backup

Backup

Preface

This page is not grml-specific. It's just a place for collecting documentation regarding backups. So, what do we want to have? A backup system with the following features:

Must have features

• automatism (no manual interaction needed)
• easy to handle (no obscure and 'use trick 17b to get foo' software lacking documentation)
• simple restore (fast and easy to use)
• filesystem independent (do not depend on XFS, ext3,... specifics)
• efficient disk usage (do not require 100% of original data for each backup)

Nice to have features

• versioning system (now let's get file foo of backup of 24th of december)
• support for LVM (lvm-snapshot)
• network support OOTB (move backup via sftp/ssh/... to another server)
• supports encryption OOTB (so we do not have to write our own gpg-wrapper around it)
• Debian package already available in >=Etch (get security support and have it on other boxes as well)

Present Debian Packages

• afbackup - Client-Server Backup System (Server side)
• afio - archive file manipulation program
• amanda-server - Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver (Server)
• backup2l - low-maintenance backup/restore tool for mountable media
• backup-manager - command-line backup tool
• backupninja - lightweight, extensible meta-backup system
• backuppc - high-performance, enterprise-grade system for backing up PCs
• bacula - Network backup, recovery and verification (Meta-package)
• chiark-backup - backup system for small systems and networks
• dar - Disk ARchive: Backup directory tree and files
• dcfldd - enhanced dd with md5 checksums
• dd - convert and copy a file
• dirvish - Filesystem based backup system using rsync
• duplicity - encrypted bandwidth-efficient backup
• faubackup - Backup System using a Filesystem for Storage
• flexbackup - Flexible backup tool for small to medium sized installations
• ftpbackup - backup to/restore from ftp server
• hdup - Filesystem duplicator and backup
• ibackup - Automated backups (even remote) of machine configurations
• mirrordir - duplicate a directory by making a minimal set of changes
• mrb - Manage incremental data snapshots with make/rsync
• multicd - Backup your data to CD-R/CD-RW
• openafs-fileserver - AFS distributed filesystem file server
• partimage-server - server to use partimage across a network
• pdumpfs - a daily backup system similar to Plan9's dumpfs
• rdiff - Binary diff tool for signature-based differences
• rdiff-backup - remote incremental backup
• rsnapshot - local and remote filesystem snapshot utility
• rsync - fast remote file copy program (like rcp)
• simba - next generation mirroring tool
• storebackup - fancy compressing managing checksumming hard-linking cp -rua
• tar - GNU tar
• tob - Small yet powerful program for tape oriented backups
• unison - A file-synchronization tool for Unix and Windows
• zsplit - zsplit - will read big devices or files and make compressed splitted image chunks of it

No Debian Packages available yet

• reoback: simple to set up, and easy to use backup system

Comparison of Tools

Tool	efficient Storage/Diskusage	Bandwidth	Encryption	Compression	Bitkeep-Secure	add. Notes
duplicity	+	+	symmetric and asymmetric	+	unknown	-
-	-	-	-	-	-	-