DejaDup - A Simple Backup Tool for GNU/Linux

Unlike many other occasions when doing things such as taking local/remote backups or benchmark testing, etc in GNU/Linux operating system, there's a bit of a lack in the availability of the applications. The reason for that is somewhat obvious since these type of work is not usually "assigned" with the average PC users and is something that's common within system administrators type individuals.

But there are certainly simple yet powerful tools that can be found according to your needs if you know where to look :). In that sense if you were looking for an easy to use, excellent data backup/restore tool for GNU/Linux, then DejaDup is a really good one.

It's part of the Gnome desktop and inherits the simplicity thus if you're GNU/Linux sever administrator who's quite familiar with having lots of options, etc then at first you might be a bit disappointed, but the rest assured, DejaDup is certainly a powerful tool nonetheless.


Main features...

*. It supports two main types of backup methods - remote (FTP, Windows share, etc) and local data backups (from partition to partition for example) + the current trend of syncing files into a data Cloud as well.

*. For Cloud data backups, it currently supports - Amazon S3 and Racksplace cloud services at the moment.

*. Encrypt (can be disabled) the backup data.

*. Incremental backup support.

*. Ability to automatically add/avoid certain folders (such as Trash, etc). 

*. Schedule and change how long the backup files should be stored (forever, month, etc).

*. Restoring ability (obviously :D).

Well, that's about it!. You can install Deja-Dup in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal by issuing the below command in your Terminal.

sudo apt-get install deja-dup

Once installed, just click on the backup button or the restore (the only two buttons on the GUI, written in GTK+) and follow the on screen guidelines.

But, after installing if it doesn't show up in the menu, then press "Alt" + "F2" and enter "deja-dup" and press "Enter". That should do the trick. Good luck.