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On Mon, 21 Oct 2013, Daniel Robinson wrote:
Honestly, I'm a noobie using testing and experimental repositories, I break it all of the time. Having a snapshot that takes 30mins to build for me in my working environment is by far the quickest and safest way (for me). I have kind of answered my own question by using something called redo. http://redobackup.org/
Never heard of it until now.
It is perfect for my needs, I was hoping that somebody here does backups in this manner and would point me in the direction of something like this. (Again I was wrong)
You need to work out why you need a backup and what you're actually backing up.
Using experimental distros, installing packages that "break" - well, you're in a tiny minority there (I reckon).
And since you're using Debian, I still don't see why you need to re-install when apt-get/aptitude/dpkg are supposed to take care if it all for you - if you install a new package, and it doesn't work, then just un-install it...
In my 20 years of using Linux I've not once destroyed an installation to the extent that I needed to restore the OS backup. I've had servers fail, but then I've done an install from scratch as part of the repair process. I also usually do an install from scratch when I get new hardware. (e.g. to upgrade my desktop)
But then I've always used Debian Stable since it was ... stable.
I do find commands and scripting still a bit frightening when it comes to back up and restore but now have a recovery plan I feel comfortable and accustomed to. This now enables me to explore the other back up options with a safety net in place just in case things go horribly wrong. But thank you Gordon for taking the time and effort to reply to my topic, I will now explore the options you have suggested. Thank you
Why not create virtual servers to test your experimental installs? Then it would be a simple matter of copying the filesystem tree (if it's at the filesystem level outside the VPS), or the single file that contains the VPS filesystem to make a backup.
Gordon -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq