BURP - BackUp and Restore Program

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NOTE: While status monitor functionality also exists in burp-1, this
documentation describes the functionality as it exists in burp-2, unless
otherwise stated. The burp-1 feature has significantly less functionality than
the burp-2.

Status port
-----------

On the server side, there is the ability to run a status monitor.
In the most basic sense, it is a port on which the burp server listens to
requests, and to which it outputs information.

Burp-2:
            -----------------------------------------------
            | server (burp -c /etc/burp/burp-server.conf) |
            -----------------------------------------------
                                  |
                          SSL/JSON port 4972
                                  |
                        ----------------------
                        | client (burp -a m) |
                        ----------------------
                                  |
                             stdin/stdout
                                  |
                 -------------------------------------
                 | status monitor client (burp -a s) |
                 -------------------------------------

Burp-1:
            -----------------------------------------------
            | server (burp -c /etc/burp/burp-server.conf) |
            -----------------------------------------------
                                  |
                         Plain text port 4972
                                  |
  -------------------------------------------------------------------
  | status monitor client (burp -c /etc/burp/burp-server.conf -a s) |
  -------------------------------------------------------------------


Security
--------

CAUTION: The burp-1 status port operates in plain text only and allows you
to see information on any client. It uses a server configuration file rather
than a client configuration file, and only allows connections locally on the
server.

In burp-2, the status port connection is secured via SSL.
The client that you are connecting from will be able to see its own details,
and the details of any other client that you are a 'super_client' or
'restore_client' of.
Since it uses a client configuration file, you can run status monitor clients
remotely.


Address and port number
-----------------------

The port that the server runs on is determined by the 'status_port' option in
/etc/burp/burp-server.conf. By default, this is 4972.
No 'status_port' option means that the burp server will not listen at all.

Burp-1 will only listen for local connections. That is, 127.0.0.1 for IPv4, or
::1 for IPv6, depending on what was chosen/available at build time (to force
IPv4, use the --disable-ipv6 configure option).

Burp-2 will listen for local connections by default. You can set the
'status_address' option in /etc/burp/burp-server.conf to explicitly choose the
listen address.

Once you start the burp server, you may check the status address and port
by running a command like this:

netstat -plant | grep 4972


Raw connection
--------------

You may connect to the status port using a burp client with the syntax
'burp -a m'.
This will let you see the raw JSON output, and let you input commands via
standard input.

If you have not connected from this client before, burp will attempt to set
up SSL certificates in the usual way first.
You may need to configure the 'server' and 'status_port' options in your
client burp.conf before it will connect.


Built-in status monitor clients
-------------------------------

These fork a 'burp -a m' child process and then communicate with it using
stdin/stdout. If you have connection problems, it can be useful to try running
'burp -a m' manually.


Ncurses:

This requires that burp be compiled with ncurses enabled.

Once the burp server is running, the ncurses status monitor client can be run
with a command like this:

burp -a s

You should see a list of clients along with their current status and the time
of their most recent backup.

The cursor can be moved with the arrow keys.
Hitting enter or the right arrow key will give you a list of backups for the
selected client.
Choosing a backup will give you the options to browse the backup, view logs,
or look at live statistics.

Snapshot:

Running the following command will print a snapshot of the status monitor
status screen to stdout:

burp -a S

One application is that a script can run this and email an administrator the
output on a cron job. This doesn't require ncurses support. There are
additional options that can be given, listed below.

       -C [client]
              Limit the output to a single client.

#WORK IN PROGRESS - These options are not yet working in burp-2.
#       -b [number]
#              Show listable files in a particular backup (requires -C).
#
#       -z [file]
#              Dump a particular log file in a backup (requires -C and -b).
#
#       -d [path]
#              Show a particular path in a backup (requires -C and -b).


Other status monitor clients
----------------------------

An example of another status monitor client is burp-ui, which presents a nice
web interface.


Request format
--------------

c:
  - Request a summary of all clients.

c:<client>
  - Request the backup list of a particular client.

c:<client>:b:<backup number>
  - Request details of a particular backup.

c:<client>:b:<backup number>:p:<path>
  - Request the contents of a directory from a backup.

c:<client>:b:<backup number>:l:<log type>
  - Request the contents of a log file from a backup. The available log types
    for each backup are listed with the backups themselves.

j:pretty-print-on
  - Turn JSON response pretty printing on (the default).

j:pretty-print-off
  - Turn JSON response pretty printing off.

j:response-markers-on
  - Turn JSON response start and end markers on.

j:response-markers-off
  - Turn JSON response start and end markers off (the default).

j:peer_version=<burp version>
  - Override the peer version to get alternative JSON formats.


Response format
---------------

The response is JSON formatted.

Example 1. There are two idle clients. 'testclient' has had three backups and
'laptop' has had none. The output is indicating the most recent backup of
each client.

Request: "c:"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "protocol": 1,
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 3,
                    "timestamp": 1421271819,
                    "flags": [
                        "current",
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "laptop",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "backups": [

            ]
        }
    ]
}


Example 2. Requesting the backup list of 'testclient', which is idle.
The 'flags' section indicates properties of the particular backup that it
appears in - whether it is deletable, the current backup, and so on.
The 'logs' section indicates the log files that are able to be returned by
the status monitor.

Request: "c:testclient"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "protocol": 1,
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 3,
                    "timestamp": 1421271819,
                    "flags": [
                        "current",
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                },
                {
                    "number": 2,
                    "timestamp": 1421271581,
                    "flags": [
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                },
                {
                    "number": 1,
                    "timestamp": 1421199720,
                    "flags": [
                        "deletable",
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}


Example 3. Requesting an individual backup.

Request: "c:testclient:b:2"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "protocol": 1,
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 2,
                    "timestamp": 1421271581,
                    "flags": [
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}


Example 4. Requesting the contents of a directory in a backup.
With large backups, each request might take some time because the manifest
file needs to parsed on the server. In order to speed this up, there is an
option called 'monitor_browse_cache' on the server side. Turning it on
makes the server cache the results of the parsing in memory, thereby allowing
it to respond faster to subsequent queries about the same backup on the same
connection. The memory is freed on querying the contents of a different backup
or closing the connection.

Request: "c:testclient:b:2:p:/usr/lib/xul-ext/webaccounts/content"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "protocol": 1,
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 2,
                    "timestamp": 1421271581,
                    "flags": [
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    },
                    "browse": {
                        "directory": "/usr/lib/xul-ext/webaccounts/content",
                        "entries": [
                            {
                                "name": "browser.js",
                                "dev": 2050,
                                "ino": 1837644,
                                "mode": 33188,
                                "nlink": 1,
                                "uid": 0,
                                "gid": 0,
                                "rdev": 0,
                                "size": 2166,
                                "blksize": 4096,
                                "blocks": 8,
                                "atime": 1420519821,
                                "ctime": 1407972494,
                                "mtime": 1390969550
                            },
                            {
                                "name": "browser.xul",
                                "dev": 2050,
                                "ino": 1837645,
                                "mode": 33188,
                                "nlink": 1,
                                "uid": 0,
                                "gid": 0,
                                "rdev": 0,
                                "size": 261,
                                "blksize": 4096,
                                "blocks": 8,
                                "atime": 1420519821,
                                "ctime": 1407972494,
                                "mtime": 1373030720
                            }
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Example 5. Requesting the log of a particular backup.

Request: "c:testclient:b:2:l:backup"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "protocol": 1,
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 2,
                    "timestamp": 1421271581,
                    "flags": [
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ],
                        "backup": [
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:41: burp[7398] Client version: 2.0.11",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:41: burp[7398] Protocol: 1",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:41: burp[7398] Begin phase1 (file system scan)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:42: burp[7398] End phase1 (file system scan)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:42: burp[7398] Begin phase2 (receive file data)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] End phase2 (receive file data)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] Backup ending - disconnect from client.",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] Begin phase3 (merge manifests)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] End phase3 (merge manifests)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] Begin phase4 (shuffle files)",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] Previous backup is not a hardlinked_archive",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398]  will generate reverse deltas",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:47: burp[7398] Duplicating current backup.",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:48: burp[7398] New backup is not a hardlinked_archive",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:48: burp[7398] Doing the atomic data jiggle...",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:59: burp[7398] End phase4 (shuffle files)",
                            "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------",
                            "Start time: 2015-01-15 07:39:41",
                            "  End time: 2015-01-15 07:39:59",
                            "Time taken: 00:18",
                            "                         New   Changed Unchanged   Deleted     Total |  Scanned",
                            "                   ------------------------------------------------------------",
                            "             Files:     1554         0     19153         0     20707 |    20707",
                            "         Meta data:        2         0         0         0         2 |        2",
                            "       Directories:        1         0      1976         0      1977 |     1977",
                            "        Hard links:        0         0        14         0        14 |       14",
                            "        Soft links:      380         0      1579         0      1959 |     1959",
                            "       Grand total:     1937         0     22722         0     24659 |    24659",
                            "                   ------------------------------------------------------------",
                            "",
                            "             Warnings:             0",
                            "",
                            "      Bytes estimated:    2385159143 (2.22 GB)",
                            "      Bytes in backup:    2384195671 (2.22 GB)",
                            "       Bytes received:     227824877 (217.27 MB)",
                            "           Bytes sent:             0",
                            "--------------------------------------------------------------------------------",
                            "2015-01-15 07:39:59: burp[7398] Backup completed."
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}


Example 6. Listing all clients whilst one of them is running.

Request: "c:"
Response:
{
    "clients": [
        {
            "name": "testclient",
            "run_status": "running",
            "protocol": 1,
            "children": [
                {
                    "pid": 3943,
                    "backup": 4,
                    "action": "backup"
                    "phase": "backup",
                    "counters": [
                        {
                            "name": "files",
                            "type": "f",
                            "count": 0,
                            "changed": 0,
                            "same": 0,
                            "deleted": 0,
                            "scanned": 16
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "directories",
                            "type": "d",
                            "count": 0,
                            "changed": 0,
                            "same": 0,
                            "deleted": 0,
                            "scanned": 1
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "grand_total",
                            "type": "Z",
                            "count": 0,
                            "changed": 0,
                            "same": 0,
                            "deleted": 0,
                            "scanned": 17
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "bytes_estimated",
                            "type": "G",
                            "count": 420151988
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "time_start",
                            "type": "b",
                            "count": 1495345509
                        },
                        {
                            "name": "time_end",
                            "type": "E",
                            "count": 1495345510
                        }
                    ]
                }
            ],
            "backups": [
                {
                    "number": 3,
                    "timestamp": 1421271819,
                    "flags": [
                        "current",
                        "manifest"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup",
                            "backup_stats"
                        ]
                    }
                },
                {
                    "number": 4,
                    "timestamp": 1421272639,
                    "flags": [
                        "working"
                    ],
                    "logs": {
                        "list": [
                            "backup"
                        ]
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "name": "laptop",
            "run_status": "idle",
            "backups": [

            ]
        }
    ]
}

The "children" section lists each of the child processes that the server is
running for a client.
The "action" section may be one of:
"backup", "list", "restore", "verify", "delete", or "diff".
The "phase" section breaks that down slightly further to one of:
"scanning", "backup", "merging", "shuffling", "listing", "restoring",
"verifying", "deleting", or "diffing"


Example 7. Problem with request.

Request: "c:blah"
Response:
{
    "warning": "Could not find client"
}


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Burp, don't suck. Last updated: March 2024
By Graham Keeling