I am currently using GNOME Backups (aka Déjà Dup Backups) to backup all my files to a “backups” folder in my Dropbox. This is not a good solution - first because I want to stop paying for dropbox, second because I don’t want to keep everything in the cloud, third because everything is stored twice on my laptop and storage is precious.

I therefore want to manage back-ups locally instead. I would like to keep using Déjà Dup, as it has worked really well and effortlessly.

My initial idea is very bare bones. I could keep an old laptop running 24/7, connect a hard drive, and use SSH file transfer in Deja Dup in order to store everything on that machine. That said, I have a few concerns as well.

  1. Is this a good way of doing things? Should I be doing something else instead?
  2. I’m not always at home - will it be a problem if the Backup software cannot find the folder because it’s not on the correct network, or will it have the sense to wait until it’s connected to the correct wifi?
  3. Will the old laptop use a lot of power, or is it regrettable for any other reason? Is it possible to make it automatically hibernate for example during the nigthtime? Or to have it spend very little power unless anything is connected via SSH?
  4. Would it be better to get a dedicated device, like a Rasberry Pi or something? I don’t have all too much faith in my old laptop not making noise with the fan running at random times.

It looks like my partner will be getting a new laptop running Linux soon enough as she has to hand in her work computer, so it would be good timing to get a proper solution into place.

Thank you in advance!

  • hendrik@palaver.p3x.deEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    I think an old laptop is a good choice if you have access to some. Laptops are built to be power efficient. And with the screen off you should be in the same ballpark with a Raspberry Pi. And you can keep using your workflow with Deja Dup or whatever you like. Letting them go to sleep and waking them up for example via Wake on LAN depends on the exact model. Some can do it, some can’t.

    For the remote access, you’d need some access from the outside of your network. Either do a port forward on your router (and DynDNS) or install a VPN tunnel to get in.

    I’ve had a similar setup running for some time. The only downside I can see is the external disk via USB. I don’t think it’s as reliable as an internal drive… I ended up connecting two or three external drives and some other hardware. And every few months, the USB would have some hiccups and reset the bus, occasionally disconnecting a device or an harddrive. Maybe that was my setup, maybe you sholdn’t be running several disks 24/7 over a cheap USB hub, idk. I just lived with the occasinal hang and restarted the abomination every few months. After some years I built a proper NAS and now they’re connected via SATA. But my first solution was super cheap and it did the job so I can’t complain.

    I mean “officially” you’re not doing it right. You’re supposed to follow the 3-2-1 rule and use enterprise hardware for important data.

    And keep in mind there are other options. You could buy a dedicated NAS. (They usually consume more power than a laptop or Raspi.) Or just use an external disk and connect it directly to your machine once a week and let DejaDup write the files there without any servers involved. Or maybe your internet router has an option to plug in an USB stick or disk and share it within the network. Some do.

    One last thing on cloud vs local: Both protects you from a simple harddrive crash. But if your house burns down, you should pay attention to have your backups stored at a different location. If the backup sits next to your computer on your desk, they might both be gone.

    • cabbage@piefed.socialOP
      2·
      3 months ago

      Thank you! There’s a lot of useful advice here.

      I don’t really need remote access, as long as backups are made when I’m home. I imagine it would be difficult, both because it seems difficult but also because I have internet through a 5G router rather than a more proper connection. But I’m also just happy to keep things more local.

      The USB concern is a good point. I’ll probably still go for an external hard drive, but I’ll keep it in the back of my head while setting it up.

      A NAS is probably not a good solution for me, also because I want to keep things tiny and lightweight. But just running a completely local solution might not be the worst idea - I was afraid I would forget/neglect to connect frequently unless it’s on the wifi, but if I channel it all through a docking station it would at least be able to back up every time I work at my desk. And if I set up the same system at work I can keep an external backup as well, which I somehow hadn’t thought about. Would solve the house burning down problem. Well, parts of it, anyway.

      Thanks again! I always tend to come up with very half-baked solutions for things, which is fun, but with this in particular I appreciate the opportunity to run it through others before making any potential mistakes. :)

      • hendrik@palaver.p3x.deEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        I think that’s fine. Sometimes you learn stuff along the way. You can start with a half-baked solution and upgrade things or change them if it doesn’t work out. As long as you’re able and willing to invest the time to tinker, I don’t think there is any harm in it. Usual advice applies, don’t tinker with critical data and don’t spend a lot of money and learn you can’t use it, after the fact.

        Btw, some years ago I saw some people using udev rules or something to automatically trigger the backup process to start once a certain external harddisk got attached. That might be a solution if you want it to start on its own. I just can’t find any recent tutorials on how to do it. But maybe your Gnome Backups has some mechanism to automate stuff.