21 of the Best Free Linux Backup Software
Backup software is used to perform a complete back up of a
file, data, database, system or server. It enables users to make a
duplicate of everything contained on the
original source. This type of software is also used to perform a
recovery of the data or system in the event of a disaster.
Making file backups is an essential activity for all users,
yet many
users do not take adequate steps to protect their data. Whether a
computer is being used in a corporate environment,
or for private use, the machine's hard disk may fail without any
warning
signs. Alternatively, some data loss occurs as a result of human error.
Without regular backups being made, data will
inevitably be lost even if the services of a specialist recovery
organisation are used.
Whilst it has always been possible to use command line tools
to backup files in Linux, this can be a daunting task for beginners and
end-users. This article explores how
making regular backups can be a painless task. We explore
backup software with intuitive graphical interfaces, applications that
backup
systems with snapshots, whilst not forgetting the powerful command-line
tools that exist.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is
available, we have compiled a list of 21 high quality free Linux backup
tools. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who
wishes to safeguard their hard work.
Now, let's explore the 21 backup tools at hand. For each
title we have compiled its own portal page, providing a screenshot of
the software in action (where relevant), a full description with an
in-depth analysis of its features, together with links to relevant
resources and reviews.
| Backup Tool (Graphical User
Interface) |
| Areca
Backup |
File backup software developed in Java |
| BackupPC |
High-performance,
enterprise-grade system for backing up PCs |
| Bacula |
Network backup, recovery and verification |
| fwbackups |
Feature-rich
backup sofware
|
| Keep |
Backup system for KDE
|
| Simple
Backup Solution |
Set
of backend backup daemon and Gnome
GUI frontends
|
| Backup
Tool (Command-line)
|
| afbackup |
Client-Server Backup System (GUI is also available) |
| AMANDA |
Advanced
Maryland Automatic Network Disk Archiver |
| Cedar
Backup |
Local
and remote backups to CD or DVD media |
| Duplicity |
Encrypted
bandwidth-efficient backup |
| Dump
/ restore |
Dump and restore utilities for ext2/ext3 filesystems |
| tar |
Tar
archiving utility |
| Snapshot backups |
| FlyBack |
Equivalent of OS X's Time Machine |
| Time
Vault |
Snapshotting
daemon |
|
Synchronisation |
| rsnapshot |
Local and remote filesystem snapshot utility
|
| rsync |
Fast
remote file copy program
|
|
Disaster Recovery / Disk Cloning |
| Clonezilla |
Offers similar functionality to Symantec Ghost |
| Mondo
Rescue |
A
powerful disaster recovery suite
|
| PartImage |
Backup partitions into a compressed image file
|
| PING |
Also
offers similar functionality to Symantec Ghost |
|
Specialist |
| Zmanda |
Perl-based
utility to automate backup and
recovery of MySQL
databases |
Return to our complete collection of Group
Tests, identifying the finest Linux software.
Last Updated Sunday, April 21 2013 @ 04:45 PM EDT
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