Re: Using BtrFS and backup tools for keeping two systems in sync

[Austin S Hemmelgarn <ahferroin7@gmail.com>]

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On 2015-10-07 22:35, Shriramana Sharma wrote:
> Hello. I see there are some backup tools taking advantage of BtrFS's
> incremental send/receive feature:
> https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Incremental_Backup. [BTW Ames
> Cornish's ButterSink (https://github.com/AmesCornish/buttersink) seems
> to be missing from that page.]
>
> Now I'd like to know if anyone has evolved some good practices w.r.t
> maintaining the data of two systems in sync using this feature of
> BtrFS. What I have in mind is: I work on my desktop by default, and
> for ergonomics reasons only use my laptop when I need the mobility.
> I'd like to keep the main data (documents I create, programs I write
> etc) in sync between the two. (The profile data such as in the ~/.*
> hidden folders had better stay separate though, I guess.)
>
> I figure with the existing tools it would not be too difficult to
> maintain a synced set of snapshots between the two systems if I only
> use the desktop vs laptop alternatingly and sync at each switchover,
> but the potential problem only would come if I modify both (something
> like having to do git merge, I guess).
>
> Has anyone come across this situation and evolved any policies to handle it?
>
Personally, while I use BTRFS on all of my systems, I usually use 
Dropbox for synchronizing data between them.  While the Linux client for 
it isn't perfect, it is significantly easier than something like a 
regularly scheduled rsync or btrfs send/receive.  It's also kind of nice 
because multiple clients bound to the same account will sync across the 
local network without needing to talk to the servers if they can avoid 
it.  Of course, it costs money if you want a decent amount of storage 
space, but it's pretty reasonable for the degree of reliability I've 
observed.


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