[Discuss] Cloud backup

[kentborg at borg.org (Kent Borg)]

Simple is always good--particularly for backups. I have a friend who was 
recently restoring from some cloud provider, and part of what he was 
restoring were some sort of VM files and guess what, they treated them 
different from every other kind of file and didn't give as many restore 
options. (I don't know the details.) The word "cloud" is kinda the 
antithesis of "simple". I do like the idea of a cloud API vs a cloud 
service, because the definition of the service is going to be fuzzy and 
might shift without warning nor notice. The definition API is a lot 
clearer, and addresses a more pedantic audience, therefore likely to be 
more stable (assuming the provider doesn't give you the finger and walk 
away because the decided they don't want your business anymore).


Another consideration for backups: How do you restore? As that aspect is 
something you will likely do a lot less often than making backups, you 
should maybe put a lot more thought into it.

What are your restore scenarios? One file vs. whole volume(s) because 
disk died vs. whole volumes because computer and both disk died vs. 
searching around for a file you are *sure* is there (someplace, it has 
gotta be there, I know it) vs. ...?

How will you get your backup back in each case? How long will it take?

How will you know that the restore works? How do you test it? How long 
are the results of your test any good? What if a backup goes bad? (In 
the cloud, in your drawer...)

Does your backup protect you from operator error? ("mdadm 
something...something", oops, there goes my raid array)

Does your backup protect you from ransomware?

Does your backup protect you from lightning? Flood? Both at the same time?

Does your back protect you in the case of a stock market crash?


Security: Can bad guys read your data? Can bad guys keep you from 
reading your data? Can accidents keep you from reading your data? Do you 
care if your backup security is warrant-proof?


-kb