We are going to talk about the best free Linux backup software, if you are using Linux you must read this. Having a backup copy of the information we store on our computer is very important. If you use the Linux operating system, you can not miss selecting these programs to perform Backup.
One of the fundamental aspects that every organization must have is to make backup copies of the system periodically. Since this gives us the possibility of keeping all the information available, safe, and updated – in case there is any failure in the system, loss of information, impersonations, structural damage, among other situations.
It is important to know that when we talk about backups, we do not only include the copy of files or records because behind successful backup, there are several parameters that we must take into account, such as:
- Types of backups (incremental, differential, etc.)
- Type of encryption supported.
- Ability to back up the entire system image.
- Remote support, among others
When we manage computers with Linux operating systems within the infrastructure at the system level, we must choose the best Linux backup software for this process. This guide will analyze which are the Linux backup solutions both at the terminal and graphical interface level.
Free Linux backup software in-depth analysis
The selection of Backup tools for Linux is very wide, but we must know which are the best to select the one that interests us the most. Below are a few of the best tools to perform Linux backups for free. The tutorials include an analysis of the program and an explanation of how to install and configure it.
Poppins
This is a free program. This command-line tool has been developed in PHP, which will allow us to generate backups for the sensitive information we handle, providing us with a high level of security.
Snapshot
The Snapshot tool is a utility based on Rsync. It supports several operating systems: Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo Linux, Ubuntu, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD.
Rsync
With Rsync, we have another great backup tool at hand using the terminal. With Rsync, we have the following advantages:
- Ability to update the entire directory tree and file system.
- It does not require administrator privileges to use it
- We can use SSH or RSH as transport protocols.
- File privileges can be maintained.
- Low resource consumption
- Reduced latency for multiple files
Rsync by default is already installed on the system, and we can see its version using the command rsync -version. The syntax for using Rsync is very simple:
Rsync -a Source / Destination
The -a parameter refers to the fact that the source’s content must be taken exclusively, preserving all its values. In this example, we will use the following syntax
rsync -a Documents / Desktop
We can see that the content of the Documents folder (in this case, an executable file) is copied to the desktop.
Grsync
With this tool, we can keep the values of the files inside the backup copy. The advantages it offers are the following.
- Easy to use graphical interface
- Possibility to use an evaluation test to check final results
- Possibility to synchronize files between two different sites
- Supports multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux
- Multiple files can be saved with custom names
- Sessions can be imported and exported with the files
- The backup process can be seamlessly paused at any time
- Easy configuration
- Supports framework
- Sessions can be created during the backup process
Borg Backup
Borg Backup is a tool that allows us to create backups in a simple way, allowing them to be encrypted and compressed. With this tool, we will have the possibility of the following.
- Efficient storage of space
- Data encryption through 256-bit AES encryption
- High backup speed
- Backups can be mounted as a file system
- Supports Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc., platforms.
- Ability to store remotely using SSH
For the installation of Borg Backup (Used through the terminal), we will use the following command:
sudo apt-get install borg backup borg backup-doc
We must create a repository where the backups will be stored, and we will use the following command:
borg init / Repository path.
To create the backup file we will use the following syntax:
borg create -v -stats / Repository path :: Filename ~ / Documents
Kup
KUP is a graphical tool that will be of great help in our backup tasks. The most outstanding features of KUP are the following:
- We can create incremental or differential backups.
- We can schedule backups as needed (daily, weekly, monthly).
- Easy to use graphical interface
- Rsync support
- Configuration modules available
- It has a scanning tool to locate files easily
It goes back in time.
With Back In Time, we have at hand a free tool that will provide us with great alternatives in terms of backups. The most important features of Back In Time are:
- Possibility to schedule backups by minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
- Easy to use interface
- We can configure where to store the snapshots.
- Possibility to make backups of the entire operating system
- The tool automatically replaces old snapshots with new ones
Clonezilla
One of the most used tools for backup issues is undoubtedly Clonezilla. With Clonezilla, we can clone an entire disk or create images of it. Clonezilla is a disk utility that must be executed when we start the system. Its main features are:
- Support many file systems such as ext2, ext3, ext4, ReiserFS, reiser4, FAT32, HFS +, OpenBSD, among many others.
- Include GRUB inside your boot loader
- With a single image, we can restore several devices
- Images created with Clonezilla can be located on local hard drives, SSH network connections, NFS servers, among others.
- 256-bit AES encryption is available to increase file security
- Clonezilla supports multicast
- It can boot to MBR or GPT partition formats.
Many people stick to the backup application that comes with their operating system, and that’s understandable. However, it’s good to know that there are other options in case you want something more. When trying Linux backup software, don’t put data security aside. We advise you to run backup tests that are not real.
Lastly, remember that really good backups are not stored on the same disk as the original data.