[ale] Backup questions -- what to back up?

[agcarver+ale at acarver.net (Alex Carver)]

On 2016-02-29 09:12, Derek Atkins wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm working on configuring some backups via rdiff-backup, and I've got
> some style questions.  My main question is: do you back up /bin,
> /usr/bin, /lib, /usr/lib, and other "system" directories?  Or do you
> only backup /root, /etc, /var, and select areas, and keep a package list
> of the installed packages?
> 
> If you do backup the system directories (/bin, etc), what's the best way
> to restore the system?  I'm thinking disaster recovery, not "oops, I
> deleted a file and need it back"?
> 
> Thanks for your guidance,

I back up only what's generated after a base installation.  That would
be things like data files, configuration files, source code that has
been modified, and similar.  I leave out any binaries if they can be
reinstalled or regenerated from an alternate source.  The one exception
would be something for which I require a very specific version and need
to restore the same version (e.g. software for which an upgrade breaks
compatibility).

If I need a rally big backup for a whole system including all the system
directories I go with a Mondo backup (since it can image a running
system roughly) or a full offline backup.