Online Backup Linux

Even though Linux is a growing operating system that adds users every day, most online backup providers will focus on Windows and Mac users. To understand why we should look further than just statistics as Linux currently amounts for 2% of global Internet users, but there are more things to consider.

Linux users are usually more computer savvy, which means that they can set up backup systems easier than most Windows or Mac users and setting up an online backup can be pretty cheap if you know how to do so. Another reason would be that Linux users love open source software and most online backup service providers use propietary tools or programs and won’t release the source code to their customers as they still work under the old “trade secret” business model.

Backing up a linux system online is very easy, as there are some tools and utilities like rsync (or remote sync) that are even included in the base install and won’t cost a penny, so it’s just a matter of getting some file storage (a simple web hosting account can get the job done) and use rsync to keep a syncronized copy of important information online. That doesn’t mean that providers shouldn’t mind linux users, there are tons of linux users that would pay a few dollars a month in order to gain peace of mind as linux users are also more aware of the true value of information.

Sometimes Linux users are forced into creating their own solutions as most providers will release backup client software for Mac OS X and Windows computers leaving the Linux market hanging in the air.

On a server level, backups are way more important for Linux, as there are way more Linux servers than Windows or other Operating System based servers. Some providers have become aware of this and are launching online backup products and services for Linux servers, one of those providers and the one that has generated more buzz for the past few years is R1Soft which provides a continuous data protection backup software for Linux servers, aimed towards the Web servers (servers used to host websites), it keeps incremental backups of all user files so that web hosting providers can rest assured that their customers’ data is safe and can be easily restored in the event of a hard drive crash or other disaster caused data loss.