MC Tech Solutions

Tag: windows

  • UrBackup: backing up every computer in the house

    My home server doesn’t just back up itself. It also backs up the other computers in the house. UrBackup is the open-source server that does it, quietly, every day, with no subscription.

    What UrBackup does

    UrBackup is a client/server backup system. You run the server on one machine, install a small client on each computer you want protected, and the server pulls backups over the network on a schedule:

    • File backups: incremental and full copies of chosen folders, with deduplication so unchanged files aren’t stored twice.
    • Image backups (Windows): a full disk image you can restore a whole PC from, even onto a new drive.
    • A web interface for status, settings and browsing or downloading backed-up files.

    I use it to back up my Windows PC and a Raspberry Pi, with everything stored on the large external drive in my server.

    My setup

    services:
  urbackup:
    image: uroni/urbackup-server:latest
    container_name: urbackup
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: host
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/Dublin
    volumes:
      - /opt/stacks/urbackup/data:/var/urbackup
      - /media/ExtStorage/backups/urbackup:/backups
    • network_mode: host lets clients on your network discover the server automatically, using UDP broadcasts.
    • /backups is where the backups themselves go. Point it at a big disk.
    • /var/urbackup holds the server’s own database and settings. Keep it on a reliable disk too.

    The web interface runs on port 55414: http://<server-ip>:55414.

    Adding a computer

    1. Download the client for Windows, Linux or macOS from the UrBackup website and install it.
    2. On the same network, the client finds the server by itself, and it appears in the web interface within a minute or two.
    3. In the client (Windows tray icon), choose which folders to back up, or let it use the defaults.
    4. Adjust the schedule and how many backups to keep under Settings in the web interface.

    Restoring

    • Single files: browse the backups in the web interface and download what you need, or restore from the client.
    • A whole Windows PC: boot from the UrBackup restore image on a USB stick and restore an image backup to the disk.

    Test a restore now and then. A backup you’ve never restored from is only a hope.

    One important caveat

    UrBackup stores its backups on my server, so if something happens to the server itself, the PC backups go with it. That’s why they’re part of my 3-2-1 backup plan, which copies everything important to a second drive kept away from the house.