I recently implemented a backup workflow for me. I heavily use restic for desktop backup and for a full system backup of my local server. It works amazingly good. I always have a versioned backup without a lot of redundant data. It is fast, encrypted and compressed.

But I wondered, how do you guys do your backups? What software do you use? How often do you do them and what workflow do you use for it?

  • Vintor@lemm.eeEnglish
    41·
    11 hours ago

    I’ve found that the easiest and most effective way to backup is with an rsync cron job. It’s super easy to setup (I had no prior experience with either rsync or cron and it took me 10 minutes) and to configure. The only drawback is that it doesn’t create differential backups, but the full task takes less than a minute every day so I don’t consider that a problem. But do note that I only backup my home folder, not the full system.

    For reference, this is the full line I use: sync -rau --delete --exclude-from=‘/home/<myusername>/.rsync-exclude’ /home/<myusername> /mnt/Data/Safety/rsync-myhome

    “.rsync-exclude” is a file that lists all files and directories I don’t want to backup, such as temp or cache folders.

    (Edit: two stupid errors.)

    • dihutenosa@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      4 hours ago

      Rsync can do incremental backups with a command-line switch and some symlink jugglery. I’m using it to back up my self-hosted stuff.

    • everett@lemmy.ml
      1·
      5 hours ago

      only drawback is that it doesn’t create differential backups

      This is a big drawback because even if you don’t need to keep old versions of files, you could be replicating silent disk corruption to your backup.

      • suicidaleggroll@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        1 hour ago

        It’s not a drawback because rsync has supported incremental versioned backups for over a decade, you just have to use the --link-dest flag and add a couple lines of code around it for management.

          • suicidaleggroll@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            39 minutes ago

            They didn’t provide an rsync example until later in the post, the comment about not supporting differential backups is in reference to using rsync itself, which is incorrect, because rsync does support differential backups.

            I agree with you that not doing differential backups is a problem, I’m simply commenting that this is not a drawback of using rsync, it’s an implementation problem on the user’s part. It would be like somebody saying “I like my Rav4, it’s just problematic because I don’t go to the grocery store with it” and someone else saying “that’s a big drawback, the grocery store has a lot of important items and you need to be able to go to it”. While true, it’s based on a faulty premise, because of course a Rav4 can go to the grocery store like any other car, it’s a non-issue to begin with. OP just needs to fix their backup script to start doing differential backups.

            • everett@lemmy.ml
              1·
              11 minutes ago

              My one and only purpose was to warn them that their “drawback” is more of a gator pit. It’s noble that you’re here defending rsync’s honor, but maybe let them know instead? My preferred backup tool has “don’t eat my data” mode on by default.