Before you start#
General information#
There are several ways to get started with Bacularis, depending on whether you’re a new Bacula user or already have an existing Bacula environment and want to manage it using a web interface. It’s also important to choose the installation method that best fits your needs. Below are some tips to help you choose.
Do you already have Bacula installed?#
Yes, I already have Bacula installed#
OK. You are an existing Bacula user. To start using Bacularis, install a single Bacularis instance, preferably on the host running your Bacula Director. This setup provides access to the almost full range of Bacularis features and allows you to manage your Bacula environment through the web interface.
Once the main Bacularis web interface is set up, you can easily add more Bacularis instances on other hosts with Bacula components. You can install these manually or deploy them directly from the main Bacularis interface.
No, I don’t have Bacula installed#
You are a new Bacula user. Since version 4.0.0, Bacularis allows you to install
a complete Bacula environment from scratch. This can be done through the
installation wizard included in Bacularis.
On the current host, Bacularis will install and configure the full Bacula stack for you: the Bacula Catalog database, Director, Storage Daemon, Client, and Bconsole — all fully integrated with the Bacularis interface.
Which installation method should I use?#
Installing with DEB and RPM binary packages#
This is the easiest and most recommended way to install Bacularis if you’re using a supported Linux distribution. We provide package repositories for several distributions, making the installation process straightforward. These packages automatically prepare Bacularis for immediate use.
See chapters: Install using DEB packages and Install using RPM packages.
Installing with Composer#
This method is useful when binary packages cannot be used. It requires a bit more manual setup, but it’s still relatively simple. It’s a good option for users who want to customize the Bacularis setup (e.g., change file locations, document root, or web server).
See chapter: Install using Composer.
Installing with Docker#
This is a very convenient method to run Bacularis. However, note that if you want to configure Bacula using the web interface, Bacularis needs direct access to Bacula configuration files. For this reason, most official Bacularis Docker images come with Bacula components included.
If you want to use Bacularis in a container while keeping Bacula components outside the container, you’ll need to prepare that setup yourself.
An exception is the bacularis-web image, which provides only the web
interface (without the API) and can connect to any Bacularis API instance
available on the network.
See chapter: Install using Docker.
Installing manually#
This is the best choice for systems that we don’t provide packages for (e.g., other Linux distributions, FreeBSD, or other BSD variants). It’s also ideal for users who prefer full control over the installation and configuration process. This method is the most flexible and platform-independent.
See chapter: Install manually.
Is Bacularis compatible with my Bacula version?#
Bacularis is designed to work with all Bacula versions starting from version
9 onward — up to the latest release. Our goal is to eliminate confusion
like: “Which Bacularis version works with my Bacula version?”
If your Bacula environment is relatively up to date, you can safely install the latest version of Bacularis and be confident that it will work correctly.