Backup system

Abstract

No matter how reliable the hardware, how well written the software, how well configured, or how physically secure a computer system is eventually it will fail - usually in an unexpected manner. As it is impossible to completely protect against this kind of failure all we can do to mitigate the losses associated with such a scenario is to protect valuable data stored on the system from loss.

This documentation aims to be a thorough discussion of backup systems and strategies including the use of a variety of technologies to backup files and databases in the most common usage scenarios. We shall also discuss the use of the Internet and the "Cloud" as storage mediums for off-site backups as well as covering how to install and configure some common production software to operate in a high-availability environment.

Contents

• Preparing the ground
  • Introduction
    • What data should you backup?
    • What type of backup system should you use?
• Backing up files with rsnapshot
  • Installing rsnapshot
    • Installing the server-side packages
    • Creating a default server configuration
    • Installing the client-side packages
  • Using rsnapshot for local backups
    • Configuring backup points and retentions
    • Merging backups from different retention periods
    • Scripting the backup process
    • Automating the backup process
  • Using rsnapshot for remote backups
    • Configuring password-less login over SSH
    • Restricting the backup user's abilities
    • Enabling the backup user to rsync as root
    • Reconfiguring rsnapshot
    • Example configuration for remote snapshots
  • Using rsnapshot for push backups
    • Configuring password-less login over SSH
    • Restricting the backup user's abilities
    • Enabling the backup user to rsync as root
    • Example rsnapshot configuration for push snapshots
    • Example client configuration for push snapshots
• Backing up files with rdiff-backup
  • Installing rdiff-backup
    • Installing the server-side packages
    • Installing the client-side packages
  • Using rdiff-backup for local backups
    • Example backup using rdiff-backup
    • Scripting the backup process
    • Automating the backup process
  • Using rdiff-backup for remote backups
    • Configuring password-less login over SSH
    • Restricting the backup user's abilities
    • Enabling the backup user to rdiff as root
    • Example remote rdiff-backup