Areca Backup
Encyclopedia
Areca Backup is a personal file backup software
developed in Java
. It is released under the GNU General Public License
(GPL) 2.
and a command-line interface
. A big drawback of Areca Backup is that you have to keep the zipped backups on your hard drive. You cannot remove them after you save them to backup media, because if you do, the next time you try to perform a backup Areca Backup will backup all the files again, instead of just changed and new files.
The application includes the following features:
Areca also provides all tools needed to handle your archives:
Storage modes
Areca can handle multiple storage modes:
Backup types
Areca can handle the following types of backups:
Areca uses the file's size and last modification time to detect modified files. If one of these attributes is modified (whatever its value is), the file is flagged as modified. This allows a fast detection of modified files.
Areca is downloadable pre-packaged for Linux
and Windows 2000
/Windows XP
and Windows Vista
. But it also runs on any other operating system
, provided that a Java Runtime Environment has been installed (version 1.4.2 or later). It has been translated to: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish.
Backup software
Backup software are computer programs used to perform backup; they create supplementary exact copies of files, databases or entire computers. These programs may later use the supplementary copies to restore the original contents in the event of data loss....
developed in Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
. It is released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
(GPL) 2.
Features
Areca Backup includes a backup engine, as well as a graphical user interfaceGraphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
and a command-line interface
Command-line interface
A command-line interface is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks...
. A big drawback of Areca Backup is that you have to keep the zipped backups on your hard drive. You cannot remove them after you save them to backup media, because if you do, the next time you try to perform a backup Areca Backup will backup all the files again, instead of just changed and new files.
The application includes the following features:
- ZIPZIP (file format)Zip is a file format used for data compression and archiving. A zip file contains one or more files that have been compressed, to reduce file size, or stored as is...
/ZIP64 compression - AESAdvanced Encryption StandardAdvanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...
128 & AESAdvanced Encryption StandardAdvanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...
256 encryption - Backup filters (by extension, subdirectory, regular expression, size, date, status, usage)
- Incremental backupIncremental backupAn incremental backup preserves data by not creating multiple copies that are based on the differences in those data: a successive copy of the data contains only that portion which has changed since the preceding copy has been created.-Incremental:...
, differential and full backup support - DeltaDelta encodingDelta encoding is a way of storing or transmitting data in the form of differences between sequential data rather than complete files; more generally this is known as data differencing...
backup (only the modified parts of the files will be stored, not the whole files) - Archives merges
- As of date recovery
- Transaction mechanism (with commit/rollback management) for all critical processes (such as backups or merges) to guarantee backups' integrity
- Unix file permissions backup/recovery
- E-Mail reports
- Backup simulation
- FTP and FTPSFTPSFTPS is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol that adds support for the Transport Layer Security and the Secure Sockets Layer cryptographic protocols....
support (SSLTransport Layer SecurityTransport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
/TLSTransport Layer SecurityTransport Layer Security and its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer , are cryptographic protocols that provide communication security over the Internet...
in both implicit and explicit modes) - SFTPSSH file transfer protocolIn computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream...
support
Areca also provides all tools needed to handle your archives:
- Backup
- Archive recovery (with or without deleted files); entire archives or single files can be easily recovered
- Archive merge: contiguous incremental archives can be merged into a single archive to save storage space
- Archive deletion
- History explorer: different versions of a given file can be browsed and restored
- Archive explorer: files can be searched among your archives
Storage modes
Areca can handle multiple storage modes:
- Standard: It is the default mode, which is recommended for most users: If you choose this storage mode, a new archive will be created for each backup. All new or modified files since the last backup will be stored in this archive.
- DeltaDelta encodingDelta encoding is a way of storing or transmitting data in the form of differences between sequential data rather than complete files; more generally this is known as data differencing...
: This mode is recommended for advanced users only: If you choose this storage mode, a new archive will be created for each backup. All modified *parts* of files since the last backup will be stored in this archive. This mode is particularly useful if you are handling large files. - Image: If you choose this storage mode, a unique archive will be created and updated at each backup.
Backup types
Areca can handle the following types of backups:
- Full Backup: When a full backup is performed, ALL files are stored in your archive (whether they have been modified or not).
- Incremental backupIncremental backupAn incremental backup preserves data by not creating multiple copies that are based on the differences in those data: a successive copy of the data contains only that portion which has changed since the preceding copy has been created.-Incremental:...
: When an incremental backup is performed, only the files which have been modified since the last backup are stored in your archive. - Differential backup: When a differential backup is performed, only the files which have been modified since the last FULL backup are stored in your archive.
Areca uses the file's size and last modification time to detect modified files. If one of these attributes is modified (whatever its value is), the file is flagged as modified. This allows a fast detection of modified files.
Areca is downloadable pre-packaged for Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
/Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
. But it also runs on any other operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, provided that a Java Runtime Environment has been installed (version 1.4.2 or later). It has been translated to: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish.
External links
- Areca Backup official website
- LinuxLinks.com
- http://www.howtoforge.com/creating-backups-with-areca-on-fedora9HowToForge: detailed instructions with lots of printscreens for Areca on FedoraFedora (operating system)Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
9], page 2, page 3 - Videotutorial
- Article about Areca Backup on Linux-Community.de (in German)