![]() ![]() But you could also simply use an external hard drive connected directly to the computer you are wanting to backup (effectively combining the backup client and local server into one machine). In my case, it is an always-on desktop pc running Windows XP, with a large internal hard drive. What I'm calling the "local backup server" could be a number of things. Stage 2: Configuring your local backup server. That's all for now, we'll finish the bittorrent sync setup later. Make sure the external hard drive is not plugged in to the Pi, and run the commandĬode: Select all sudo mkdir /media/external/backups The next step is to ensure that the external hard drive will be mounted and accessible automatically each time the Pi reboots. You should now be booted into Raspbian on your Pi. Mounting the external hard drive at boot. You can change your password & enable SSH easily by running "sudo raspi-config" from a terminal, and selecting the appropriate menu options. Make sure you have set a strong password for the "pi" user, and I'd recommend enabling SSH so that you can remotely connect to the pi once it is off-site. If you do not already have Rasbian installed and running on your Pi, follow the linked guide and come back here when finished. There are many good guides available for installing Raspbian. Stage 1: Setting up the Raspberry Pi as an off-site backup server. ![]() Good blend between security and usability - By using Boxcryptor for the encryption, we get an off-site backup that is fully encrypted 100% of the time, and we get a local backup that is stored in an encrypted filesystem, but is available to the local network while the backup server is running. Ease of setup - Bittorrent sync uses NAT traversal, so no manual port mapping is required. In addition, the only data we are transmitting over the internet is encrypted locally (by Boxcryptor) before being sent, and is stored encrypted while at rest on the Raspberry Pi off-site.Ģ. Bittorrent sync utilizes strong encryption for all data transferred. Security - the only technology used for syncing data across the internet in this setup is Bittorrent Sync. If some of this is unclear, don't worry! Read on and it will (hopefully) become clear as I go into greater detail.ġ. The local server is setup to sync the boxcrytor encrypted filesystem, via bittorrent sync, with the off-site raspberry pi. This backup target folder is actually a folder within my Boxcryptor store on the local server. Each machine to be backed up has AsComp Backup Maker installed on it.Įach backup client is configured to send its backups to a shared folder on the local backup server (my desktop pc). On this machine, I have Bittorrent Sync installed, along with Boxcryptor Classic.Īlso at home, I have multiple machines that need to be backed up (backup clients). The only requirement being that it is always on). The Pi is running Raspbian - I have installed Bittorrent Sync on it, and have a single folder on the external drive, called "Backups", setup as a sync folder.Īt home, I have a desktop PC running Windows XP, functioning as my on-site backup server (This is just my desktop PC, it doesn't have to be used solely as a backup server. I have the raspberry pi + external drive set up at a relative's house, behind their firewall. The sections below this one will go through how to set everything up in step-by-step detail. The following is an overview of the complete setup. AsComp Backup Maker (there are many alternatives to this, will cover later in the guide) an always-on PC on your local network, with enough storage for your backups (for on-site backups). Someone kind enough to let you plug the Pi+external drive into their router at their house/apartment, etc. An external drive, which you will connect to the Pi (your encrypted off-site backups will be stored here) A Raspberry Pi running the distro of your choice (I use Raspbian). I run primarily Windows PCs at my home, so that's what this backup guide will focus on, but most, if not all, of the tools I use are available for mac & linux, or have suitable alternatives on those platforms. After researching many options for on-site + off-site backups, I have settled on a solution using my raspberry pi as the off-site backup server, along with a handful of free tools to automate the process. I have quite a few PCs at home, each with varying amounts of important data that I wouldn't want to lose. ![]()
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