[kwlug-disc] Open source backup tools

[Andrew Kohlsmith (mailing lists account)]

> On Dec 4, 2015, at 1:12 PM, Paul Nijjar <paul_nijjar at yahoo.ca> wrote:
> - Has anybody successfully used open-source backup tools to back up
>  horrible proprietary Windows stuff?
> - What works and what doesn't?

I’m a big fan of duplicity. I use it exclusively on Linux, BUT there are some resources for using it on Windows:

https://www.itefix.net/cwdup
http://www.alexdimarco.ca/blog/15-duplicity-on-windows.html

There is also Duplicati, although I’m not sure if it’s still supported (last release seems to be 2013): http://www.duplicati.com.

I suspect that you would have to have hooks in your windows applications which allow their data stores to get flushed to disk and remain in a useful state while the backup was being made. Your specific comment about the Windows registry is prudent as well. 

Duplicati specifically mentions being able to properly back up open/locked files: "Duplicati can make proper backups of opened or locked files using the Volume Snapshot Service (VSS) under Windows or the Logical Volume Manager (LVM) under Linux. This allows Duplicati to back up the Microsoft Outlook PST file while Outlook is running.”

-A.