system administration
2 Feb 2025
Making Local Backups Using rsnapshot
In the world of DevOps and system administration, ensuring data integrity and availability is paramount. One of the most efficient ways to safeguard your data is by implementing a robust backup strategy. While there are numerous tools available for this purpose, rsnapshot stands out as a powerful, open-source solution for creating local backups. In this article, we’ll explore how to set up and use rsnapshot to automate your backup processes effectively.
2 Feb 2025
Defining a Custom Port for Rsnapshot Backup
Rsnapshot is a powerful filesystem snapshot utility for making backups of local and remote systems. It leverages rsync and hard links to create efficient and space-saving backups. By default, rsnapshot uses SSH to connect to remote systems, which typically operates over port 22. However, there are scenarios where you might need to define a custom port for SSH connections, such as when the remote server is configured to use a non-standard port for security reasons.
23 Jan 2025
How to Backup a Self-Hosted GitLab Instance
Backing up a self-hosted GitLab instance is a crucial task for ensuring data integrity and availability. Whether you’re running GitLab for a small team or a large enterprise, having a reliable backup strategy can save you from data loss due to hardware failures, accidental deletions, or other unforeseen events. In this article, we’ll explore how to effectively back up your GitLab instance using built-in tools and best practices. Why Backup Your GitLab Instance?
1 Nov 2024
Mastering the `dd` Linux Utility: A Comprehensive Guide
The dd command in Linux is a powerful and versatile utility that is often underappreciated. It stands for “data duplicator” and is primarily used for low-level copying and conversion of raw data. Whether you’re creating backups, cloning disks, or recovering data, mastering dd can be a valuable skill for any DevOps engineer or system administrator. In this article, we’ll explore the various uses of dd, along with practical examples to help you harness its full potential.
1 Nov 2024
Creating Disk Byte Copies Using `dd`
In the world of DevOps and system administration, managing disk images and creating backups is a critical task. One of the most powerful and versatile tools available for this purpose on Unix-like systems is the dd command. This utility is often referred to as the “data duplicator” and is used for low-level copying and conversion of raw data. In this article, we’ll explore how to use dd to create byte-for-byte copies of disks, which can be invaluable for backup, cloning, and recovery operations.