in shell history or logs.
  • The last line clears the saved password from the installer's answer store (/var/cache/debconf/passwords.dat) after the install.

Red Hat-family distributions (.rpm)

  1. Install the package: 
    sudo rpm -ivh ./Magnus_Box-VERSION.rpm
    The .rpm installs without prompts and starts the service logged out, so it also works as-is from an RMM.
  2. Log the app in and register the device: 
    sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login prompt
    Type the client's username and then the password when asked.

Other distributions (.tar.gz download / .run installer)

The file you get from the .tar.gz button is a self-extracting installer. Run it as root:

sudo bash ./Magnus_Box-VERSION.run

It installs into /opt/MagnusBox/, asks for the username and password, registers the device and starts the app in the background.

  • Silent install (as root): ( echo "$USERNAME"; echo "$PASSWORD"; ) | bash ./Magnus_Box-VERSION.run
  • Options (set as environment variables before you run it): WRITE_INSTALL_LOG=/path/to/file writes an install log, and OVERRIDE_INSTALL_SERVER=https://YOUR-PORTAL-URL/ sets a different server address (with https:// and a trailing slash).

Important: this installer doesn't set the app to start at boot. Set that up yourself, for example with this systemd unit:

[Unit]
Description=Magnus Box backup app
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
RemainAfterExit=true
User=root
ExecStart=/opt/MagnusBox/backup-daemon-start.sh

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
  • You can also use an rc.local entry, an init.d script, or a root crontab @reboot line that runs /opt/MagnusBox/backup-daemon-start-background.sh.
  • Over SSH, backup-daemon-start.sh runs in the foreground and stops when the session ends. Use the -background version instead.
  • The app finds its saved login through the $HOME variable. Some distributions don't set $HOME early in boot. If the app can't log in at startup, use HOME=/root/ /opt/MagnusBox/backup-daemon-start.sh &.

If you later install the .deb or .rpm package over this installer's install, it converts the settings automatically.

Step 3: Check that it's registered

Run:

sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login status

You should see Logged in, locked (1), which means the app is logged in and connected. The other results are:

  • Logged out (0): the app isn't logged in. Log in again (below).
  • Connection error (3): the app can't reach your Web Portal. Check the machine's internet access and the server address.

If the login failed (wrong username, password or server address, or no network), fix the problem and log in again:

sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login prompt

To log in to a different Web Portal address, run:

sudo OVERRIDE_INSTALL_SERVER=https://YOUR-PORTAL-URL/ /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login prompt

Step 4: Rename the device (optional)

The device shows up in the Web Portal under the machine's hostname. To give it a clearer name, go to Users > [user] > Devices, open the Rename device dialog for the device, type the new name and click OK. See Manage devices from the Devices page.

Rename device dialog with a new device name typed in and the OK button

Step 5: Set up backups in the Web Portal

On Linux, you manage backups and restores from the Web Portal, not on the machine. The command-line tool only handles logging in and status.

  1. Go to Users > [user] > Protected Items and click Add protected item....
  2. Give it a name, choose a type such as Files and Folders, and add the folders to back up on the Items tab. Add a schedule on the Schedule tab if you want one, then click Save.
  3. To run the first backup now, click Run Backup... on the Protected Item's row.

To restore files, see Restore files and folders (Option B, from the Web Portal).

Verify it worked

  • sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login status shows Logged in, locked (1).
  • In the Web Portal, the device shows as Online on the Devices page and on the user's Devices tab.
  • After the first backup, Job logs shows the job with the status Success.

Troubleshooting

  • The install stopped with an error during setup: usually the login failed (wrong password, wrong server address or no network). Check the details and run sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login prompt.
  • The device shows Offline in the Web Portal: with the .deb or .rpm package, check the service with sudo systemctl status backup-tool and restart it with sudo systemctl restart backup-tool. With the .run installer, check your startup entry.
  • The device doesn't show up as a new device: see Linux client only shows as 'Offline' in user-profile 'Devices' tab.
  • Logs: on a .deb or .rpm install, the service log is at sudo journalctl -u backup-tool. Before the first login you'll see a warning that saved login details couldn't be loaded. That's normal. Backup and restore job logs are in the Web Portal under Job logs, or on the user's Job Logs tab.
  • Still stuck? Email support@magnusbox.com with the user name, device name, Linux distribution and version, and the output of sudo journalctl -u backup-tool.

Uninstall

How you uninstall depends on which package the app was installed with. The service and package name is backup-tool, whatever the branding. Uninstalling removes the app from the machine only. To retire the device in the Web Portal as well, revoke it afterwards. See Revoke a device.

Optional, before you uninstall: to log the app out and remove its saved login, run sudo /opt/MagnusBox/backup-tool login disconnect.

.deb (Debian, Ubuntu)

sudo apt remove backup-tool

This keeps the saved login, so a later reinstall can reuse it. To remove the saved login and settings as well, run sudo apt purge backup-tool instead.

.rpm (Red Hat-family)

sudo rpm -e backup-tool

This keeps the saved login and settings. To remove them too, run sudo rm -r /root/.config/backup-tool.

.run installer (from the .tar.gz download)

  1. Stop the app. If you set up a systemd unit, run sudo systemctl stop backup-tool. Otherwise find the app's processes with ps aux | grep -i backup and stop them.
  2. Delete the app's folder: sudo rm -r /opt/MagnusBox/.
  3. Remove any startup entries you added: a systemd unit, an rc.local entry or a crontab @reboot line.

Once /opt/MagnusBox/ is deleted, a reinstall asks for the username and password again.

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