FreeBSD Backup Strategies

Comprehensive guide to backing up your FreeBSD system

Introduction

Implementing a robust backup strategy is crucial for any FreeBSD system. This guide will walk you through various backup methods and best practices to ensure your data remains safe and recoverable.

1. File-level Backups

1.1 Using tar

The tar utility is a simple and effective way to create file-level backups:

# Create a full backup $ tar -cvzf /backup/full_backup.tar.gz / # Exclude certain directories $ tar -cvzf /backup/selective_backup.tar.gz --exclude=/proc --exclude=/sys --exclude=/tmp /

1.2 Using rsync

rsync is great for incremental backups and syncing directories:

# Sync local directories $ rsync -av /source/directory/ /destination/directory/ # Sync to a remote server $ rsync -avz -e ssh /source/directory/ user@remote:/destination/directory/
Tip: Use the -z option with rsync when transferring over a network to compress data during transfer.

2. Disk-level Backups

2.1 Using dd

For creating exact disk images:

# Create an image of a disk $ dd if=/dev/ada0 of=/path/to/disk_image.img bs=1M # Restore from an image $ dd if=/path/to/disk_image.img of=/dev/ada0 bs=1M
Warning: Be extremely careful with dd as it can overwrite entire disks. Double-check your input and output devices.

2.2 Using dump and restore

For UFS filesystems:

# Create a full dump $ dump -0af /path/to/backup.dump /dev/ada0p2 # Restore from a dump $ cd /mnt/restore_point $ restore -rf /path/to/backup.dump

3. ZFS-specific Backups

3.1 ZFS Snapshots

Create and manage ZFS snapshots:

# Create a snapshot $ zfs snapshot zroot/data@backup-2023-05-15 # List snapshots $ zfs list -t snapshot # Roll back to a snapshot $ zfs rollback zroot/data@backup-2023-05-15

3.2 ZFS Send and Receive

For backing up ZFS datasets to another system:

# Send a full backup $ zfs send zroot/data@backup-2023-05-15 | ssh user@remote 'zfs receive backup/data' # Send an incremental backup $ zfs send -i zroot/data@previous-backup zroot/data@backup-2023-05-15 | ssh user@remote 'zfs receive backup/data'

4. Automated Backups

4.1 Using cron

Schedule regular backups using cron:

# Edit the crontab $ crontab -e # Add a line to run a backup script daily at 2 AM 0 2 * * * /path/to/backup_script.sh

4.2 Using periodic

Utilize FreeBSD's periodic system for scheduled tasks:

# Create a backup script in /etc/periodic/daily $ vi /etc/periodic/daily/400.backup-script # Make it executable $ chmod +x /etc/periodic/daily/400.backup-script # Enable it in /etc/periodic.conf $ echo 'daily_backup_enable="YES"' >> /etc/periodic.conf

5. Remote Backups

5.1 Using scp

Securely copy files to a remote server:

$ scp /path/to/backup.tar.gz user@remote:/path/to/backup/

5.2 Using rclone

Sync to various cloud storage providers:

# Configure rclone $ rclone config # Sync to configured remote $ rclone sync /local/path remote:backup

6. Backup Verification and Testing

Additional Resources






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