How to Install Rsnapshot on Arch Linux

Introduction

Rsnapshot is an open-source backup tool that can take backups of your files and directories over the network or locally. It is a powerful and efficient tool that makes use of rsync and hard links. It can take automated, incremental and frequent backups without much user intervention. In this tutorial, we will explain how to install Rsnapshot on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

To follow this tutorial, you will need:

  • A running Arch Linux instance with root or sudo access.
  • An active internet connection.

Step 1 - Install Rsnapshot on Arch Linux

To install Rsnapshot on Arch Linux, follow these steps:

  1. Start by updating the system packages and repositories by running the following commands:
sudo pacman -Syu
  1. Now, use the following command to install the Rsnapshot package:
sudo pacman -S rsnapshot
  1. The package will be installed, and necessary dependencies will be resolved.

Step 2 - Configure Rsnapshot

Once the installation is complete, you need to configure Rsnapshot to take backups of your files and directories. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Start by removing the sample configuration file that comes with Rsnapshot:
sudo rm -f /etc/rsnapshot.conf
  1. Next, you need to create a new configuration file for Rsnapshot by running the following command:
sudo nano /etc/rsnapshot.conf
  1. In the configuration file, enter the directories that you want to backup. Rsnapshot supports backing up files and directories from local and remote machines. Here is an example configuration file that takes the backups of the /home directory:
#######################
# Rsnapshot Configuration file 

config_version	1.2

## BACKUP INTERVALS

# hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly intervals are supported.
# default is:
# interval	daily	6

interval	hourly	6
interval	daily	7
interval	weekly	4
interval	monthly	6
interval	yearly	2

## BACKUP ROOT DIRECTORY.

# Must be a full path
# Modification of this value affects all subsequent "backup"
# directives. This is where your backup archives will be stored.

snapshot_root	/media/backups/rsnapshot/

# DO NOT GIVE CONTROL OF THE ROOT DIRECTORY TO A USER.

cmd_cp		/usr/bin/cp

## BACKUP DIRECTORIES

# Here, the backup of the home directory is taken.

backup		/home/ localhost/
  1. Save and close the configuration file.

Step 3 - Test Rsnapshot

Now, you can test Rsnapshot by running the following command:

sudo rsnapshot -t daily

This command will run a test of the daily interval backup.

If the test runs successfully without any errors, then you can continue to the next step.

Step 4 - Set Up Cron Job

Now, you need to set up a cron job to automate the backup process.

  1. To edit the cron tab, use the following command:
sudo crontab -e
  1. Add the following line at the end of the file:
0 */4 * * * rsnapshot hourly
30 23 * * * rsnapshot daily
0 23 * * 6 rsnapshot weekly
30 23 1 * * rsnapshot monthly
0 1 1 1 * rsnapshot yearly
  1. Save and close the file.

The above cron job runs the backups at the following intervals:

  • Hourly backups are taken every 4 hours.
  • Daily backups are taken every day at 11.30 PM.
  • Weekly backups are taken every Saturday at 11.00 PM.
  • Monthly backups are taken on the first day of every month at 11.30 PM.
  • Yearly backups are taken on the first day of every year at 1.00 AM.

Conclusion

That’s it! You have successfully installed and configured Rsnapshot on Arch Linux. You can now take automated, incremental backups of your files and directories.