I have a hdd connected to one of my raspberry pi’s that is on raspbian, now I would like to be able to backup my Linux machines 2 or more to that hdd on a regular basis to help with system restores. Rsync would probably be a good start from my searching but I need a hand with the proper syntax and switches .
Asked
Active
Viewed 261 times
1
-
1First question I would ask is - are the two target machines able to be backed up live or will you do better to back up data only and rebuild the O/S from scratch? – Apr 09 '20 at 23:29
-
1The 2 or more was just in general, however I actually have two machines one kali machine and another in a virtual box environment , so I believe that the main Os would be able to be backed up live, honestly I’m not sure. But backing up the data is fine I could reinstall a system and if all of my configurations were stored somewhere that would be just fine with me , drivers, software etc.. – upgrayyed Apr 10 '20 at 00:19
1 Answers
1
I use the code in Backup image of SD Card to perform incremental backups.
You can backup to a network drive or local HDD.
There are a number of other examples using rsync
e.g.
can-a-raspberry-pi-be-used-to-create-a-backup-of-itself creates full backup images to attached HDD.
(Some of the other Answers in Can a Raspberry Pi be used to create a backup of itself? need to be used with caution)

Milliways
- 59,890
- 31
- 101
- 209
-
+1 for "used with caution." However you back something up, you must test that a proper restore can be performed from your backup. You don't want to find out your backup drive is really a paperweight at a time when you really need it. – Bob Brown Apr 10 '20 at 16:05