Re: Backup ideas

[Default User <hunguponcontent@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Apr 24, 2020 at 12:28 PM Celejar <celejar@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 24 Apr 2020 15:34:24 +0000
> Andy Smith <andy@strugglers.net> wrote:
>
> ...
>
> > Something like restic backup is a very good all around solution.
>
> OP: also look at borg.
>
> > You could consider backing up to a cloud like Amazon S3. Using the
> > Infrequent Access or Glacier storage classes you can store 100s of
> > gigabytes of data for just a few US cents per day. There are many
>
> It should just be noted that anyone considering Glacier should also
> price in its considerable retrieval costs.
>
> Celejar


Hi Andy and Celejar!

Sorry it took several days to get back to this.  I have had some
personal things going on, and I have also been spending some quality
time with Clonezilla and rsync.

1 - First, regarding:
"[vast mounts of quoted text snipped - please don't quote too much!]"

I didn't realize some trimming might be needed.  I guess I just
figured you can't scroll through an email for information that has
been trimmed.  And on some lists, like OpenBSD and Arch, people will
actually yell at you for trimming or not providing enough information.

2 - I had originally posted in another thread about checking an ssd
and replacing it if needed, imaging the old system and applying the
image(s) to the new drive.  I did test Clonezilla, and it did image
and restore all partitions to the same ssd.  I have not tested
restoring to a different drive, though.

Clonezilla (using partclone by default) does work.  But the user
interface is really ugly, and how to use it is somewhat non-intuitive
(not good if you are using it for the first  time in an emergency).

3 - Now on to the subject of backing up a system. I am using rsync as
my primary backup tool.  Celejar, thank you for suggesting borg.  I
did install it and look at it briefly.  But for several reasons, I'm
not sure I want to use that right now.

It is of course one more thing to learn, use, and maintain.

I get the sense that it stores data as a mass of chunks, rather than
as individual files, so if something goes wrong it could really go
wrong?  It is newer, and perhaps less proven than some older
alternatives.

Also, the borg website seems to suggest that they will be developing
aggressively, and breaking compatibility over time.  Where else have I
heard that lately?  (*cough* SystemD *cough* . . .)

And, I always worry that today's free/libre can be tomorrow's
proprietary/unfree.

But I still might try it out later.

Andy, you mentioned restic, which I am not familiar with.  Similar
considerations would seem to apply to that also.  But I might also try
that out later.

4 - So I am still using rsync.  I back up a single system to a local
external usb drive.  That drive is then backed up to another local
external usb drive. So I do have some redundancy.  I could go even
further, backing up to a third drive, and using the --checksum option.
But that might be excessive, and I do have a life to live.

Andy, you suggested having off-site backups.  You are correct that
local-only backups do not protect against things like fire or theft.

But off-site backups require a place for them to be, the ongoing
effort of getting them there (and back, in a timely manner, if
needed), and some cost involved.  And the storage place is also
subject to "disasters" , or just going out of business overnight.

On-line backups have the same problems, in addition to the fact that
once your data is "out there", even if it is encrypted, it can be
"cracked" by governments, corporations, or individuals, at their
leisure.

I'm not sure my threat model really justifies off-site backups at this point.

5 - You also mentioned encrypted backups.  Of course, you have to to
trust the encryption methodology.  And it should not be such a hassle
that you don't actually use it.

And . . .   don't lose your key!  That could really ruin your day.  Or life.

I have actually considered (and still am) encrypting the backups,
perhaps using full disk encryption.  Maybe LUKS or something similar.
But . . .  I do remember using disk encryption on the home partition
of my system, years ago.  I worked fine for a short time, and then it
just didn't. Not a lost password, it just stopped working.  Lost data
forever.  Not fun.  Never forgot that.

6 - Finally, using rsync I actually am doing two separate backups:

date; sudo rsync -avvzHAXPSish --delete --stats
--exclude={"/dev/*","/proc/*","/sys/*","/tmp/*","/run/*","/mnt/*","/media/*","/lost+found","/home/default/*"}
/ /media/default/USBHD005/Backup_of_Dell_Debian_dimwit/root_partition

[This backs up the filesystem EXCEPT for the home directory.]

And:

date; sudo rsync -avvzHAXPSish --delete --stats
--exclude={"/dev/*","/proc/*","/sys/*","/tmp/*","/run/*","/mnt/*","/media/*","/lost+found"}
/home/default /media/default/USBHD005/Backup_of_Dell_Debian_dimwit/home_partition

[This backs up the home directory.]

Note: my home directory is on a separate (extended) partition from my
root directory.

Another note: rsync did NOT like the -x option.  I wanted to use that
to prevent getting into a recursive loop while backing up. Rsync just
refused, complaining with a sparse non-informative error code message.
But without it, it seems to work okay.  Go figure.

I have been using rsync to backup live, from within Debian.  Maybe not
a good idea.  I could instead try using rsync from a live usb, such as
SystemRescueCD, etc.  I'll try that later.  After all, it does seem to
make more sense to back up a dead filesystem from outside it than a
live filesystem from inside it.

Finally, after well over seven hours into rsyncing (with no end in
sight) from the first external usb drive to the second one (both are
HDD), I am beginning to wonder if that is a good idea.  Those first
full backups always take forever . . .