Linux HOME Backup with rdiff-backup
You’ve heard it over and over. Backup, Backup, Backup. You are magically supposed to know how to do it and make it happen. This time, I’ll show exactly how I backup my HOME directory and manage those backups with rdiff-backup.
I’ve gone into why rdiff-backup was selected previously, but the main reasons were:
- Incremental
- Versioned
- Compressed
- Latest backup is available as a mirror so restore 1 file at a time or all at once
Install rdiff-backup
Run synaptic package manager or whatever package manager you prefer and install the rdiff-backup package.
Verify Your Backups, Please.
Step 1 – backup your data.
Step 2 – recover your data as a test from a friends home or business.
The stuff you learn in step 2 is critical. We don’t backup data just to see it complete. We intend to get that data back at some point.
- Do you have access to the encryption keys used during backup? No encryption? – WHAT!? ARE YOU CRAZY?
- Do you have enough of the backup software (or can you down load it) to recover your data from bare metal, if needed?
Testing is critical to know what does and what doesn’t work. Don’t forget to fix the uncovered restore issues.
What's Your Backup Plan?
What’s Your Backup Plan?
Over the next few days and weeks, we’ll try to discuss what you need to plan in advance and what to take with you when a disaster occurs in your part of the world.
Don’t think disaster will happen? These people had now way to know their data center was going down.
About the author:
I’ve worked for a large telecom company designing computer and network systems that keep working after a disaster occurs. Those plans are tested twice a year – most of the time the first test doesn’t completely work, but you learn and make corrections. Over the years, you get better and better at it and learn that having the exact software stack isn’t all you need – sometimes the hardware is 1-of-a-kind too. Or the software assumed EXACT IP addresses and won’t work anywhere else or if an interfacing system isn’t at a particular IP address.
Don’t forget that all the normal people that run the computers and network are gone. They’ve been evacuated elsewhere and you need to plan for their extended absence. Not1 or 2 people, but hundreds of your critical support people. They don’t have cell phones.
Ok, so your life isn’t this complex. Neither is it as simple as jumping you and the family into the minivan and driving away. Be Prepared.
