BackupPC, OpenSource Backup System for Windows and Linux via Network

Often we have difficulty if our server crashes, corrupt registry, hard disk failure, etc. At the time, corrupt registry occurred in pc, notebook or server Windows, unfortunately it does not have good backups and system state data. This fundamental error of fact does not need to happen. Although we successfully restore the system, but the loss of data and time, also money to pay consultants from the outside, so that hamper the existing business processes.

So we need to do a System State backup on a regular basis and backup data. In addition there is a need to have adequate backup systems. In fact many commercial software, such as: Acronis Recovery for Microsoft Exchange, EMC Legato Networker, ArchServe Backup, Symantec Backup Exec, Paragon Drive Backup, etc.. These software also need a solid hardware infrastructure, and of course expensive. Well, if the company does not have the budget then we can find other alternative backup system, which is cheap enough and realible enough.

There are many alternative backup system based on opensource software, such as Amanda, BackupPC and Bacula, and many more. For case, Amanda and Bacula, actually quite powerful and has features that are complete, can be backup to TAPE, Virtual Tape and Disk Library, but is quite complex interconnect configuration, this according to me, the others may be different. I try and found that BackupPC configuration more easier. According to my personal, BackupPC needs to be used for day-to-day operations. Because it can be used to backup servers, PCs, and Notebooks.

BackupPC has a adequate features and only for backup to disk through the network. Some of the feature is quite adequate, such as: backup via Network, does not need to install software on the client, there is compression, the administrator interface to a web gui, support SMB, rsync, ssh, RSH, nfs. Ability backup data up to 2 ^ 51 bytes, both full backups and incremental backups. And reliable enough in Linux, Windows 95, 98, XP, 2000 and Solaris. Unfortunately BackupPC is not yet support VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Services), so the files that are open or locked by the application won't backup by BackupPC. Therefore we need to combine between NTBackup and BackupPC, we use NTBackup to backup system state and all data. We use BackupPC for backup file .bkf, which will be stored in the BackupPC server.

Unfortunately, despite the success we backup file system for Windows, we fail to restore from backup data, only file that really pure data or not used by application can be restored succesfully.

I install the Backup PC with Ubuntu 8.04 distro, installation itself is quite simple like this:
#sudo apt-get update
#sudo apt-get install backuppc

Automatically install it's dependence package, such as perl (backuppc made from perl programming language), apache, smbclient, SMB-common, tar, rsync, openssl. We can install with Synaptic package manager.
After installation is complete we will have a web link to the administration panle and also username and password to login.

Go to the web administration, opening the browser:
, Beni-laptop is the hostname can be replaced with the IP Address. Enter the username: and password backuppc

Click OK.
Configuration itself is quite easy, go to Edit hosts.

Click Add button and fill the hostname or IP of your PC/Server/Notebook, also enter user. Once finished, do not forget to click Save button.
Then browse to the IP / Hostname that we create, edit config, and go to Xfer tab, enter its SMBSharepasswd:


Here are some screenshots BackupPC: