[Python-apps-team] Bug#734925: rdiff-backup: remove-older-than fails to communicate with remote server

[Olivier Berger]

Package: rdiff-backup
Version: 1.2.8-7
Severity: normal

Hi.

Trying to clean old remote backups leads to failure talking to the remote rdiff-backup --server :

# /usr/bin/rdiff-backup -v 9 --remove-older-than 190D backup at machineB.local::/mnt/backups/machineA
Fri Jan 10 08:06:23 2014  Using rdiff-backup version 1.2.8
Fri Jan 10 08:06:23 2014  Executing ssh -C backup at machineB.local rdiff-backup --server
Fri Jan 10 08:06:23 2014  Client sending (0): ConnectionRequest: Globals.get with 1 arguments
Fri Jan 10 08:06:23 2014  Client sending (0): 'version'
ssh_exchange_identification: read: Connection reset by peer
Fri Jan 10 10:06:40 2014  Fatal Error: Truncated header string (problem probably originated remotely)

Couldn't start up the remote connection by executing

    ssh -C backup at machineB.local rdiff-backup --server

Remember that, under the default settings, rdiff-backup must be
installed in the PATH on the remote system.  See the man page for more
information on this.  This message may also be displayed if the remote
version of rdiff-backup is quite different from the local version (1.2.8).

Both machineA and machineB run 1.2.8.

Right after start of the command, a ps on machineB doesn't exhibit any rdiff-backup running :-/

For whatever reason, the remote process dies, and the local client takes 2h to abort the communication.

Note that this isn't systematic, as sometimes, it will work at first try :-/

# /usr/bin/rdiff-backup --remove-older-than 190D backup at machineB.local::/mnt/backups/machineA
No increments older than Thu Jul  4 22:08:16 2013 found, exiting.

Dunno what happens... probaby a client-server communication issue ?

FWIW, the client is a dreamplug machine (ARM) and the server is a laptop (amd64).

Thanks in advance.

Best regards,
-- System Information:
Debian Release: jessie/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 3.12-1-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=fr_FR.utf8, LC_CTYPE=fr_FR.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages rdiff-backup depends on:
ii  libc6      2.17-97
ii  librsync1  0.9.7-10
ii  python     2.7.5-5
ii  python2.6  2.6.8-2
ii  python2.7  2.7.6-4

Versions of packages rdiff-backup recommends:
ii  python-pylibacl  0.5.1-1.1+b3
ii  python-pyxattr   0.5.1-1.1+b3

rdiff-backup suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information