| name | reolink-remote-backup |
| description | Set up reliable off-site Reolink camera backup when cameras are remote (4G/5G/LTE) and home inbound networking is constrained (CGNAT/locked routers). Use for architecture decisions, VPS relay setup, FTP/FTPS ingest, local/NAS pull sync, retention, and troubleshooting upload/auth/path failures. |
Reolink Remote Backup
Implement resilient backup using:
- Reolink camera FTP/FTPS upload -> VPS relay
- Local machine pull from VPS -> NAS/local archive
- Retention + health checks
Use this flow when direct camera->home ingest is impractical.
Inputs to collect
- Camera model + hardware version
- Whether FTP/FTPS options are visible in app/client
- VPS host/IP and SSH access method
- Local destination path (NAS mountpoint)
- Desired pull interval (default 10 min)
- Desired VPS retention window (default 30 days)
Workflow
1) Validate architecture constraints
- If home inbound routing is locked/CGNAT, prefer VPS relay.
- Keep NAS off public internet.
- Use local pull from VPS (never rely on VPS pushing into home NAT).
2) Configure VPS ingest
Run scripts/setup_vps_vsftpd.sh on VPS as root. It:
- installs vsftpd + ufw
- creates
reolinkftp ingest user
- sets up
/srv/reolink/incoming
- opens SSH + FTP passive ports
Then set camera FTP/FTPS target to VPS.
3) Configure local pull
Run scripts/setup_local_pull.sh on local machine. It writes:
/home/$USER/bin/reolink_pull.sh- systemd user service + timer with
Persistent=true
This ensures catch-up after downtime.
4) Set retention safety
Run scripts/setup_vps_retention.sh on VPS to prune old files if local sync is offline for prolonged periods.
5) Verify
- Trigger camera upload or run camera FTP test.
- Confirm files appear on VPS:
/srv/reolink/incoming
- Run local pull script once manually.
- Confirm files appear on destination path.
- Confirm timer active:
systemctl --user list-timers | grep reolink-pull
Troubleshooting
Read references/troubleshooting.md for response-code and log-driven fixes.
Fast checks:
- VPS service status:
systemctl status vsftpd
- VPS logs:
journalctl -u vsftpd -n 120 --no-pager
- FTP logs:
tail -n 120 /var/log/vsftpd.log
- Mount status (local):
mountpoint -q <mountpath>
Security baseline
- Use SSH keys for VPS admin access.
- Keep FTP user isolated from admin users.
- Prefer FTPS after initial debugging.
- Enforce retention so VPS disk cannot fill.
- Rotate any credential exposed in chat/logs.
