Making a Backup in Linux

Answer 1

What should be backed up?

A Linux installation can be roughly divided into two sections:

The main system which holds the base distribution and any additional packages

The home folder, where user files and configurations are stored

Users upgrading systems will generally choose to backup just the home folder, restoring it when the new software is in place. However, there’s a catch: Configuration files are stored in the home folder, but they are placed in hidden directories. In the Linux file system these directories always start with a period. You can see these directories by selecting the show hidden files option in your file manager. For example, bookmarks and extensions for Firefox, a browser built on the Mozilla engine, can be found in the .mozilla directory. Merely selecting everything in a home directory may miss these important hidden files.

Enterprise users may choose to backup the entire system for quick restoration or parts of the system that can be restored when coupled to the base distribution.

What software can be used to do a backup?

Just like everything else open-source there seems to be a limitless number of applications out there, many of which copy the functionality of commercial programs. There are a few stand-out programs, each with a specific use:

Time Vault- This GNOME-based backup program takes dated snapshots of data, much like Apple’s Time Machine. This lets the user go back to a point in time when the file wasn’t corrupted.

fwbackups- This program’s simple drag-and-drop interface makes it ideal for home users. It automatically saves files in compressed tar ball (tar.bz) format to save space.

Clonezilla- This program makes an exact copy of the entire system, letting the system be restored from the ground up with ease. It’s also a useful tool for cloning systems: once one system has been set up its software can be copied to an entire office of computers.

Baculla- This is an enterprise-level program which automates backup tasks over an entire network. While powerful, new users will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available with this tool.

rsync- This program mirrors data on a backup server.

Ubuntu One- There are several online storage services that work with Linux, but Ubuntu One was designed specifically with Linux in mind. Despite the name, clients for the service are available for use with most major distributions.