Drive-In
Charly's Column – Rclone
Having a good backup is a matter of course for sys admin columnist Charly Kühnast, but devices could still fall victim to fire or theft some day. Because he has enough free space on Google Drive, he doesn't need to search long for a solution. The only thing missing is the right tool.
I never wanted to have to lament lost data, which is why I have functioning backups at home. Nevertheless, having an offshore backup seemed to be a good idea in case of a chain of ridiculous circumstances (i.e., absolute disaster). As an Android user, Google gives me 15GB of disk space, which I don't currently use. But the right tool is still missing: Rclone.
Completed binary packages for Linux, Windows, Mac OS, the BSDs, Plan 9, and Solaris can be downloaded from Rclone's website [1]. If you would prefer to build your own and you have a Go compiler on your system, you can proceed with the command
go get -u -v github.com/ncw/rclone
at the start. I launch the configuration of the storage back ends with rclone config
and, with n
, launch the path for New remote. I use mygdrive
for the name now requested for the remote connection. Figure 1 makes it clear that there should be something for everyone in the supported storage services – even generic FTP/SFTP to set up your own backup corner on a rented server or web space.
After choosing Google Drive and the automatic configuration, a browser opens so that I can let Rclone access my file storage on Google. This is the end of the configuration.
To check what I've saved on the remote side, the following command suffices:
rclone ls mygdrive:
The colon is mandatory. Because my drive is empty, there is no output. To test it, I copy my Apache config files into the drive:
rclone copy -L -v /etc/apache2/ mygdrive:backup
This takes a second, because Google has relatively aggressive rate limiting (about two files per second). I check straightaway whether the files have arrived in Google's web interface (Figure 2).
With History
Google provides a small versioning drive. If I upload changed Apache files again, the drive recognizes this and keep both files for a maximum of 30 days or 100 changes, whichever comes first. I now use the sync
sub-command instead of copy
:
rclone sync -L -v /etc/apache2/ mygdrive:backup
Rclone synchronizes the local and remote pages and only copies the files that have changed. Files that you delete locally meet the same fate on Google Drive – not vice versa. Rclone cannot manage to synchronize both sides like Rsync. However, I can encrypt files for storage by choosing Encrypt/Decrypt a remote in rclone config
.
Rclone is still in active development, so you can watch it closely at work.
Charly Kühnast
Charly Kühnast manages Unix systems in a data center in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. His responsibilities include ensuring the security and availability of firewalls and the DMZ.
Infos
- rclone: https://rclone.org/downloads/
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.