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

[Liam Proven]

On Sun, 26 Sept 2021 at 19:08, Rei Shinozuka <shino at panix.com> wrote:

> I'll second Clonezilla--it's an amazing utility I've used for years on
> Linux, Windows, OSX.

Yup, I'd second that.

If I were keeping backups for a while, then turning them into files
and compressing those files would be desirable. If so, yes, Clonezilla
is good.

I also use PartImage quite often -- it's in the Ubuntu repos.

But if I just want a quick backup before testing something that might
be destructive, Gparted is easier. :-)

> What  I like to do in this type of situation is to backup the existing
> system, swap physical boot device with fresh HD or SSD, restore from
> clonezilla to the new device, boot to and upgrade using the new device.
>
> That way you have a known working copy of your existing system you can
> put away, plus a backup of that system, and your upgrades and
> configuration changes are using a copy on a new device. This process can
> take a little extra time (mostly watching progress bars), but you have
> maximum flexibility to roll back anything you do.

Excellent plan and I endorse this.

It may not be obvious what the connection is, but if the servers in
question are remote and only accessible over some kind of
remote-control tool over the public Internet, that is why I recommend
running them in some sort of low-maintenance hypervisor and _not_ on
the bare metal. The hypervisor does very little and so has a small
security footprint, but it makes it possible and easy to do things
like connect virtual "external hard disks", do backups, swap "disks",
etc. And you can also get at the "BIOS" settings remotely as well.
This can be a lifesaver.

I suspect that many people would only consider using a hypervisor if
several virtual machines were sharing a single host server, but this
need not be so. I have worked in companies where it's absolutely
routine to stick a bare-metal hypervisor onto a single server which
will only ever run a single OS for its entire working life. The
hypervisor sits below Ubuntu Server, Windows Server, whatever and
gives you remote control over the machine -- it's not used for actual
resource sharing at all.



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