Linux Backup System using rsync, tar, gzip

Linux backup system

Backup files from Linux laptop to Linux server All automated (ie I don't think about it) Use simple standard Linux command-line tools

Motivation

My situation

Laptop that goes everywhere – my primary workstation

Server, sits in my apartment. Doesn't do much other then hold files + serve as test bed for the occassional wacky experiment

Wireless network

What I did

Cron job on laptop which runs rsync script to mirror changes nightly at 10:10pm

Monthly which takes a snapshot of subset of files and pushes these to Amazon S3

[Still in the future] Nightly rsync from server to Amazon S3

S3FOX

Rsync

Is awesome! ”is an open source utility that provides fast

incremental file transfer” - samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/ Used for mirroring + backup purpose

Cron

”Program that enables unix users to execute commands or scripts automatically at a specified time/date.” - Wikipedia

Used extensively by all *nix systems and aspiring amateur Linux sysadmins

Tar + gzip

Tar turns many files into one file – no built-in compression

Commonly used with gzip or bzip2 (making, respectively *.tar.gz and *.tar.bz2 files

Unix Philosophy

Do one thing and do it well Rsync, tar, gzip, cron all do one task well

Small pieces loosly joined

Tools reusable Designed to interoperate Can be used together in scripts in 1000s of different

ways

Easier to learn

Use these different tools all the time Rsync to mirror changes from laptop to production

(or devel) server Tar to uncompress files from internet Makes it easier to start a new scripting project

K.I.S.S

Keep It Simple Stupid Simple tools make for simple systems that are easy

to build, understand, and maintain

Odes to Simplicity

”Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” – Albert Einstein

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" – Leonardo Da Vinci

"It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away" – Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Backups = peace of mind