Arranging backups: the step-by-step plan

Backups are best done properly once and automatically after that. In this step-by-step plan you see the order, with the tool that takes the work off your hands at each step. The rule it all runs on is the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two types of storage, with one outside your home. See the 3-2-1 rule.

Step 1: Decide what you protect

Not everything is equally important. With the Backup and Recovery Planner make a personal checklist: what you keep, how many copies, and in what order you restore it after a disaster. You can print the list.

Step 2: How much space do you need?

Use the RAID and ZFS Calculator to work out how much usable space your drives leave. Remember: RAID protects against a broken drive, but it isn’t a backup. More in RAID and ZFS explained and Choosing drives and keeping them healthy.

Step 3: How long does a copy take?

A first full copy to another location can take hours or days. With Download Time see how long a given amount of data takes at your speed, and with the bandwidth converter how much that is per month.

Step 4: Make the command

Choose source, destination and options in the rsync Builder and get the command, with an explanation per part. An overview of the most important options is in Cheat sheet: rsync.

Step 5: Let it run by itself

A backup that you have to remember, you’ll forget. Schedule it with a cron line (Cron Guide) or with a systemd timer (systemd Service Generator). A timer has the advantage that a missed run is caught up.

Step 6: Check and test restoring

Look in the log to see whether the job really ran, with the journalctl Builder. And restore at least one file once: a backup you’ve never restored from is an assumption. The Proxmox variant is in Making and restoring backups in Proxmox.

Afterwards

Repeat the test from step 6 a few times a year. See also the other step-by-step plans: setting up a Proxmox server, dividing your home network and setting up Docker services.