When it comes to data security, having software that guarantees the safety of your data in case of any mishap is essential. The software has been developed to cater to the data recovery needs of Linux users. This article reviews the top 10 software built specifically for this purpose.
The importance of backing up your data
Modern computers are built with enormous memory capacity which means that computers have the capacity to store large quantities of data. This comes with the challenge of data preservation and recovery.
If at any instance this large quantity of data is lost due to human errors, corrupt files, disk failure or crashed system, the lost data may be tedious to recover or may never be recovered so it’s better to use good backup software at all time.
For Linux backup software, the top ten software is discussed below.
Bacula
Bacula happens to be a widely employed backup software for backing up data on Linux systems. It ensures that data shared by networked computer systems are well verified.
In relation to other Linux backup software, Bacula helps you recover damaged or lost data much faster. This is because Bacula is designed with an advanced and efficient system for storage management. It adequately fits in to solve the challenge of maintaining, securing and recovery of data faced by small and large firms even while managing their servers. It has two versions which are; the Basic version and the Enterprise version.
While the Enterprise version features advanced characteristics such as a backup remedy for VMs, cloud backup and metal backup, the basic version just covers features which ensure backup and data recovery.
FwBackups
Fwbackups is one widely used Linux backup software that comes with a simple user interface. It is known to have high user satisfaction recommendation and one fascinating feature about this particular Linux backup software is that it allows for user participation in developing the software but can only use it for tests.
With Fwbackup, you are given the option to exclude files you may not want to backup and backup configuration is very flexible to implement.
Amanda
This Linux backup software has an automated data retention policy and backup fault tolerance. ‘Amanda’ an acronym for Advanced Maryland Automatic Network Disk Achiever is a backup software that can be used to back up many hosts connected to a server.
It can do so by backing them up to a disk or tape. You can perform backups on Linux through tar or dump but you can use samba to carry out Amanda backups on windows.
There are three different models of Amanda which are the Community model, Enterprise model and Zmanda backup appliance. The community model can be downloaded without financial implication and you can perform backups and databases for live applications on the Enterprise model. You can back up a whole network server easily on Zmanda backup appliance because it works as a virtual machine.
With Amanda, you can perform backups fully, incrementally, partially depending on the management technique with which you run your system or server.
Backupninja
Backupninja is one Linux backup software that gives users the opportunity to plan documents for reinforcement design. It can be operated with virtual servers on Linux. It can carry out safe, remote and additional reinforcements that could be incremental over a system.
It comes with an easy to use set maker known as Ninja Partner and reinforcements can be scheduled. It also features email alarms.
Rsync
Rsync is a Linux backup software that works as a command-line tool. It also has a user interface which is graphical. With the aid of the command line, system administrators can perform automated backups.
Rsync can perform remote and local backups with lesser memory requirements for efficient running. It is built with a delta-algorithm that allows remote files to be synced easily as the tool doesn’t need to transfer the overall data but those which are not located in the transfer destination thereby increasing sync speed.
Time vault
This is an open-source Linux backup software that can be compared to Apple’s time machine. It creates backup files incrementally such that it can be restored on a future date.
It has the ability to capture snapshots that are stored at a time in certain directories. Its platform has a beautiful graphical front view. Time vault has quite direct and simple installation procedures.
Clonezilla
Clonezilla functions as a cloning utility which also passes for a Linux backup software. It has the ability to clone the image of an entire storage device easily. It comes in two editions which are the Clonezilla SE edition and the Clonezilla Live edition.
Its live edition is suitable for backing up single-machine systems, however, the SE edition which is also called the Server Edition has the ability to backup big servers. Clonezilla supports massive cloning and multicast.
Duplicity
This Linux backup software performs backup by creating tar-format volumes which are encrypted. It only archives sections of files that were not recorded during the previous backup in the server.
Duplicity encrypts and signs archives through GnuPG. Its user friendly and space-efficient features make Duplicity one of the most popular Linux backup software.
Flyback
Flyback was created in reference to Rsync and just like Rsync, it creates backup files on the server with the purpose of data recovery at a later date. Flyback offers you the opportunity to have a view of time sorted files and directories which can be retrieved or previewed separately at different times.
It basically appears as a typical file manager with additional forward and backward controls. Flyback has the ability to scan through the directories in the server while carrying out backups.
KBackup
KBackup enters the list of top 10 Linux backup software due to its straightforward features and ability to compress archives after creating them through tar and gzip before backing them up.
Alongside its user-friendly interface, it also has a variety of items on its menu. Kbackup is highly reliable and it carries out double buffering and encryptions.
Conclusion
Whichever open source backup software you choose for your Linux systems, ensure that it suits the management style best fitted for your system and server.
At GTHost, we offer the best of dedicated server experience across the world to host your websites. Our servers are located in the United States of America, Canada, Europe and South East Asia.
With very efficient and safe server services, you won’t have to bother so much about backups, and that’s what GTHost is all about. For your best server experience be sure to patronize GTHost