Offsite Personal Backup: Balancing Elegance and Practicality

In today's digital age, having a reliable backup system in place is crucial for any individual or organization with critical data stored on their servers. When it comes to personal backup solutions, there are various options available, each with its pros and cons. In this article, we'll discuss the importance of offsite personal backup and explore some practical approaches to achieving it.

One of the most elegant backup solutions is PVE/PBS (Proxmox VE/Backup Storage), which offers a seamless backup and restore experience. However, as much as I appreciate its elegance, setting up custom cron jobs for each new mount point can become tedious and time-consuming. This got me thinking - is there a more practical solution that balances elegance with ease of use?

For those who are familiar with ZFS (Zettabyte File System), one possible approach is to utilize ZFS snapshots as an on-machine backup for ZFS datasets. This would involve creating regular snapshots of the datasets and then sending them offsite using zfs send and zfs recv commands. While this strategy has its merits, it's not without its drawbacks.

One major concern with this approach is that our ZFS datasets are stored on-machine twice - once in the live dataset itself and again as incremental backups in PBS. This redundancy may seem unnecessary, but it offers a crucial benefit: both on-machine (for quick recovery) and offsite (for disaster recovery) backup options.

To achieve this balance, my partner and I have implemented a dual-site setup using PVE/PBS instances at each site. We run scheduled PVE backups to our respective PBS instances, which then sync with the other site's backups. This ensures that we have both on-machine and offsite backups available in case of an emergency.

In addition to our own experience, I've also had the opportunity to discuss backup strategies with friends who manage their own PVE nodes for similar purposes. One friend even uses his home PVE node as a personal cloud and streaming server. These experiences highlight the importance of having a reliable offsite backup solution in place.

In conclusion, offsite personal backup requires balancing elegance with practicality. While solutions like PVE/PBS offer a seamless experience, they may not be the most efficient or cost-effective option for those who value ease of use. ZFS snapshots and zfs send/zfs recv commands can provide an on-machine backup solution, but it's essential to weigh the pros and cons before implementing such a strategy.

Ultimately, finding the right balance between elegance and practicality will depend on individual circumstances and preferences. By understanding the trade-offs involved in each approach, individuals can make informed decisions about their offsite personal backup needs.

Offsite personal backup