Question Strategy for full-disk backups

[E42]

Server operating system version

Debian 11

Plesk version and microupdate number

18

I have a Plesk installation on a bare-metal server. For peace-of-mind backups I was thinking about this solution:

- A network drive (storage box) attached to the machine, to be used only for backups
- A simple cron with rsync running once a day and copying everything from the main drive (from "/" downwards) to the network drive. This should run after the daily local backups on the main drive.

My question is: is there something I should take care of when copying data this way, or can I expect that in case of disaster just attaching the network drive (latency aside) will allow me to have things up and running? Thank you

 

[HostaHost]

Just keep in mind that the rsync method will not likely give you anywhere close to an easy restore option; i.e. if the server did fail, you'd be installing a new OS, installing Plesk, recreating the site, databases, and then bringing that data back in. If that's the only goal, to not lose data regardless of downtime, then your option is quick and easy. Keep in mind it would not protect you from server compromise given the backup drive remains attached. Alternatively, you could use a synology or other linux-based NAS and rsync over ssh from it to your web server to copy the data local without the web server having access to the storage.

You'll probably want a more formal backup software solution with an agent if you also care about downtime, as then you can get full bare metal restore capability that would typically involve some form of boot drive from usb key, network, or similar, and restore the entire OS and everything that had been there to bring it back as it was.

 

[ChristophRo]

For full server backups I'd recommend to not use rsync but a tool/software like the free Veeam Agent for Linux or Acronis Image Backup.

 

[mow]

I use fsarchiver for the boot drive. Can also be used for the data drives if you have the space. The data drives can just as well be restored from a rsync'ed mirror or from a borg archive.
Keep in mind to backup /var/lib/mysql separately, as backing up the files while mysql/mariadb is still running won't help you much.