Cloud backup software functions very much like conventional backup software. The fundamental difference with a cloud backup is that your data transmits over the Internet to be securely stored in a professional data center. If you can find a high-quality cloud backup software application that is a good value and purchase a perpetual software license, then you avoid recurring subscription costs.
The most significant advantage in backing up your critical data backed to cloud storage: it’s entirely off-site—away from your home or office—which makes it quite safe from fire, removal, theft, or other catastrophes.
If you’re an IT pro with many cloud storage accounts, multiple computers and servers under management; or you need professional features that basic tools don’t offer, CloudBerry may just be the right solution.
For those who want to get a quick summary before proceeding to the details, let’s have a quick look at the strengths of CloudBerry Backup:
- 256-bit AES encryption
- Image-based backup (coming soon for Linux)
- Support for many different cloud storage platforms
- Cloud backup, direct cloud-to-cloud backup, and local backup
- Data deduplication
- One-time payment for the software (as compared to a subscription service)
CloudBerry Backup for Linux provides both UI and command-line interfaces. The GUI interface is rather intuitive, though corporate and industrial system administrators will often engage with the product through the command line—often using SSH.
Versions of CloudBerry Backup for Linux
CloudBerry Backup for Linux is available as a free trial from the CloudBerry. The trial has the full-feature capability, but you won’t be able to perform a backup after the trial expires (though you will be able to restore your files at any time).
The Linux version is much less expensive than its Windows equivalent and is available for free evaluation in a trial version. These are the available versions:
- Freeware version – this is for personal use only and includes all features of the Pro version, such as compression, encryption, a flexible schedule, and options for setting retention policy. The storage limit is 200GB.
- Pro version – purchase this release for $29.99 for an individual or single commercial perpetual license. This version imposes a 5 TB storage limitation, through your cloud storage provider may have other restrictions.
- Ultimate version – this version has no storage limitations but check with your storage provider on other possible restrictions.
File-level backups of CloudBerry
The Linux version of CloudBerry Backup only supports file-level backups, so consider the Windows version so if you need the block-level backup capability. In the Linux version, while you cannot backup entire disks block-by-block—you must choose specific files and folders. For most users, this isn’t a concern. However, image-based backup is coming soon to CloudBerry Backup for Linux.
CloudBarry Setup in Linux Ubuntu
For this review, we use a minimal Ubuntu system running on a VMWare virtual machine.
It’s easy to get going with a 30-day trial, which is available for both the Pro and Ultimate Editions.
After downloading the package, use the command line to navigate to the folder and enter the command to install the package.
See the CloudBerry documentation for more details on installation.
For Ubuntu, the command line pattern is:
sudo dpkg -i /PATH/package_name On the VM command line, this was our entry:
sudo dpkg -i ubuntu14_CloudBerryLab_CloudBerryBackup_v2.0.3.31_20170908132407.debAfter a minute or less, the installation wizard will launch, prompting you to enter an email address and choose an edition.
Click the Start Trial button to launch the CloudBerry for Linux main window.
Click the Backup Files button to begin creating a backup plan. The cloud storage list will be empty, so click the small + button to display a list of storage providers. Note that you can also choose to backup to a local or network File System.
We chose Amazon S3 for this review. Amazon S3 Storage backups require that you provide the credentials for a user, which includes an Access Key and Secret Key.
Click OK, then click the name of the cloud storage item in the list, and click Continue.
Now choose a name for this backup plan, click Continue, and then choose which files you need to backup. Checking a top-level folder will check all the folders and files beneath it.
Click Continue and then choose your filter options. You can restrict the backup to files only of specific types, exclude files of specific types, and exclude system files and hidden files.
Click Continue and decide on your compression and encryption options. Compression will reduce the size of the destination data, while encryption will require a password to gain access to any backup contents. Cloud storage options will also be available on this panel.
Click Continue to choose options for backup retention. You can configure how long to keep files, whether to always keep the latest version and how many versions to keep.
Click Continue to set up a backup schedule. You can leave the default to manual operation, choose a specific date, or choose from various scheduling options.
Click Continue and decide if you don’t want to receive notifications. Click the In All Cases radio button if you want information on the status of each backup. Verify that the email address is correct.
Click Continue. A pop-up window will appear to alert you that a confirmation message has been to the email address that you specified in the previous step.
The last panel in the wizard will present a summary of this backup configuration. Click Done to return to the main window.
Running a backup plan
To run a backup plan, find it in the main window—beneath the Backup Plans section in the left-hand menu (see the figure below).
Click on the backup plan name, and then click the Start button. A progress bar will appear and indicate the percentage of backup that is complete and the number of files copied.
When the backup is complete, you should get a confirmation message at the email address that you supplied. You can also visit your storage provider and confirm the presence of the backup files there.
Conclusion
When you consider the vast array of options and how easy it is to use, the Pro Version of CloudBerry Backup for Linux is quite a sensible value for its price-point of US $29.99. Learn more about CloudBerry Backup software by watching this video, or download the trial version and see for yourself how easy it is to configure and perform a cloud storage backup.
Latest posts by Surendra Anne (see all)
- Docker: How to copy files to/from docker container - June 30, 2020
- Anisble: ERROR! unexpected parameter type in action:
Fix - June 29, 2020 - FREE: JOIN OUR DEVOPS TELEGRAM GROUPS - August 2, 2019
- Review: Whizlabs Practice Tests for AWS Certified Solutions Architect Professional (CSAP) - August 27, 2018
- How to use ohai/chef-shell to get node attributes - July 19, 2018
