[Discuss] Cloud-backup solutions for Linux?

[Daniel Barrett]

I use a hybrid, multi-level process and haven't seen anything similar
mentioned, so here goes.

First, our home computers use RAID1 mirroring to survive a disk
failure, and each is on a UPS.

For first-level backups, all computers back up to a RAID5 NAS: the
Macs by Time Machine, and the Linux box by rsync. Certain files that
change frequently, like incoming email folders, get synched once an
hour to the RAID5 NAS. These backups protect against larger computer
failures and accidental deletions that are discovered on the same day.
(We could improve by using an rsync+symlinks incremental approach.)

For second-level backups, all computers rsync onto a single USB3
drive, which rotates into a safety deposit box. So we are protected
against the house burning down, though we'll lose newer files not on
the backup.

In addition, our most precious & active files get scp'ed to a Linode
($20/month) whose sole purpose is storing these backups. It is
firewalled against everything except sshd. Before transfer, the files
are tarred, gzipped, and GPG-encrypted. This happens nightly, and 7
days worth of backups are kept.

Restores have gone well. For the Macs, Time Machine has worked OK.
For the Linux box, booting on Ubuntu Live or Knoppix and then copying
back the files has worked fine.

There's one catch-22 in this system. If Boston is nuked, the Linode
files will survive, but the GPG keys won't. Of course, I probably
won't be here to care....

Hope this was interesting.

Dan