Editing User:Nomaster/Backup

This article is a couple of years old and I have already moved all of my precious data into the cloud. Because the flying spaghetti monster will save us all. Not.

...but I am still convinced this may be helpful to you.

<blockquote>
Jesus saves. Buddha does incremental backups.
</blockquote>

In celebration of [http://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/03/31/1543200/ask-slashdot-its-world-backup-day-how-do-you-back-up World Backup Day], I hereby release my backup strategy.

== Features ==

* daily backup, fully accessible
* compressed storage
* block device encryption
* '''speed'''

== Requirements ==

* external harddrive
* modern linux kernel (use [[Wikipedia:Arch_Linux|Arch Linux]]!)
* current version of btrfs-progs (I have 0.19.20120110-2)
* a strong password (you may follow [http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2008/06/the-ultimate-guide-for-creating-strong-passwords/ this] guide or similar)

== Daily Routine ==

# Wake up
# Drink tea
# Go shit
# Exercise Yoga
# Eat breakfast
# '''Backup ALL the files''' (during hygiene)
# Leave home

My external harddrive is totally occupied by a [[Wikipedia:Linux_Unified_Key_Setup|LUKS]] container. After connecting the drive to my laptop, I start like this:

  cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdb backup

If not happened yet, format the drive with a [[Wikipedia:Btrfs|btrfs]] filesystem

  mkfs.btrfs -L backup /dev/mapper/backup

Then, mount it and use compression

  mount -o compress=lzo -t btrfs LABEL=backup /media/backup

If not happened yet, create a subvolume

  btrfs subvolume create /media/backup/nomaster

For may backups, I use rsync (with delete) to copy my files to an external hard drive. Vanished files will be deleted.
  
  rsync -aPv --delete --exclude downloads --exclude music --exclude .cache /home/nomaster/ /media/backup/nomaster/

After each sync, I make a snapshot of this state of my files.

  sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /media/backup/nomaster /media/backup/nomaster-$(date +%F)

Lastly, I unmount the filesystem and close the container.

  sudo umount /media
  sudo cryptsetup luksClose backup

Then, I disconnect the drive.

When my drive will be full at some point in the future, I’m going to remove old snapshots to free space occupied by large files deleted a long time ago.

== Initial Setup ==

'''I assume the external drive is /dev/sdb. If you have no idea about this, stop right now and come back when you know.'''

First, make sure, the external drive is clear to use. So mount it and have a look at the files if present.

Overwrite everything with zeroes.

  sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1024

Format the drive

  sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/sdb

(follow the instructions)

Open the crypto container

  sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdb backup

Create a BTRFS file system

  sudo mkfs.btrfs /dev/sdb

Mount it (with compression)

  sudo mount -o compress /dev/sdb /mnt

Create a subvolume

  sudo btrfs subvolume create /mnt/nomaster # <- insert username here

Unmount, close and continue with '''daily routine'''.

  sudo umount /mnt
  sudo cryptsetup luksClose backup