Re: Why are you using rdiff-backup?

On Wed, 24 Mar 2021 08:44:15 -0400
Patrik Dufresne <[email protected]> wrote:

> Why are you using rdiff-backup ?

When I was looking for suitable backup software, I wanted:

* Something I could run easily on machines I control

* Incremental backups to restore previous versions if I needed to

* Ability to use the backup as it is for the current version, not
  necessarily needing to use the backup software to be able to get
  anything out of it - probably my most important requirement

* Something open-source so I could extend it if needed, and could
  understand what it will actually do, not a black box

rdiff-backup fits the bill well for me, since it's trivial to install &
configure, Just Works, and given an external HDD that I'd backed up to
ages ago, I could just plug it in and access the current backup version
as just a normal mirror, without having to install the backup software
to get anything out of it.

In years to come, I could still do so, even if the backup software I'd
originally used is no longer supported / actively developed / no longer
runs on modern systems, I could still access the backup with no effort
at all, which is very valuable.

The only time I wouldn't turn to rdiff-backup is if I was uploading
backups to somewhere I didn't control and thus wanted encrypted backups
- then I'd likely use duplicity - but I tend to back up to targets I
control and can trust, so I'd rather the "plain mirror, but with diffs
to get to previous versions" approach of rdiff-backup.

Cheers

David P