Reolink Remote Backup

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.

Implement resilient backup using:

1. Reolink camera FTP/FTPS upload -> VPS relay
2. Local machine pull from VPS -> NAS/local archive
3. 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.