Choosing a graphical backup tool
Conclusions
There is no shortage of graphical front ends for backing up a Linux desktop environment. The choice ranges from applications for making complete system snapshots like Timeshift to very compact applications for backing up personal data like Déjà Dup. Some of the tools can even store backups on remote computers, and all of them support external disks connected to the local system. Table 1 will help you sort through the various options as you shop for a graphical backup solution.
Table 1
Desktop Backup Applications at a Glance
| Back In Time | Cronopete | Déjà Dup | luckyBackup | Timeshift | Vorta |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| License |
GPLv2 |
GPLv3 |
GPLv3 |
GPLv3 |
LGPLv3 |
GPLv3 |
| Profiles |
yes |
no |
no |
yes |
no |
yes |
| Scheduled backups |
yes |
yes* |
yes* |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| System snapshots |
yes |
no |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Remote backup |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes* |
yes |
yes |
| Encrypted backups |
yes |
no |
yes* |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Manual inclusion and exclusion of data |
yes |
no |
yes* |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Maximum file size for backup adjustable |
yes |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
| File compression adjustable |
no |
no |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
| Scheduled removal of obsolete backups |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Different filesystems on target media |
yes* |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes* |
yes |
| File restore to different locations |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Simulation |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
no |
no |
| Log function |
yes |
yes |
no |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| * Restrictions apply |
||||||
Infos
- Rsync: https://rsync.samba.org
- Back In Time: https://github.com/bit-team/backintime
- Cronopete: https://www.rastersoft.com/programas/cronopete.html
- Déjà Dup: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/DejaDup
- luckyBackup: https://luckybackup.sourceforge.net
- Timeshift: https://teejeetech.com/timeshift/
- Vorta: https://vorta.borgbase.com
- BorgBackup: https://www.borgbackup.org
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