In Operation
User interface and ease of use
Backup software should be easy to use. A clear and intuitive user interface will particularly be useful for non-technical users.
Getting started with cronopete literally takes a minute. Move the enable backup slider, define the folders to backup, set the backup destination. And that’s it, backups are made every hour (the time interval can be changed)
Automation and Scheduling
Performing backups manually is prone to mistakes, omissions, and delays. Good backup software should automate the backup process. Scheduling backups offers a level of consistency that helps keep the backup process reliable.
Besides changing the interval for backups, there’s no additional functionality. There’s not an option for an immediate backup direct from the GUI, but we can make an immediate backup from a menu entry in the GNOME panel.
Storing backups
Efficiency comes from avoiding duplication of file storage. File compression is also an important factor. Encryption ensures security of your files to protect from unauthorized access. Even if backup files are stolen, the actual data cannot be deciphered without a decryption key.
There is deduplication. Each copy is stored separately which means that the user can choose which copy to restore. Files that do not change between backups are stored as hard links, and thus each new copy uses much less disk space than a true full copy.
All backups for the past 24 hours are retained. Daily backups are retained for the past month, and weekly backups are retained until the destination drive is full. There’s no flexibility available.
cronopete doesn’t compress backups. Instead, if you want compression you’ll need to use a filesystem that supports compression such as ZFS, brtfs, or a Fuse plugin. The backup file system must handle hard links and symbolic links.
There’s no encryption available. For encryption, you could store your backups on a LUKS-encrypted volume.
Reporting and Testing
Regularly testing your data backup strategy is essential for ensuring that backups are functioning as expected and that any configuration changes don’t cause any unexpected errors. It also allows you to identify and address any backup issues.
There is a log available which shows if there were any issues with the last backup. This logging is very simple. For example, we can only see the log of the very last backup.
There’s no functionality to test the backup.
Customization
Backup software should allow you to customize your backups based on your requirements.
There’s very little configuration available. We can specify the time interval between backups, the folders to backup, and which folders to exclude. The advanced options simply offers the option to backup extended attributes.
Cloud support
Local backups won’t protect you from burglary or natural disasters.
There’s no specific functionality within the program for cloud support.
Documentation
Good backup software will provide clear documentation that explains how to use the software.
The project has some basic information (README) on its GitHub repository.
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Installation
Page 2 – In Operation
Page 3 – Summary