How to backup before a release upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS server?

[Liam Proven]

On Sun, 26 Sept 2021 at 15:11, Bo Berglund <bo.berglund at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I did not know this, good to know since I really do not want to mess with a
> working system, but if it is getting off LTS I figured I have to.

https://ubuntu.com/blog/ubuntu-14-04-and-16-04-lifecycle-extended-to-ten-years

> My server is Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. It has no GUI, just a server computer

OK, but it has a graphics *adaptor*, right?  Therefore if you boot off
a USB stick then it will have a full desktop.

I believed from what you have previously said to us that the server
lives under a desk in your home/office. Is that correct?

If you _do_ have physical access to it, then this is by far the
easiest way to back up/restore the machine. Even if it means
temporarily connecting a screen/keyboard/mouse.

Doing it to a remote server (e.g. in a data centre somewhere) is
_much_ harder, which is one of the main reasons that most people now
run remote servers under hypervisors. Then if you can access the
hypervisor, you effectively do have full access to the machine
including screen/keyboard/mouse etc.

If you do not want to attach a screen/keyboard/etc ever again, then I
suggest you consider moving your server OS into a hypervisor.

VMware ESX+ is freeware and needs very little maintenance. Its
hardware requirements are strict, though.

Windows Hyper-V Server is also freeware, but you need a Windows Server
to run the admin tools to use it.

Other freeware offerings I have never personally tried include:
• Proxmox
• Joyent SmartOS
• Oracle VM Server for x86

But this is a whole other discussion.


> I have attached a 500 GB ext4 formatted drive on which I ran sudo rm -rf *
> So it is now empty. It is present as sdb1.

It's not totally empty -- it has (at least one) partition on it. When
I said "empty" I meant _totally empty_, not even partitions.

> How to mount the external drive (see above)?

Depends on the drive.

Is it USB 2, USB 3, eSATA, what? You have not told us.

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