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#1 2006-09-03 23:18:20

nehsa
Member
Registered: 2003-01-14
Posts: 159

Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

Can anyone recommend an easy way to backup my Arch install?  I have tried using Arch as my desktop several times over the past couple of years and it always goes like this:

1) Install and configure Arch
2) Do something silly and break it.
3) Reinstall Arch

I would like to save everything needed to completely restore my system on a regular basis to a network share to prevent having to reconfigure it all the time.

Thanks!

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#2 2006-09-04 00:14:55

T-Dawg
Forum Fellow
From: Charlotte, NC
Registered: 2005-01-29
Posts: 2,736

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

There are several backup utilities out there, bakula comes to mind. I however prefer to do it manualy. I used to use tar to backup /etc and /home as daily cron job now I use dirsync which is much better and faster because it only updates files that have changed. The only downside is that it is not compressed.

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#3 2006-09-04 00:18:22

T-Dawg
Forum Fellow
From: Charlotte, NC
Registered: 2005-01-29
Posts: 2,736

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

here's a copy of my backup script in /etc/cron.daily which shows how I used tar and dirsync.

#!/bin/bash
[ ! -d /mnt/hdb5/backup ] && mkdir -p /mnt/hdb5/backup
cd /mnt/hdb5/backup
pacman -Q | cut -d' ' -f1 | paste -s | sed 's|s| |g' > filelist
#tar -czvf backup.tar.gz --exclude=/home/pkgs --exclude=/home/tyler/.ccache /etc /home
backup_file="/var/log/backup.log"

dirsync /etc /mnt/hdb5/backup/etc -l $backup_file
dirsync /home/tyler /mnt/hdb5/backup/tyler -X .ccache -l $backup_file
dirsync /web /mnt/hdb5/backup/web -l $backup_file

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#4 2006-09-04 01:11:11

mac57
Member
From: St. Somewhere
Registered: 2006-01-06
Posts: 302
Website

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

May I suggest partimage? This excellent utility will allow you to take an image of your ENTIRE Arch partition and save it off as a file. If you screw up Arch, you simply reformat your partition and restore the previous image. Not only is it good for recovering from errors, but I have used it to save off a partition, resize it, and then restore. I strongly recommend it. This is how I "snapshot" my Arch and restore as needed.


Cast off the Microsoft shackles Jan 2005

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#5 2006-09-04 01:13:14

mac57
Member
From: St. Somewhere
Registered: 2006-01-06
Posts: 302
Website

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

By the way, I forgot to add a critical point. Of course to use partimage to save off the partition, you need to be running from somewhere else. My usual mode of doing this is to boot up a live CD with partimage and use it to do the work. My favorite for this is Knoppix, but many other live CDs may exist with partimage on them. Knoppix works for me, and if it ain't broke, I don't fix it!


Cast off the Microsoft shackles Jan 2005

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#6 2006-09-04 01:52:37

syamajala
Member
From: here, there, everywhere
Registered: 2005-01-25
Posts: 617
Website

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

i've always wondered about using pacman for backups. you could write a script that makes pkgbuilds and then makes packages. then when you need to restore your system just install the packages with your backups

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#7 2006-09-04 03:01:55

dk
Member
Registered: 2004-04-20
Posts: 106

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

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#8 2006-09-04 09:59:02

onearm
Member
From: Anywhere but here
Registered: 2006-07-06
Posts: 359
Website

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps


To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three persons, two of them absent.
--
My Github

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#9 2006-09-04 10:14:59

Sigi
Member
From: Thurgau, Switzerland
Registered: 2005-09-22
Posts: 1,131

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

I personally use rsync to backup stuff over my home network.


Haven't been here in a while. Still rocking Arch. smile

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#10 2006-09-04 11:17:08

vacant
Member
From: downstairs
Registered: 2004-11-05
Posts: 816

Re: Complete backup of Arch configurations & apps

nehsa wrote:

1) Install and configure Arch
2) Do something silly and break it.
3) Reinstall Arch

Given that situation, maybe you're asking the wrong question. I keep a separate Arch partition where I experiment and play. If (a) it works and (b) it gets used, then I'll install it on my real Arch partition.

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