[rdiff-backup-users] Extended attributes not stored under /mnt/xyz

[Simon Blandford]

I have installed the pyxattr-0.4.0-2.el5 rpm and I am using the 
rdiff-backup-1.2.8-1.el5.rf rpm on CentOS 5.

I have se-linux fully switched off but I would like to preserve the 
se-linux extended attributes in the backup. I would like to restore 
files with rsync, not rdiff-backup when necessary and so I need the 
extended attributes to actually be stored as extended attributes and not 
just represented in the rdiff-backup-data directory.


As a test, if I can see that rdiff-backup works on my root file system.
$ cd /root
$ rdiff-backup --include /etc/fstab --exclude /etc /etc test
$ ll -Z test
-rw-r--r--  root root user_u:object_r:etc_t:s0         fstab
drwx------  root root                                  rdiff-backup-data


If I repeat this test on a mounted ext3 partition the selinux 
attributes are missing.
$ cd /mnt/data
$ rdiff-backup --include /etc/fstab --exclude /etc /etc test
$ ll -Z test
-rw-r--r--  root root                                  fstab
drwx------  root root                                  rdiff-backup-data


Yet I can manually set the selinux attributes on this file. So the 
mounted partition IS capable of storing the attributes.
$ chcon user_u:object_r:etc_t:s0 test/fstab
$ ll -Z test
-rw-r--r--  root root user_u:object_r:etc_t:s0         fstab
drwx------  root root                                  rdiff-backup-data


Is rdiff-backup wrongly assuming that the target directory location 
can't handle extended attributes?