How and where should I keep backups of system configurations?

[someacnt@sh.itjust.works]

Sorry for adding to the massive pile of backup-related question, but I could not figure out how to manage backups from existing answers..

I want to backup my VPS setup (think container-defining files, its volumes, and etc configs), but am unsure where to put it. Does keeping these in the VPS itself make sense? If so, how do I create and manage the backup?

Also, I would need a remote copy - what is the good location for this? I wish I could copy to my laptop, but obviously I cannot do that automatically. Should I pay money for a backup? I want to avoid paying lots of money just for backups.
Thanks in advance!

[pageflight@lemmy.world]

If you haven't played with Pulumi (for configuring cloud services) and Ansible (for local services, shell commands, apt installs etc) you may enjoy them as a way to capture / re-apply configuration.

[just_another_person@lemmy.world]

I'd get familiar with deploying these with some infrastructure-as-code tools, and keep a git repo. Ansible is pretty easy to get started with.

[jeena@piefed.jeena.net]

Most of the time the VPS provider offers some backup solution. It's not only about your configuration files which can easily be recreated, but about all the user data like pictures databases, etc. Which once lost can't be recovered.

Best practice is a 3-2-1 backup: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/the-3-2-1-backup-strategy/

But you could back up your stuff on your laptop if you want, it's not such a bad idea actually. For that you trigger the backup script from your laptop, you can do it automatically there too. This makes sure that the laptop is on while you're doing the backup.

The easiest way is a crown job and a bash file which runs a couple of rsync commands to get specific files and directories from the server via ssh.

A more involved way would be a backup system like restic, which does a lot of things for you but is a bit more involved to set up.

[rumba@lemmy.zip]

Ansible if you want to do it the right way.

Or keep all of your configs in one tree and use syncthing on it If you want to phone it in. Turn on versioning call it a night.

[marauding_gibberish142@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

1. Create git repo
2. Put all config in git repo
3. Create repo on codeberg
4. Clone git repo to both VPS and laptop

No extra money needed

[australiansimon@lemmy.world]

A guide for this would be amazing. Bookmarking to later chatGPT it.

[marauding_gibberish142@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

https://docs.codeberg.org/getting-started/first-repository/

Follow this, should suffice

[australiansimon@lemmy.world]

I was more thinking the config part to git.

[johntash@eviltoast.org]

Look at tools like kopia and restic. Depending on how much data you have, it should be relatively cheap to back up to backblaze b2.

[fenndev@leminal.space]

Please don't use AI for simple things like this.

The Odin Project has a tutorial on Git Basics and a guide on Setting Up Git. The instructions are roughly the same whether on Github, Codeberg, etc.

Once you have the repository, it's as simple as:

git add .
git commit -m "Updated config"
git push origin main

[remotelove@lemmy.ca]

That's what you just got shown: Shove the configgy bits into Git.

[australiansimon@lemmy.world]

I was hoping for a guide to capture said configs with a recommended subset. Not instructions for using git.

So no the guides don't help with that.

[tofu@lemmy.nocturnal.garden]

Make sure to not check in secrets in plaintext. git crypt is one way to encrypt secrets before checking them in.

[someacnt@sh.itjust.works]

Codeberg sounds like a good way! I was concerned about server config being stored on self-hosted forgejo (which is configured by the very server config), turns out that need not be the case.

[kusimulkku@lemm.ee]

Please don't use AI for simple things like this.

Simple things seems like the best use of AI

[someacnt@sh.itjust.works]

Thanks! I gotta get my hands on Ansible, was reluctant as I've heard it can be complicated. Should see myself!

[marauding_gibberish142@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

I suggest SOPS

[rumba@lemmy.zip]

Ansible's not all that bad. The alternatives are far more complicated.

Jeff geerling has a bunch of videos on ansible 101.