Do you make backups and how?

Feedback
1

I am wondering how people use the freedombox backup feature.

The options I can see for backup:

  1. make a backup now to local storage
  2. add a backup location on local storage
  3. add a remote backup location, with sftp

With the options 1 and 2, besides making the backup stored on a removable USB disk, that can be accessed from another computer when there is the need to restore, is there any other possibility?

The option 3 looks more useful, but one needs an sftp server. I did configure this several times with command line, while the goal of freedombox is to avoid this. Perhaps a solution could be to use another freedombox.

Is anyone using the remote backup location?
If so, how did you configure the sftp server?

Is anyone using local backups?
On a removable USB disk?

2

I used to have my FB set up like this on a RaspberryPi 2B:

  • SD card as root file system
  • external USB HDD as data location for various service and also as backup location

FB’s backup is using borg so the backup location on the USB drive was a simple borg archive. I never needed to restore anything(*), but if need be I could simply plug it into another computer and restore anything I need .

After a migration to new hardware (raspi 4b) I decided to also install the root & boot FS to the USB drive. SD cards do not have good failover characteristics and I’ve run into issues with them a few times over the years. So my new backup location is a separate partition on the (single) USB drive attached to my Pi.

However I am thinking about seting up a remote second backup, too.

(*) Correction: I actually used the restore feature when migrating to the new hardware recently. I had some issues with tt-rss, but aside from that, the restore worked fine. I moved the borg archive over to the new hard drive and used it as backup location in FB’s configuration - all backups showed up in the web UI as expected.

3

If there is a problem with that USB drive, isn’t there a risk that all partitions are affected, possibly making the backups unusable?

I had a number of times a freedombox (Pioneer with or without SATA disk) become completely inaccessible, so I had to remove power. Each time, I take the micro SD card to a computer to check the file system(s). Sometimes, it is fine, sometimes, it is not. If a file system seems to have a lot of issues (it happened several times), I do a fresh install and restore. I did one very recently.

I am currently documenting backup and restore, for myself and others. I have my working methods for the remote backup location, but I am not sure what others do, hence why I am asking.

4

Yes, absolutely. I do make verbatim copies of the backup archive on a separate hard drive, though. Not as regularly as my FB schedule, but definitely before major changes or at milestones such as having just successfully finished my migration.

And I fully agree that having an automated + remote backup is the preferable option. I do not have a suitable backup location atm, but I have plans to.