Backup options

Hello,

I'm working for a Small business and we are looking at moving our servers to Linux. I'm looking at Red Hat and possibly using Proxmox or Redhat's Virtual platform.

I come from a Windows admin background so I'm still learning but I do know how to do things, I'm just not a power user yet. One of the things that I've learned is don't think like Windows (which can be hard to break out of the habit) I'm wondering about backups for Linux. I've seen alot of options, like Bacula that seems to be more robust option, but also individual projects such as Borg, rsync, Rear, which seem to provide one or the other.

Example, I would like to have a backup solution that I can do Baremetal backup/recovery (which Rear does) but also to be able to restore individual files, in case someone deletes a file. (which Borg does) I've seen people say oh no for Linux you don't need baremetal, just resinstall and restore your rsync/borg backups.

I'm looking for feedback to see what others are doing for their linux backup solutions.

Thanks.

I would suggest you look at systems using rsync since they will copy files only when changed. Specifically I would recommend rsnapshot since it maintains periodic snapshots (daily, weekly and monthly is their suggestion) and uses hard links instead of actual copies of files. The only physical copy of a file is the first until/unless the file changes. But you don't see that, you see a normal list of files. Linux handles hard links very nicely and this allows speed and relatively low disk usage. A system based on rsync will maintain copies of files which means you can restore individual files if necessary.

Originally Posted by manf0001 Hello, I'm working for a Small business and we are looking at moving our servers to Linux. I'm looking at Red Hat and possibly using Proxmox or Redhat's Virtual platform. I come from a Windows admin background so I'm still learning but I do know how to do things, I'm just not a power user yet. One of the things that I've learned is don't think like Windows (which can be hard to break out of the habit) I'm wondering about backups for Linux. I've seen alot of options, like Bacula that seems to be more robust option, but also individual projects such as Borg, rsync, Rear, which seem to provide one or the other. Example, I would like to have a backup solution that I can do Baremetal backup/recovery (which Rear does) but also to be able to restore individual files, in case someone deletes a file. (which Borg does) I've seen people say oh no for Linux you don't need baremetal, just resinstall and restore your rsync/borg backups. I'm looking for feedback to see what others are doing for their linux backup solutions.

The term "backups" is a bit vague. Do you mean "make a copy periodically", or do you mean **BACKUPS**, as in long term storage of versions, snapshotting, file versioning, etc., etc.?? What media are you backing up to? There are LOTS of variables to consider...and there are also legal requirements depending on the business. Sarbanes-Oxley comes into play if you do ANYTHING related to finance, and you HAVE TO keep seven years of backups.

That said, if you're just talking about keeping copies in case something dies, I'd agree with the assessment of not having bare-metal images. Fairly pointless unless you're in a large enterprise where you've got a thousand servers with complex configs. A bare-metal recovery takes as much time (typically), as loading the OS from scratch...about 30 minutes or so either way. If you lay the system out right, you'll have your actual DATA (databases, user files, home directories, etc.) on their own partition, and back IT up frequently. And as an admin, you'll know what system config files you've touched/played with, so you can add those to the to-be-backed-up list easily. Not much need to back up gigs of data for no purpose.

And a lot of this depends on your budget. If you've got some cash to throw around, you have more options. If you're talking about backing up a couple of servers and some user data, you can probably get a NAS device with some big drives in it, and do your backups over the wire, and be able to go back in time a little ways. Rsync and borg are decent choices and are fairly simple to maintain and use. Things get even simpler if you're using VMware or have virtual servers, since you can copy the entire server image off, and get EVERYTHING as a single file. Granted, a single-file restore is more complex, since you have to spin up the virtual image and copy the file off, but weigh that against how often you'll have to do it.

Originally Posted by Avani123 delighted with your work [removed]

I reported this account already.

I second the use of rsync. It is a venerable, versatile, and tested command.

If you want a GUI interface, Back in Time is an excellent GUI front-end for rsync.

+1 for rsnapshot...it uses rsync, so +2 for rsync (unless I lost count)

Originally Posted by frankbell ...If you want a GUI interface, Back in Time is an excellent GUI front-end for rsync.

Timeshift is another front end for rsync and is easy to use and is excellent for backing up the System. However, it is not well suited for backing up data. For that, I suggest FreeFileSync. It is easier to use if you have your data on a separate drive or partition from the system.

If you have access to the physical hardware and a space to backup (disk drive, USB, etc), you can clone the disk using any one of the many image backup solutions available. A functional equivalent when dealing with VPS machines is to take a snapshot or image from within the control panel interface.