I am quite worried about losing information and not being able to recover it from the backups, so I am trying to nail the best automated way to make sure the backups are good.

Restic comes with a check command, that according to the documentation here has this two “levels”:

  • Structural consistency and integrity, e.g. snapshots, trees and pack files (default)
  • Integrity of the actual data that you backed up

In plain words, I understand this as: The data you uploaded to the repository is still that data.

Now my question is, do you think this is enough to trust the backups are right? I was thinking about restoring the backup in a temporary location and running diff on random files to check the files match the source, but I don’t know if this is redundant now.

How do you make sure you can trust your backups?

  • ChewyEnglish
    8•2 months ago

    Trying to actually restore is the best way to ensure the backup works. But it’s annoying so I never do it.

    I usually trust restic to do it’s job. Validating that files are there and are readable can be done with restic mount, and you’ve mentioned restic check.

    The best way to ensure your data is safe is to do a second backup with another tool. And keep your keys safe and accessible. A remote backup has no use of the keys burned down.

  • 𝕽𝖚𝖆𝖎𝖉𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍English
    1•2 months ago

    @Xanza’s suggestion is a good one. For me, it’s sufficient to fuse mount the backup and check a few files. It’s not comprehensive, but if a few files I know changed look good, I figure they all probably are.

  • @BCsven@lemmy.caEnglish
    1•2 months ago

    Deja DUP has auto validation also. But besides “backup” I think everyone suggests using ZFS that auto heals bit rot. And don’t trust unplugged SSDs, they can suffer bit rot quickly if stored in a hot location

  • @Lem453@lemmy.caEnglish
    1•2 months ago

    I use Borg but every now and then I mount a backup and download a few files to make sure they work correctly.

    I’ve so far only had to do this for real with my local zfs snapshots after messing up a config file or blowing away the wrong folder. Process to restore is essentially the same except I would mount the Borg repo instead of a local zfs snapshot

  • @MTK@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1•2 months ago

    Really worried? Do a full restore. No backup system is reliable unless you actually at the very least do one full restore to test it, ideally do it evry now and again to be sure. I personally tested it once, was happy and am now at the mercy of the gods if it shits the bed