What is Rsnapshot?
Rsnapshot is an open-source backup utility for Linux operating systems that provides incremental backup functionality using rsync. It is designed to make it easy to maintain a backup of a remote system by only transferring the changes that have occurred since the last backup.
Some key features of Rsnapshot include:
- Incremental backups using rsync - only changed files are transferred after the initial backup, making the process very efficient.
- The ability to keep multiple backups - daily, weekly, and monthly backups can be maintained.
- Hardlink based - uses hardlinks whenever possible to save space.
- Rotation of backups - old backups are automatically removed based on configurable settings.
- Backup to local, remove, or mounted filesystems.
- Configuration using a single config file.
Rsnapshot is a popular choice for Linux admins to backup remote servers, databases, client machines, and other systems. The incremental nature allows backing up frequently without using a lot of bandwidth or disk space after the initial seed backup. Retaining multiple increments (daily, weekly, etc.) provides redundancy and facilitates restore from different points in time.
rsync, Time Machine, BorgBackup, TimeShift, Déjà Dup, Back In Time, Restic, Time Machine for Linux, Duplicacy, rdiff-backup, Bareos, Obnam, snaprd, snapper-io, Snebu are some alternatives to Rsnapshot.