Knowledgebase

BorgBackup (Borg) is an open-source deduplicating backup program that supports encryption and compression. It is designed for high-performance backups, especially when dealing with large amounts of data. Borg is known for its speed, efficient storage use, and ease of use. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing and configuring Borg on your AnonVM server to back up your important data securely.

Table of Contents

1. Prerequisites
2. What is BorgBackup?
3. Installing Borg on AnonVM
4. Setting Up Backup Repositories
5. Creating Backups with Borg
6. Restoring Data Using Borg
7. Automating Backups with Cron Jobs
8. Troubleshooting Borg
9. Conclusion

1. Prerequisites

Before installing BorgBackup on AnonVM, ensure the following prerequisites:

• Operating System: This tutorial is based on Linux (Ubuntu or CentOS).
• Root or Sudo Access: You need root privileges to install and configure BorgBackup.
• Backup Storage: A local disk, remote server, or cloud storage to store your backups.
• Network Connectivity: If you plan to back up remote machines, ensure that your backup destination is accessible over the network.

2. What is BorgBackup?

BorgBackup is a fast, secure, and space-efficient backup solution that offers:

• Deduplication: Borg only saves unique data, which minimizes storage requirements.
• Compression: Borg can compress backups, saving even more space.
• Encryption: Backups are encrypted, ensuring your data remains secure.
• Remote Backup: Borg allows you to back up to remote locations over SSH or other network protocols.
• Efficiency: Due to its deduplication and compression techniques, Borg makes backups much more storage-efficient than traditional methods.

3. Installing Borg on AnonVM

First, install BorgBackup on your AnonVM server.

Step 1: Update Your System

Start by updating your system’s package manager:

Step 2: Install BorgBackup

Install BorgBackup using the following command:

For Ubuntu:

For CentOS:

Step 3: Verify Installation

After installation, verify that Borg is correctly installed by checking the version:

You should see the Borg version printed in the output.

4. Setting Up Backup Repositories

A repository is where your backups will be stored. You can create a local repository on a disk or a remote repository on another server via SSH.

Step 1: Create a Local Backup Repository

Create a directory where you want to store your backups:

Initialize the repository:

This command initializes a Borg repository at the specified path and sets up encryption using a key stored in the repository.

Step 2: Create a Remote Backup Repository

If you want to store backups on a remote server, ensure that the remote server has Borg installed and is accessible via SSH. Then, create a backup repository on the remote server:

Replace user with the SSH username, remote_server with the server's IP or hostname, and /path/to/backup/repository with the desired backup directory path on the remote server.

5. Creating Backups with Borg

Now that your repository is set up, you can create backups of directories or files.

Step 1: Create a Backup

Use the borg create command to create a backup. Replace /path/to/backup/repository with the location of your backup repository and /path/to/directory with the directory you want to back up:

• The --stats flag shows backup statistics.
• The ::'backup-{now:%Y-%m-%d}' part defines a timestamp for your backup (e.g., backup-2024-11-07).
• /path/to/directory is the directory you wish to back up (e.g., /home/user).

Step 2: Verify Backup

After the backup is complete, you can check the contents of the repository using the borg list command:

This command will list the available backup snapshots.

6. Restoring Data Using Borg

To restore data from a backup, use the borg extract command.

Step 1: List Available Backups

First, list all available backup snapshots in the repository:

Step 2: Restore Files

Use the borg extract command to restore a specific backup. Replace backup-2024-11-07 with the backup snapshot name and /path/to/restore/directory with the location where you want to restore the files:

This will restore the files to the specified directory.

7. Automating Backups with Cron Jobs

To automate Borg backups, set up a cron job that runs at regular intervals.

Step 1: Edit Cron File

Edit the crontab file to schedule backups. Open the crontab file for editing:

Step 2: Add Cron Job

Add a cron job to run a Borg backup daily at midnight. The following cron entry will run the backup every day at 12:00 AM:

This will run the backup command every day at midnight.

8. Troubleshooting Borg

While using BorgBackup, you may encounter a few common issues:

• Permission Errors: Ensure the backup user has the correct permissions for the directories being backed up.
• Repository Errors: If the repository is corrupt, try running borg check to verify the integrity of the backup repository.
• Backup Failures: If a backup fails, check the output for error messages and review Borg logs for more detailed information.
• Encryption Issues: Make sure that you have the correct passphrase or key for accessing encrypted backups.

To check the repository integrity, run:

9. Conclusion

BorgBackup is a powerful and efficient tool for managing backups, providing features such as encryption, compression, and deduplication. By following this guide, you’ve learned how to install and configure Borg on AnonVM, set up repositories, create backups, restore data, and automate the process with cron jobs. BorgBackup’s speed, security, and storage efficiency make it an excellent choice for your backup needs.

With regular backups, you can ensure that your data is secure and available whenever you need it.