Backup
| In information technology, a Backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", whereas the noun and adjective form is "backup". Backups can be used to recover data after its loss from data deletion or corruption, or to recover data from an earlier time. Backups provide a simple form of disaster recovery; however not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configuration such as a computer cluster, active directory server, or database server. | |
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| wikipedia:: Backup |
Tools
- Carbon Copy Cloner
- Time Machine - (migrated to Carbon Copy Cloner)
- Super Duper (migrated to Carbon Copy Cloner
- Chronosync
- iCloud
- File History (Windows backup software)
- Files, attached disks
- OneDrive builtin Backup app on Windows
- Macrium Reflect
- Backup and Restore app
- Deprecated. Use File History (Windows backup software)
- Images
- Redo Rescue: Backup and Recovery Made Easy | Bare metal restore is free and does images. Might not be encrypted.
- Windows Server Backup
- SyncBack
- Shadow Copy
Cross-platform (Windows, nix, & Apple)
Providers
Git Repos
Process
Backup Cloud Storage, Syncing, & File Sharing Apps
- Have an always on device like a home server or Raspberry Pi sync everything locally and backup from that device.
Infrastructure & Config
- Use as much IaC as possible so you can backup the config with git, plus have an easier recovery plan too.
VM Backup
- Apparently, nobody really backs up the hypervisor itself, only the VMs because it is usually trivial and quicker to deploy a new hypervisor than to restore a backed up hypervisor - just back up the VMs
- Veam
- Altaro
Bootable Disk Images
- #form/thought/analysis - Due to APFS, while technically still possible, Carbon Copy Cloner and/or SuperDuper I think have basically said it's sketchy at this point and only recommend it with a giant grain of salt. So, it's probably not that relevant on macOS anymore, especially since it is still pretty easy and reliable to restore from a regular backup - there are options with either an existing Mac or via a new macOS installation or installation media. Pretty reliable supposedly and doesn't usually take that long.
- #form/thought/analysis - Images are still relevant on Windows, if only to avoid likely bugs etc from convoluted Windows reinstallation, etc. However, it's not as standardized as on macOS and you probably need 3rd party paid software.
Issues, priorities, concerns
- Competing priorities of prioritizing for data protection vs data loss
- e.g. using encryption to make sure people can't access your data, vs maybe not using encryption to make sure you can access your backups when you need them.
Security And Encryption
- Encrypt client-side if possible and manage your own keys, etc.
- Monitor and log backups to central log system
- Alert on failures
Hot Backup
- You can do it on the live service with no down time
- the standard way to back up most databases such as MySQL.
Cold Backup
- where you need to take the service offline
- cold backup images are usually saved to disk on a different server and/or offsite
RPO
- What is the tolerable amount of data loss
RTO
- What is the tolerable amount of down time
Inbox
- NAS
- Bacula
- UrBackup
- LuckyBackup
- CloudBerryBackup
- CubeBackup-GoogleWorkspace
- CubeBackup-Microsoft365
- icloud-drive-sync
- rsnapshot
- ProBackup
Backup
Interactive graph
On this page
Backup
Tools
Apple
Windows
Cross-platform (Windows, nix, & Apple)
Providers
Cloud Storage, Syncing, & File Sharing
Git Repos
FTP
Process
Backup Cloud Storage, Syncing, & File Sharing Apps
Infrastructure & Config
VM Backup
3-2-1 Backup Rule
Disaster Recovery
Bootable Disk Images
macOS
Windows
Issues, priorities, concerns
Security And Encryption
Events, Incidents, Alerts, & Notifications
Hot Backup
Cold Backup
RPO
RTO
Inbox