How do you backup?

[Adoby]

I used to take a copy of my entire home-directory now and then. And store it on a spare hard drive. It could sometimes go a while between backups...

But I also reinstall fresh every time a new Ubuntu-version comes around, and store the old home-drive as a backup. This practice has saved me more than once...

I have Ubuntu on a separate ssd-drive and the home-directory with all my personal files and settings on a bigger sata-drive. Linux makes it easy to know what to backup and keep when reinstalling.

I felt this was not enough, so in addition to this I have started to use the excellent software "Back In Time" to store snapshots of my entire home directory. Very nice. It stores all the files, but if it already has a stored copy, it uses that stored copy instead of copying it again. It makes a hardlink instead. So it only takes a minute or so to make a full backup of all my files, if only a few files have changed or been added. And I can keep several generations of (faked) full backups without wasting space. Back In Time uses rsync to do this.

Usually I take a "full" backup every day now. Typically as I go to get a cup of coffee.

The backup is stored on a USB-connected disk via a dock. I have some spare hard drives from upgrades and can use them as backup units. I have not automated this, since I have to manually make sure that the right disk is in the dock.



I also use two smaller, 2.5" pocket friendly, USB-drives. On those I only store my personal documents, my music library and the Calibre Library. I have a script on the root of that disk that cycle backups on the drive and run rsync much like it is run from Back In Time. I keep 4 generations of backups. Usually I have one of these discs at work to access my music. And every time I update or add music or ebooks I refresh the disc just by connecting and double-clicking the script. Very handy. These USB-drives are not extremely fast, but using rsync and only transfer changes still makes it very fast. And the power from just one single USB-cable is enough.



I assume that there is a lot of other ways to handle backups? Online or using other software and hardware?

How do you backup?

[GeoffC]

I have a second internal drive, backs up routinely once per week. I mirror image to an external drive (when I get around to it !), a third external drive is also used.

I also backup my books onto a flash drive.

[Sweetpea]

Right now, not.

But we recently bought a NAS, and that freed up a lot of space in our fileserver. And that space will be halfed, as we're planning to RAID it up. The NAS is also RAID'ed. I don't have actually data on my PC, I always store it on our file server (and recently the NAS) (using a network share).

[roger64]

I do most of my backups on an USB external hard drive.
- full partitions weekly with Clonezilla Live (ext4, 9 gigs, 11 minutes)
- /home using rsync at least once weekly. Trying also deja-dup (longer)
- small encrypted volume using cp idem

I also backup my ebooks in the cloud with Ubuntu One after entering some new books on my SD card

[HarryT]

I have a Buffalo RAID 5 NAS box which is my main "network storage". Once a week I use "Synctoy" (freebie from Microsoft) to synchronize it with a 2TB external USB disk.

[sabredog]

I have just rearranged our home LAN starting with the decommissioning of our IBM server and the commissioning of a new 1Tb NAS which functions along with a smaller 500Gb NAS.

Next will be to setup an automated backup to the smaller NAS which also acts as the utility, tunes, public and user drive.

There are also 3 x 500Gb external 3.5" USB connected drives for storage as required. One of those will be earmarked as a secondary backup drive while my ebooks are currently backed up on one on those 500Gb USB drives.

[rcuadro]

I use TimeMachine on my Mac to an extrnal drive that is a little bigger than the hard drive on the machine. I keep my data on a 1T external drive, and the really really important data I back up once a week to yet another external drive and keep it at my uncle's house to keep it off site

[abookreader]

I have a Free Agent external hard drive that backs up my laptop nightly. Then I use Mozy.com (online back-up service) that runs a back-up daily after my computer is inactive for an amount of time.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I have Carbonite (similar to Mozy) for my online back up. I was also backing up to a USB external drive but recently I exceeded it's capacity so I need to get on the stick and finish modding the case (Antec 200) I'm going to move my current computer innards into so I can get another 1TB HDD and use it in the 3.5" external swap bay of the new case. I don't want to get a USB dock like Adoby's (the USB dock is a good idea, though, if anyone is interested) because I don't really have room for more hardware knocking about now and I plan on moving into even smaller quarters in the not too distant future.

I like Carbonite (I'm sure Mozy isn't much different) because it does it's thing without intervention on my part (there are a few file types not automatically backed up, such as .exe files and files over a certain size, 4GB, I believe, but thoise can be manually set; it's so rare I have to do that--mostly for program installation files I've downloaded and keep a copy of--it's not a big deal). It hovers in the background, using little ram, waiting for a lull in activity before starting to upload back ups to its servers. If I create, download, whatever, a critical file, I can manually tell Carbonite to back it up now. With Carbonite, I don't have to worry about remembering to do my backups; forgetting once in a while won't be fatal.

Carbonite doesn't do system backups. It will back up multiple HHDs but not external HHDs. Because of the massive amount of data being transmitted, a constant on broadband connection is needed; it will not work with dialup. Because of the amount of time required to retrieve large blocks of data and because it is intended just for data and not system files, I do not recommend it as a primary backup scheme. However, because it does relatively instant incremental backups with time limited versioning, it is an excellent secondary back up scheme for the periods between your manual backups and will preserve all your data should the worst happen and you lose both your machine and your local backup (such as from fire, flood, storm, or theft). The home version is inexpensive: $55/year for unlimited back ups (I believe Mozy is $60; both get good reviews).

(Disclaimer: I do not work for Carbonite nor own Carbonite stock.)

[texasnightowl]

Well, let's see...My Calibre library get's synced to my Windows Home Server using SyncToy. Every now and then I sync my Calibre library to an external 2.5" usb drive. And at the moment I have a copy on Dropbox. Dropbox is extremely new to me (yesterday!) and unless I've done something wrong I'm not crazy about having to copy the library to a specific folder for it to be uploaded. I'll look at it some more but I may have to investigate other alternatives like Carbonite or Mozy.

[clintbradford]

You should have THREE copies of ANY important file, whether an eBook, photo, document, or whatever: (1) the original, (2) a backup on a local external hard drive, and (3) an off-site backup (Carbonite or some similar service).

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I have a second internal drive, backs up routinely once per week. I mirror image to an external drive (when I get around to it !), a third external drive is also used.

I also backup my books onto a flash drive.

I have something very similar, but I use idlebackup. It copies newly created or changed files onto the second drive during idle computer time.

[TallMomof2]

Nightly backups to my WHS (Windows Home Server) ans also to Carbonite for my offsite backuo.

[Sydney's Mom]

Dropbox files on 3 computers and in the clouds.