linux-backup-system 4.0.0 — proof of concept confirmed
linux-backup-system 4.0.0 — proof of concept confirmed
This major release marks the point where the suite is proven to work end to
end: back up a real machine, restore it onto a different, blank disk with the
suite's own restore scripts, and boot the restored disk into a fully working
system — verified on bare metal, with the original disks proven untouched.
Two bare-metal restores have now passed on real hardware, on two different
distros and two very different layouts:
- Manjaro — btrfs root on LUKS2 (sd-encrypt), systemd-boot + UKIs,
Secure Boot with sbctl keys (2019 ASUS ZenBook UX534FTC). - Linux Mint 22.3 — ext4 on LVM-on-LUKS2 with a keyfile, encrypted LUKS2
argon2id /boot opened by GRUB 2.14 (EFI), SELinux relabel boot; on a
2014 ASUS X750JN, a 3-SSD triple boot with Linux Mint, Fedora and
EndeavourOS. testbed.sh collect: VERDICT: PASS.
None of these machines is "factory standard": custom GRUB builds, unusual
encryption layouts, multi-boot disks and years of leftovers. That is exactly
what the suite has to survive, and it is why every result is proven per setup
and recorded in the README's Tested / untested tables — every successful test
on real hardware is recorded and documented there.
Getting Mint through a real restore found and fixed the class of bugs only a
restore from an installed system exposes: crypttab still unlocking the
original disk, a Debian initramfs that could not unlock its root, a GRUB stub
naming the old /boot container, a /boot too small for a blanket initramfs
rebuild, and a verification pass that never read /etc/crypttab. The restore
test bed (testbed/testbed.sh) now mirrors LVM-on-LUKS and encrypted /boot
layouts, uses a 100 GiB slice of the test drive, and boots it unattended.
What 4.0 does not claim: a setup whose rows are still
restored and booted yet. Following 4.x releases will fill those rows in —
Fedora (SELinux enforcing next), EndeavourOS, Arch, systemd-boot Type #1 and
dracut/kernel-install UKIs, shim Secure Boot, Limine, rEFInd, restore from a
live USB, Raspberry Pi, GRUB legacy BIOS, openSUSE — each turning green only
when its own test-bed run passes, together with ongoing code improvements
found along the way.
Until every row describing your machine is ✅, use the suite for testing only.