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Asked: 2011-02-06 07:34:22 +0800 CST

Avoiding backing up system-managed files

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I'd like to do thorough backups, but want to avoid backing up files which can be replaced via apt.

Does this effectively just consist of omitting /usr, with the exception of /usr/local, as well as /lib*, from the backup?

Do some backup apps provide this functionality?

apt

3 Answers

  1. Just back up /home (user files and settings) and /etc (system settings) - everything else can restored by reinstalling Ubuntu and installing software from the repositories.

    If you've manually edited any other locations (this includes installing software from using other methods than package manager), you will need to back up those as well.

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  2. The following may be excluded even if you are backing up data changed by apt in a root filesystem.

    /lost+found /media /mnt /cdrom /sys /tmp /proc /var/cache /dev

    Now others like /etc /boot /bin /sbin are also managed by apt. So essentially what you need to backup would be /home, /opt, /usr/local/bin, /root and if you like to keep the logs /var. If you change/edit configuration files, /etc needs to be backed up as well

    /var/cache/apt will have packages installed by you. So that needs to be backed up either using native utilities or using apt-cd

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  3. If the system critical, a backup which allows a baremetal recovery will be great. Refer http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/geek-sheet-bare-metal-backup-and-recovery/8759 for a good process

    This is good in case you want to revert to a level, not to the latest and greatest updates from Ubuntu Software Center.

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