Installing the Network Agent on Debian 11 Using DEB Packages

An alternative way to install the workstation agent on Debian 12 is to use a set of DEB packages. The main package is required, while the others can be installed as needed.

Download Main Package

System Requirements

• Debian 11;
• x86-64 processor architecture;

Basic Requirements

• To use a Linux workstation (network agent), you need Handy Backup Server Network.
• A centralized control panel for Handy Backup Server Network installed on a machine running Windows. Before configuring network agents, download Handy Backup and install the centralized control panel.
• The server and coordinator computer must allow incoming network connections from the workstation computer.
• The workstation computer must also allow incoming connections from the server computer.
• The machines must be on the same local network.

Package Contents

• handybackup-workstation: main package (agent, systemd service, Computer plugin)
• handybackup-workstation-cloud: cloud service plugins (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)
• handybackup-workstation-postgresql: PostgreSQL support
• handybackup-workstation-s3: support for S3 compatible clouds (Amazon S3, Wasabi, Alibaba)

Installing Packages

Use the following command to install a package:

apt-get install /full/path/to/package.deb

The system will automatically install dependencies from the Debian 11 repositories.

Agent Configuration

After the main package is installed, the following configuration file is created:

/etc/HandyBackup8/workstation.hbl

Open the file and specify the connection settings:

• WorkstationHost: workstation IP address (can be left empty for automatic detection)
• Name: workstation name as shown in the interface
• CoordinatorHost: server IP address
• CoordinatorPort: coordinator port (default is 1855)

Updating and Removing Packages

To update the agent, download the new DEB packages and run the same command used for installation.

apt-get install /full/path/to/package.deb

If the new package version is higher than the version already installed on the system, the package will be updated automatically. Dependencies will also be updated if necessary.

To remove a package, run the following command:

apt-get remove package_name

You can determine the exact package name from the list of installed packages whose names start with handybackup:

• handybackup-workstation
• handybackup-workstation-cloud
• handybackup-workstation-postgresql
• handybackup-workstation-s3

Working with Configuration Files

When packages are updated or removed, configuration files may either be preserved or deleted. This depends on the command options and the package manager settings. For more details on how the package manager works, see the Debian documentation.

Managing the Agent with systemd

If your system uses systemd, the agent is available as the hbws8 service.

• Start: systemctl start hbws8
• Stop: systemctl stop hbws8
• Restart: systemctl restart hbws8
• Status: systemctl status hbws8

Creating Tasks

After installing and configuring the network agent, you can start working through the centralized control panel.

For more information, see creating backup and recovery tasks for Linux network agents.

Troubleshooting

If the agent encounters errors during operation, check the Handy Backup logs. Agent logs are stored in the /var/log/HandyBackup8 directory.