Customizing the Configuration Files

When each of the Bacula programs starts, it reads a configuration file specified on the command line or the default bacula-dir.conf, bacula-fd.conf, bacula-sd.conf, or console.conf for the Director, the File Daemon, the Storage Daemon, and the Console program respectively.

Each service (Director, Client, Storage, Console) has its own configuration file containing a set of Resource definitions. These resources are very similar from one service to another, but may contain different directives (records) depending on the service. For example, in the Director’s resource file, the Director resource defines the name of the Director, a number of global Director parameters and his password. In the File Daemon configuration file, the Director resource specifies which Directors are permitted to use the File Daemon.

Before running Bacula for the first time, you must customize the configuration files for each daemon. Default configuration files will have been created by the installation process, but you will need to modify them to correspond to your system. An overall view of the resources can be seen in the following:

Detailed Information for Each Daemon

The details of each Resource and the directives permitted therein are described in the following chapters.

The following configuration files must be defined:

Console – to define the resources for the Console program (user interface to the Director). It defines which Directors are available so that you may interact with them.
Director – to define the resources necessary for the Director. You define all the Clients and Storage daemons that you use in this configuration file.
File Daemon – to define the resources for each client to be backed up. That is, you will have a separate Client resource file on each machine that runs a File daemon.
Storage – to define the resources to be used by each Storage daemon. Normally, you will have a single Storage daemon that controls your tape drive or tape drives. However, if you have tape drives on several machines, you will have at least one Storage daemon per machine.