[ale] Laptop backup recommendations

[Greg Freemyer]

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 10:09:31 -0500, Barry Hawkins <barry at alltc.com> wrote:
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> Guys,
> ~    I would like to get input from those with more of an admin
> background than myself on backing up my laptop.  If your idea of backup
> is tarring to another hard drive, this question is not for you. 8^)  I
> am looking for a more granular, full-featured approach to backup and
> disaster recovery.  Here are the details of my setup:
> 
> Computer: Apple Titanium PowerBook G4 1GHz, 100GB Seagate drive
> Ditro: Debian GNU/Linux PowerPC port, sid/unstable
> Kernel: 2.6.10
> Backup Device: External Firewire 400 60GB drive
> Common Debian Backup Applications: amanda, afbackup, tob
> 
> ~    Here are features that I am looking for:
> 
> - - Individual file/directory restoration
> - - Incremental/differential backup capability
> - - Custom backup set ability, i.e. selective backup of files
> - - Support for backup devices other than tape drives
> 
> ~    Not looking for an "I have heard of this" type of recommendation but
> more of an "I am an admin, have used it, and here's why I like it" form
> of endorsement.  Thanks in advance for your time.
> 
> Regards,
> - --
> Barry Hawkins
> All Things Computed
> site: www.alltc.com
> weblog: www.yepthatsme.com
> 

I recommend rdiff-backup.  The pros are many and it supports all the
features you discuss plus some.

The main con is that when something goes wrong, it generates a python
stack trace.  That can be fairly confusing to the non-programmer
users, but it is fairly stable so you will likely never have this
happen.

Also, it is CLI only, so if you want a nice gui to manage the process,
you are out of luck.

FYI: rdiff-backup basically works like rsync, but it also keeps
reverse deltas.  That way you can tell it to restore a current backup,
or you can tell it to get a older version.  The older version is
created internally by taking the current backup and applying revese
deltas sequentially.  I love the concept, I just wish it was more user
friendly over-all.

Greg
-- 
Greg Freemyer