ZFS for a backup server
-
I wish to create a production server and backup server and have scheduled backups saved to the backup server so we can virtualise the backup if the production server fails.
I would like to store the following aging backups:
- hourly - 3 days
- daily - 7 days
- weekly - 4 weeks
- monthly - 3 months
Aging backups is documented here:
https://xen-orchestra.com/docs/backups.html#retention-and-schedulingAs these backups will take up a significant amount of disk space I understand ZFS is a good FS option. Does this mean when installing xcp-ng I should be using EXT on the production server and ZFS on the backup server?
-
Hi,
You can use ZFS on your backup server yes, with compression. Last time we tested dedup on ZFS for backup, it wasn't that great (only few % saved), but anyway, ZFS is resilient and stable so go ahead
-
We use ZFS on our backup target, mounted to XOA via NFS. Works without issue.
-
We wish to backup to a server running xcp-ng so we can spin up these VMs if the production server fails. The backup target for the production VMs would be the backup server, if that makes sense.
I think the backup xcp-ng server would need two partitions. One EXT for the OS and one ZFS for the backups... or have I got my wires crossed?
-
@McHenry I think you may be running into an XY problem here. https://xyproblem.info/
What targets are you attempting to achieve and what do you foresee the prod environment looking like?
What is your reasoning for aging backups? What use case are you targeting?
If you provide more information about your goals and available resources then we can give you better answers. You also may want to reach out to the Vates sales team as I believe they offer design services.
-
We have a solution that was designed for another backup system and we are looking to migrate. Our targets and resources are outlined above in the OP.
Just asking for assistance in learning does not equate to the XY scenario you mentioned above. That is the reason these "support" forums exist
-
This is called "GFS backup" and it will come natively in XO, it's in our backlog.
GFS stands for "Grandfather-Father-Son" retention policy.
-
Thanks Oliver. We have used GFS with Veeam previously and will be a great addition.
-
Looks like you want disaster recovery option. It creates a ready-to-use VM on a separate XCP-ng server. If your main server fails you can start the vm directly off the second server.
In any case, backups can be restored with XO to any server and storage available in XCP-ng.
