[rdiff-backup-users] Problem with first backup

[Giorgio]

Hi,

I have to perform a backup over the Internet, using rdiff-backup. The  
scenario is as follows:
- Backup activities can only run at night, when no one is using the  
files.
- The connection is ADSL, so it is pretty slow.
- The turnover size is around 100 MB per day, so this makes it sound  
ok even with a slow connection.

The big problem is how to do the initial copy, as the data size  
involved is ~30 GB, and I do not have the possibility to copy the data  
through a physical medium.

Hence, I have thought about using rsync to copy a chunk of data every  
night, until I get the whole 30 GB on the other side, and then I can  
start using rdiff-backup.

Does this sound doable? Will rdiff-backup be able to start from an  
existing copy of the data? Probably I won't be able preserve file  
permissions/properties during the rsync part, will rdiff-backup be  
able to add them afterwards?

Thanks in advance,
Giorgio