Personal Backup Using CVS

CVS is a useful tool to versioning of files. It is relatively secure using SSH, and is in wide spread use. We wish to use CVS as a personal backup tool. That is, allow users to use CVS to create versions of important files periodically, using CVS's existing versioning methods. We want to compress the actual stored data in the ",v" files so as to minimize their storage. We want to encrypt the ",v" files with a user's key so as to keep them confidential. We want to do this while not creating "CVS/" directories throughout a user's home directory, but in a separate private hierarchy, so as not to clutter a user's home directory. Finally, we want several CVS servers for such personal backups to automatically synchronize their CVSROOT data; that way a user could keep one personal backup at work, one at home, and perhaps another in a remote location or SSP.

We are also interested in producing a lightweight version of CVS that can run on mobile devices with little resources. Mobile devices can be easily damaged or lost. In order to avoid losing vital data, we wish to use existing tools (e.g., CVS) to automatically replicate and version users' data from mobile devices to a number of replicated, secure servers.

Past Students:

# Name (click for home page) Program Period Current Location
1 Julio Salazar BS Jan 2002 - May 2002 Senior Business Engineer, Digital Risk (Orlando, FL)
2 Yuri Yanpolski BS Jan 2002 - May 2002