Linux backup options include logical solutions like whole system and incremental backups, and physical solutions like USB drives, CDs, DVDs, tape drives, and NAS. The choice depends on the amount of data and technical knowledge. CDs hold 700MB, DVDs hold 4.4GB, and tapes can store up to 70GB.
The various Linux® backup options can be divided into logical and physical solutions. Logical solutions include periodic backups of the entire system and incremental backups, while physical solutions include the use of any type of media capable of archiving data. If a device can store data, it can also be used for Linux® backup. You can use Universal Serial Bus (USB) writers, zip, tape, compact discs (CDs), and digital versatile discs (DVDs) to back up your data. NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a specific option for backing up networks of all sizes.
Whole system backups are exactly what the name says: Whole system backup. They are generally performed periodically, either daily, weekly, monthly or annually. The frequency depends on the amount of data in the system, the operations in progress and how often a full backup should be performed according to the administrators in charge of the task. Incremental backup systems only back up changes. For example, when data is updated in a file or new files are added, only those changes will be logged, not data that hasn’t changed.
Backing up Linux® for single-user systems can often be done by copying data to a USB drive, sometimes called a flash drive, thumb drive, or flash drive. These devices can be purchased with low or high storage capacities, so they offer great flexibility for storing copies of your data. Zip drives are not used very frequently, but they are an option for Linux® backup, as are tape drives and CD and DVD burners. Linux® backup options aren’t all that different from those available for backup with other operating systems.
When discussing hardware for Linux® backup options, various drives are mentioned, but the drives cannot be used without the actual media they write to. For example, CD and DVD drives write to recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW) discs. Tape drives write to special tape cartridges, and zip drives write to zip disks. All that is required in terms of hardware to backup Linux® to a USB drive are USB ports. Networks backed up via NAS use a cabinet-like device that holds hard drives along with the circuitry that controls them and the software needed to manage them.
The options for Linux® backup depend not only on whether it is a single or multi-user system, but also on the amount of data that needs to be archived and the technical knowledge of the person or persons responsible for the backup. CDs hold approximately 700 megabytes (MB) of data, and DVDs can hold up to 4.4 gigabytes (GB). There are tape cartridges that can store up to 70GB of data. If you only need to store 1GB of data, a DVD may be an option, but a CD cannot due to its storage capacity unless 1GB of data can be compressed to no more than 700MB. While floppy disks are technically an option for backup, they’re usually impractical because they only store about 1.44MB of data.
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