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Virtualization Needs a New Backup Strategy
1 year, 3 months ago
Symantec says the advent of virtualization in enterprises means existing strategies for backup and recovery are inadequate, and require an overhaul. -
Howto: Backup and restore configuration files in Ubuntu
1 year, 5 months ago
If you like tweaking your os, you are bound to make a mess of your configuration files one time or other. So the wise thing to do is back up and back up often. There is a small tiny little utility called Pybackpack which will make your life easier here. -
Why don't you back up your computer?
1 year, 5 months ago
Most computer users know they should back up the files on their computer, yet many don't. Why not? -
Book review: Backup & Recovery
1 year, 6 months ago
The undeniable importance of backup is the reason why system administrators invest time and effort into creating and maintaining a backup system fit for their infrastructure. While for a home user it may be enough to burn their files to a DVD from time to time, professionals and organizations must tackle the problem of possible data loss with a strong understanding of their needs. -
Creating snapshot backups of your desktop with TimeVault
1 year, 11 months ago
This document describes how to set up, configure and use TimeVault on Ubuntu 7.10. The resulting system provides a powerful backup system for desktop usage. TimeVault is a simple front-end for making snapshots of a set of directories. Snapshots are a copy of a directory structure or file at a certain point in time. Restore functionality is integrated into Nautilus - previous versions of a file or directory that has a snapshot can be accessed by examining the properties and selecting the 'Previous Versions' tab. -
Disk based backups with Amanda on Debian Etch
2 years, 2 months ago
"This document describes how to set up Amanda (The Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver) on Debian Etch ... The resulting system provides a flexible backup system with many features. It will be able to back up multiple hosts via network to various devices. I chose the disk based backup for this howto .... " -
Configure local and remote system logging
2 years, 3 months ago
"A Linux machine has a logging system which keeps track of what everything is doing. Anytime you authorize with sudo it gets logged. Anytime you (or someone else) connects via ssh it gets logged. Apache logs connections, mail servers log emails sent and refused. Pretty much everything keeps a log of what it is doing so you can later troubleshoot it or simply have a record of it.For those that are security minded it may not be a bad idea to keep duplicate of your logs by sending them not only to the local machine but to a remote machine as well .... " -
Reduce Downtime with rsync
2 years, 4 months ago
How you can use rsync to minimize the needed downtime when you move an application from one server to another. -
Simple Linux Backup Rolls Out New Rev
2 years, 4 months ago
"The Simple Linux Backup project announced the release of version 0.3.2 today..."
Linux.com : Backup & Data Recovery
TimeVault simplifies data backup for Ubuntu users
Backing up data can be difficult, especially when you only want to copy files that changed since the last backup. It can be even more troublesome when you have to remember to start the process manually,or you have to delete old backups to make room for new ones. Because of these difficulties, some people decide not to back up data at all, and feel the pain when they accidentally delete the wrong file or their system crashes. TimeVault is a backup utility for Ubuntu that addresses these problems.
Areca and plan/b offer Java-based backup for Linux
Everyone needs to back up their computers, but when you have machines running on different platforms and different operating systems, it can be annoying to have to learn several interfaces. Areca and plan/b are two Java-based backup solutions that can run on any platform, including Linux, Windows, and Unix. Although maintenance has been discontinued for plan/b, both apps are worth a look.
Automatic backup for sporadically connected clients with Box Backup
If you're a frequent business traveler who keeps important company files on your laptop, using a centralized management solution to back up files automatically during a fixed time interval won't work. Instead, consider Box Backup, which backs up files from a laptop directly to a backup server over an encrypted link.
The power of cross-platform synchronization
These days there are plenty of ways to back up your computer files. The options are easy when you're dealing with one computer -- just back up your files to an external hard drive and forget about it -- but when several machines are involved, each with a different operating system, things can get complicated. If you frequently work on more than one computer, having access to your synchronized files no matter where you are can also be useful. PowerFolder, a backup and file synchronizing service, helps you cover all your bases, no matter what platform or how many computers you're using.
Chiron FS lets you set up RAID-1 over the network
The Linux kernel includes support for performing RAID-1 in software. RAID-1 maintains the same filesystem on two or more disks, so that you can lose all but the last disk and still retain all of your data. This seems wonderful until you consider that an error in RAM, a power supply failure, or another hardware component in the machine can still potentially corrupt your precious data. With Chiron FS you can maintain a RAID-1 on the disks of two machines over a network, so if one machine goes down, you'll still be able to access your filesystem.
Bacula: backups that don't suck
Good systems administrators know that implementing a robust backup procedure is one of their most important duties. Unfortunately, it's also one of the most complex and least fun. When the phone rings and there's a panic-stricken user on the other end who has just lost a crucial document, you need to be confident that you can promptly recover his missing files. Failure to do so can bring about a speedy end to a promising career in systems administration. So what's a budding sysadmin to do? Download the latest release of Bacula and watch those backup woes disappear into the dark of night.
What's the right filesystem for your portable backup drive?
So you just bought an external hard drive for backups. Now, with what filesystem should you format it? Ext2? FAT32? No matter which one you choose, there are trade-offs to consider.
phpMyBackupPro: No simpler backup for MySQL
Backing up data stored in a MySQL database is an important issue for anyone running a blog, wiki, or any Web-based application that relies on the popular database engine. Many MySQL management solutions allow you to export database data as an SQL query, but if you are looking for a dedicated MySQL backup tool, phpMyBackupPro (pMBP) is your best bet.
Create a backup server with Restore
Perhaps the number one reason why people neglect to back up their desktops is the lack of workable solution. It can be difficult to find a method configurable enough to suite everyone's needs. One promising answer may be Restore, an application for enterprise and data center backup for Windows, Mac OS X, and Unix/Linux systems. It is GPLv2-licensed and freely available to download as a set of Debian/Ubuntu packages, virtual machine, or 455MB installable live CD.
Using camcorder tapes to back up files
DV and MiniDV camcorder tapes can be used for more than just storing audio and video recordings. If you have a camcorder and a FireWire connection to your computer, you can also use them to store files.
CLI Magic: Quick and easy backup with lftp
No matter what Linux distribution you are using, chances are you'll find more than one graphical FTP client in its repositories, but if you are looking for a powerful command-line FTP tool, your best bet is lftp. Of course, you can always use the good old ftp command, but lftp takes the task of managing files and directories using the FTP protocol to a new level. To see what I mean, let's use lftp to write a script that creates a local backup copy of a Web site.
Simplify backups with Synbak
Making periodic backups is a common task. Synbak can help to simplify it.
Pain-free disk space management with LVM
Managing disk space used to be a royal pain for admins and users. Running out of disk space often meant reinstalling Linux or spending a few hours with tools like Parted to resize partitions. However, using the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) tools, you can grow, shrink, and manage disk space with very little hassle.
Instant backups with smbmount and grsync
Need a simple yet effective way to back up your laptop or desktop machine to a network-attached storage device or a network hard disk running Samba? Using Samba's smbmount utility and the grsync backup tool, you can set up a backup system that is both reliable and straightforward in use. And since both programs are available as packages for most Linux distributions, you don't have to get your hands dirty compiling from source code and fiddling with settings.
Back up like an expert with rsync
In the last two months I've been traveling a lot. During the same period my main desktop computer went belly up. I would have been in trouble without rsync at my disposal -- but thanks to my regular use of this utility, my data (or most of it, anyway) was already copied offsite just waiting to be used. It takes a little time to become familiar with rsync, but once you are, you should be able to handle most of your backup needs with just a short script.
